Abstract

This paper assesses the current debate, in the sphere of the sociology of sport, on globalisation and sport, arguing that the advance of world sport now at the beginning of the 21st century is better understood in terms of the phenomenon of glocalisation, that is, as a process by which global demands and forces conform or adapt to local conditions (Robertson), contributing in this way to the production of “township” and “community”, and to the emergence of national identities.  The Olympic Games of Barcelona 1991, the European Football Championship 1993 and the World Cup Football Championship Korea-Japan 2002 are presented as examples of the dual and paradoxical character of contemporary sport in its capacity of reinforcing local-national identities, while increasingly promoting world-wide mega-events.