GU-Q lecture to focus on diversity of national teams in international sports

Dr Gijsbert Oonk.

Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), a Qatar Foundation partner, is hosting Gijsbert Oonk, director of the Sport and Nation Research Programme at Erasmus University Rotterdam, for a discussion of his research on how major sporting events are redefining modern conceptions of national belonging, citizenship and migration. The lecture, titled 'The FIFA World Cup: Football, Citizenship and National Identity 1930-2022', will take place at 6pm Friday. It is part of the Building a Legacy: Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 research initiative at GU-Q’s Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) exploring the social, political and economic impact of hosting a major global tournament. International sporting events have given rise to competition for the world’s best players, resulting in teams that are increasingly diverse, and fans who have a host of national identities to cheer for. In his talk, Dr Oonk will take high profile examples of migrant athletes from international sports events to unravel the complexities behind the question of who can or can’t represent a nation on the field, and suggest an alternative conception of citizenship beyond the traditional boundaries of geography or heredity.