2019 HMNS Seminar: Match-fixing and sport: socio-cultural and historical perspectives by Prof Huggins

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 14 June 2019

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

127

UQ Location:

Human Performance Laboratories (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.hms.uq.edu.au/

Event category(s):

Full Description:: In recent years, right across the world, from Australia to Iceland, and from America to China, match-fixing has been linked to material gain through manipulation of the result or some in-game feature. Match-fixing challenges notions of sporting integrity, fair play, sportsmanship and respect and could potentially affect spectator numbers, sponsorship, mass-media revenues and club profits. It is increasingly attracting scholarly research. But such concerns are not new. Match-fixing has been an alternative cultural norm right across history, from ancient Greece and Rome to the present, and found in both capitalist and communist states.

This seminar provides an introduction to the topic, before exploring how within some cultural subgroups, in gambling-related sports like horse-racing, soccer, cricket or boxing, match-fixing has been seen as a ‘normal’, relatively ‘acceptable’ feature, helping to ensure that in a sport where careers can be precarious, money can be more reliably made.

Dr Mike Huggins specializes in the history of sports culture during the past three centuries. He is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Cumbria.

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All welcome, No RSVP required