Those that know me personally know that when I am not conducting migration research, I am powerlifting. This is a weightlifting sport that consists of three lifts: Squat, Bench, and Deadlift (if you care to not upset powerlifters, you must not confuse us with Olympic weightlifters, who specialize in the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk). Earlier this year, I represented England at the 2024 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship in South Africa. There are two things that are particularly remarkable about this. First, I won my weight category, for which I must thank the Team England Coach Paul Marsh and my personal coach Tori LaPerriere. Secondly, I am Italian, not English, and I do not hold British citizenship (yet!). Family, friends, and acquaintances were confused, wondering what this means for where my national allegiance lies and what this says about my national identity. Here lies my response.
Sport and nationalism
It is well established that nationalism and sport go hand in hand. International sports events are a clear example of banal nationalism. Coined by Michael Billig, banal nationalism refers to the unnoticed, taken-for-granted, ordinary signs of nationalism that reproduce the nation on a daily basis, such as flags or other national symbols. International sports events reinforce the nation as a “natural” category by which the world is organised. Yet, the nation as we understand it today is a relatively modern phenomenon and concept originating in Europe in the late eighteenth century. In other historical periods, humans have used other categories to divide, classify, and make sense of the world.
Sports are also key to revive and reproduce a sense of national belonging. Benedict Anderson conceptualized the nation as an imagined community to highlight its socially constructed nature. For Anderson, nations are imagined because they are simply too large for all of their members to actually know one another. There’s no better way of feeling connected with strangers than watching one’s own national team compete in an international event!
And we shall not forget that sports offer key venues to political rulers to promote national uniqueness, strength, and power on an international stage, what John Hoberman described as sportive nationalism. This is a particularly useful concept to understand why international sports events become highly politicized in times of geopolitical conflict.
Sport and transnationalism
While it’s hard to argue with the above, powerlifting has allowed me to appreciate a new side to sport, which is less about the nation and more about transnationalism, broadly defined by Steven Vertovec as the “multiple ties or interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states”.
Powerlifting has allowed me to develop a sense of local belonging as a migrant in the UK as training has resulted in new relationships and friendships. This sense of local belonging has certainly been strengthened by the inclusive approach to representation in this sport, which is not to be taken for granted. While you can represent Britain or one of its four nations in international powerlifting competitions as long as you are a resident, this is not the case for other nations such as France.
Yet, for athletes, sport can become an important means by which they can maintain connections with their home countries or heritage cultures. In London, I have the privilege of training with inspiring and dedicated athletes and friends who represent their home or heritage country in international competitions while being away from it. Linda Le (Chau-Long) has proudly represented Vietnam on multiple occasions, becoming the first athlete to ever represent Vietnam in a World Powerlifting Championship. Evita Otigbah recently won the 2024 Western European Powerlifting Championships, representing Malta. Aron Hegedus is now a veteran in the Hungarian national team.
While it’s most unlikely I will ever be strong enough to represent Italy, powerlifting has allowed me to forge new friendships in my home country despite not living there. Living abroad for ten years has meant that friendships have been lost or weakened over time. The need and joy of prioritising training while visiting family resulted in new friendships with fellow Italians training at the local gym near where my family lives, with whom I remain in contact and now visit regularly.
Attending the 2024 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship as an athlete also taught me how sport adds an awareness of transnationalism to the lives of athletes who have not experienced migration. International sports events are where global friendships are born and maintained. Athletes exchange t-shirts, singlets, and tracksuits with their national flags as a sign of respect and as a way to mark the beginning of new friendships which cross national borders and, at times, continents too.
Sport as community
The title of this blog was intentionally provocative. Sport is undeniably political and raises several questions and issues concerning nationalism, identity, inclusion, and exclusion. Sport is also where intersecting inequalities and discriminatory discourses and practices can be reinforced by fans, athletes, and federations. But the community that sports offers is undeniable, built and strengthened by its people within, across and beyond borders.
