Mike Tyler Sport

The Civilising Process is a book written by sociologist Norbert Elias, in which he contends that the present structure and form of society can only be understood in relation to long term processes which have their roots deep in history. If we use the civilising process as a lens, we are encouraged to view the present state of affairs (whether that be political, economic, social or sporting) not as a fixed and final destination, but as a mere point along a flow of history from past to future. This meta-narrative enables us to appreciate the necessary lack of equilibrium in the social world, and is a helpful way of conceptualising the cause(s) of social conflict. Furthermore, conceptualising society as a manifestation of a multitude of processes rather than as a static, fixed entity encourages us to seek out and identify social trajectories.

Gender identity is a hot topic. As the Women's World Cup gets into gear, news and social media is awash with commentary on the event and the merits and demerits of women's Sport more broadly. Some of it is careful and considered, some of it caustic and controversial.  Sensitivities are so heightened when it comes to discussing gender in Sport, that it can be difficult to have a reasoned discussion without one side or other resorting to mudslinging. The landscape is fraught with danger, and no doubt many disagreements lurk therein, but nevertheless, let's take a wander. First of all, let me present three different examples of the interface between sport and gender.

The development of modern sport is of great interest. Why have some sports made great strides towards global significance, and others fallen by the wayside? Why is Football (Soccer) played in just about every corner of every nation of the world, while certain folk sports seemingly never got out of the borough? Meticulously researched Over the past few weeks I've been reading Neil Tranter's meticulously researched book 'Sport, Economy and Society in Britain 1750-1914', and have spotted a curious trend. In the book there are regular descriptions of the changing nature of a host of pastimes. The general flow of the text suggests, as time goes by, a shift of body and movement cultures from play , through games , to sports . And alongside this shift it seems that a range of symbiotic activities attach themselves to these emergent sport forms: gambling, patronage, even commercial sponsorship. What surprises me however is that all of the sports mentioned in the book...

Greg Dyke believes the England football team would be stronger if more English players were playing the the Premier League (EPL), but his strategy is ill-founded and set to backfire. The chairman of the Football Association has called for changes to key conditions governing home-grown players in the EPL. These include a  redefinition of ' home grown ' to mean players registered in England by their 15th birthday; a reduction (from 17 to 13) in t he n umber of non-home grown players permitted in a club’s first team squad; and a t least two of these home grown players to be club trained players. The argument runs something like this. Since foreign players are filling up squad places, we should limit the number of foreigners in the domestic league. This allows more English players to get first team experience. Consequently, the England national team manager has more high-quality players to select from .  There are a multitude of problems with this view of things but let...

In order to facilitate the Winter World Cup, FIFA has agreed to cut down the length of the Qatar tournament to just 28 days. In doing so it has put players at risk . Football's aberrant governing body has  officially confirmed that the World Cup Finals of 2022 will be held in November/December, with a final to be played on 18 December. Naturally, since this will cause a significant interruption to numerous league calendars across the globe, FIFA have been pressed by clubs, leagues, and the bodies which represent them, for compensation. Recent news  suggests that clubs will be receiving remuneration to the tune of £142m ($209m) for the release of players for World Cup duty. This level of compensation may yet prove to be substantially too little to cover losses incurred by clubs. Why so? A few years ago FIFA conducted a study into footballers' use of painkillers during the World Cup. The findings were remarkable. The study, which was published in  in the Brit...

Following the recent death of a young Australian boxer, there has been a renewed call in some quarters for a ban on boxing. Braydon Smith, who was just 23 years old, is the latest in a line of boxers to have been killed as a direct result of his participation in the sport. In response to the incident, President of the Australian Medical Association's Queensland branch, Shaun Rudd, called the sport 'barbaric'. But what is it that makes boxing 'barbaric'? Surely not the death toll? Deaths caused by 'the Sweet Science' are not nearly as numerous as deaths from motorcycle racing or mountaineering, for example. So why aren't we hearing calls to ban these sport forms? Sociology may have an answer. ' The civilising process ' is a term first coined by eminent sociologist Norbert Elias, and is the title of his seminal work on the way in which society and culture tend to shift from barbarity to refinement. Elias saw this as a long, slow process occu...

I studied A Level Geography at school. Occasionally, my teacher would arrive at the start of the lesson, give us a chapter to read from the course text, and then leave us to it. This may not pass for great teaching these days but I loved it. I remember those lessons fondly, and more to the point I remember what I learnt. The textbook was ‘ The Making of the English Landscape ’ by W.G. Hoskins. I learnt that the layout of the land both restricts and enables, that hedgerows are symbols of power, and that Acts of P arliament have consequences that are far-reaching and unintended. Prior to 1773, much of the land of England was held in common. Lords would allow peasant farmers to either cultivate or graze livestock on the land. There was also waste land, or ‘wastes’, which was good for little besides grazing. In 1773 however, the  Enclosure Act  literally changed the shape of England for ever. The Act allowed landowners to demarcate their own land - the bou...