Sport in Latin America (Routledge Research in Sport Business and Management)

The forthcoming Olympics in Rio in 2016, and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014, highlight the profound importance of sport in Latin America. This book is the first to offer a broad survey of the way that sport is managed, governed and organized across the Latin American region, drawing on cutting-edge contemporary scholarship in management, policy, sociology and history.

The book explores key themes in Latin American sport, including the role of public institutions; the relationship between sport policy and political regimes; the structure and significance of national governing bodies and professional leagues; the impact of sporting mega-events (including the Olympics and World Cup), and the management and governance of football, the dominant sport in the region. Including contributions from Latin American scholars and practitioners, the book draws on important Spanish and Portuguese sources that are unknown to most English-speaking researchers, and therefore provides an unprecedented and authoritative insight into sport policy and management in the region. Including cases from sport in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Peru and examples from Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, this book is essential reading for all scholars, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in Latin American sport, comparative sport policy, sport management, or Latin American history, culture and society.

Gonzalo Bravo completed a Master’s degree in Sport Administration from Penn State University and a PhD in Sport Management from Ohio State University. Since 2004, he has taught in the College of Physical Active and Sport Sciences at West Virginia University (WVU) where he is currently an associate professor in the Sport Management program. He is also a Faculty Associate in WVU’s Latin American Studies Program. Prior to academia, he was the executive sport director at Club Deportivo Universidad Católica in Chile. His interests include organizational behavior applied to sport organizations and the governance of sport. He is the co-editor of International Sport Management and has been a founding and active member of the Latin American Association of Sport Management (ALGEDE) and the Latin American Association for the Socio Cultural Studies of Sport (ALESDE).

Rosa López de D’Amico is a professor at Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL) in Maracay, Venezuela, where she is the Coordinator for the Research Center of Physical Education, Health, Recreation and Dance. She is also a visiting faculty member at West Virginia University and, previously, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Macau. In the past she served as the Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at UPEL and in 2009 was appointed President of the Aragua State Institute of Sport of Venezuela. Previous to her academic career she was a member of the Venezuelan women’s gynastics national team. Moreover, she has served in numerous leadership positions in academic associations, including president of the Latin American Association of Sport Management (ALGEDE) and the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW); and has been a board member of the International Society for Comparative Studies in Physical Education and Sport (ISCPES), and the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).

Charles Parrish is Assistant Professor of Sport Management in the College of Business at Western Carolina University, USA. Prior to moving into academia Charles worked in the college sports industry as a sport venue and events director. His research interests include the management of sport venues, football in the global marketplace, and sport based fandom. Charles' co-edited book Sports around the world: History, culture, and practice was selected as a 2012 Best Reference work by the Library Journal.