Why do governments invest in elite sport? A polemic

Elite sport currently enjoys high levels of investment in many advanced capitalist countries. The primary aim of this piece is to introduce and unpack the reasons generally given by states for prioritizing and investing in elite sport. While our core focus is the UK sport policy sector, many of the discussions will be relevant for other, advanced liberal capitalist systems (e.g. Australia and Canada) and even the now defunct dictatorships (e.g. the Soviet Union and the GDR). We show how commonsensical propositions (e.g. ‘elite sport success promotes participation among citizens’) are not always based on wide, existing research and evidence. The philosophy behind the United Kingdom's model of sport – and that of several other advanced states – we term a ‘virtuous cycle’ of sport, whereby elite sport success is seen to lead to both international prestige for the nation, a ‘feel-good factor’ among the population and, importantly, to an increase in participation among the masses. This, in turn, leads to a healthier nation and to a wider pool of people from which to pick the champions of the future. This article takes a closer look at the assumptions underlying such a model of sport.