Anti-colonial critiques of sport mega-events

Abstract

The paper reviews several theories about coloniality/modernity, Indigenous land, global securitisation and decolonial feminism in relation to sport mega-events. We use this special issue as an opportunity to reflect[1] which aspects of our own research may have been decolonial, and what is more accurately described as anti-colonial or anti-settlercolonial critique. In this paper, we review four different decolonial theories – coloniality/modernity, Indigenous land; global securitisation and decolonial feminism. We illustrate, and reflect upon, ways we have used these theories in our recent research about the Olympics, FIFA and Egyptian Ultras soccer fans. What became clear was that different decolonial theories helped us produce critiques of colonialism and settler colonialism in sport, but this raised the question whether our critiques of colonialism and settler colonialism are part of decolonisation. Some decolonial feminists suggest that decolonisation happens in the intersubjective, embodied realm of social erotics and queer affinity beyond coloniality. We conclude that, for us, decolonisation only happens within our relationality and process of doing research, from our social locations as queer arabyyah and white researchers respectively, working with and across our colonial differences.

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