Often, the athletes in international sports compete as part of teams representing multiple nations. The Olympic Games are a well-known example, as city states of Ancient Greece would travel to Olympia and all internal struggles between them would be put on hold during the competitions (source: British Museum archaeologist Judith Swaddling).
This concept has evolved, and today international sport includes more than just sports that compete at the highest level. It also involves a greater internationalisation of the rules of the game, the way the events are managed and the globalisation of the audience for the sport.
The Olympics and FIFA World Cup have bidding processes that require bidders to demonstrate how hosting the event will have a sustainable legacy in their host cities. This can include tangible things like improved transport infrastructure and urban regeneration as well as less visible aspects of society such as national pride or increased awareness of environmental issues.
International sports events can be a powerful symbol of a country’s development towards being an open and successful society. The Olympics in Barcelona, Sydney and London all reflected this in their positive international standing.
However, there have been instances of international sports organisations ignoring human rights violations in their host countries. For example, the national basketball federation of Mali failed to support women who were sexually abused by their coaches during training and obstructed police investigations into these crimes (source: BBC). This is something that AIFS Abroad hopes the governing bodies for sport like FIFA and the IOC will continue to work on, given the power they have.