Since World War II and the advent of the television age there have been
significant transformations in sport and sporting cultures (see Whitson, also in
this issue). During the 1980s and 1990s this process intensified as governments
increasingly diverted large sums of money into national sporting programmes
aimed at succeeding on the international stage. As demonstrated in Australia,
countries with the resources to dedicate to elite programmes can generate a
greater profile through sporting successes in international competition. Sportive
nationalism intensified in the late 20th century as states sought ways to position
themselves in the global hierarchy of nations.1 The number of nations that can
spend the necessary resources on elite sporting programmes across the board,
however, is limited to a small minority of the over 200 participants in the
Olympic Games and nations must often choose whether to divert limited public
resources into supporting international sporting success or the attraction of
international sporting events.