The World Atlas of Sport Who plays what, where and why

From American football to Sumo wrestling, Alan Tomlinson paints sports’ big picture—the commercial sponsorship that underpins it, the million dollar gains to be made from it, and the successes and failures of its celebrity superstars. He maps international sporting events and issues, and charts the economic structures within which sports operate.

Topics include:

• Olympics
• Paralympics
• Gay Games
• Drug Abuse
• Sports for Development
• Media Coverage
• Sponsorship
• Merchandising
• Spectators
• Gambling
• Tourism

The atlas profiles well-known sports with a global reach, such as Boxing, Golf, and Soccer, and as well as those with a strong cultural base, such as Handball, Hockey, and Ice Skating. It traces each sport’s development, analyses its commercial momentum, and identifies its most successful exponents.

Essential reading not only for students and teachers of sports science, leisure and recreation, and physical education, this unique atlas will also appeal to anyone with an interest in the multi-faceted and all-embracing world of sport.

Co-published with Myriad.

About the Author: Alan Tomlinson is Professor of Leisure Studies and Director of Research in the Research & Graduate College of Sport, Chelsea School, University of Brighton, UK. He is the author of numerous books on sport, leisure and consumption, including Sport and Leisure Cultures and A Dictionary of Sport Studies, and has written on sport cultures and politics for the Financial Times, New Statesman, When Saturday Comes, and Der Taggesspiegel.