How Countries Compete for Success in Elite Sport: A Systematic Review

Jaime Gómez-Rodríguez (), Jordi Seguí-Urbaneja, Mário Coelho Teixeira and David Cabello-Manrique
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Jaime Gómez-Rodríguez: Department of Health and Sports Management, National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), University of Lleida (UdL), 25002 Lleida, Spain
Jordi Seguí-Urbaneja: Department of Health and Sports Management, National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), University of Lleida (UdL), 25002 Lleida, Spain
Mário Coelho Teixeira: Department of Sport and Health, School of Health and Human Development, University of Évora, 7000-727 Évora, Portugal
David Cabello-Manrique: Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada (UGR), 18071 Granada, Spain

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: The ‘Global Sporting Arms Race’ is the term that describes the competition among different countries to succeed in international sports competitions. The development of that peaceful competition determines two outputs: an increase in soft power at the international level and a promotion of the national identity and social impact. It means increasing the level of influence that the countries obtain internationally as a cornerstone of the concept of a sporting nation with a proud and healthy population. In order to explain the factors involved in the success of a sports system at the elite level, a systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA protocol in the databases Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. The findings of the study show that the factors that determine success at the international level have received increased attention, as shown by the number of publications since 2010. The results indicate the following research factors: (1) it was observed that most researchers tend to carry out comprehensive analyses with a holistic perspective, while the UK, Australia, Canada, and Spain carry out segmented analyses; (2) Olympic sports—especially athletics—were the most analysed; while in non-Olympic sports, those with social influence predominate in countries, such as netball; (3) the analysis of meso and micro factors is preferred over macro factors; (4) quantitative studies are preferred through the analysis of primary sources, such as official reports; and (5) the economic variable is the most common input, with medals reached at the elite level being the most used output to check the correlation or significativity of the results.

Keywords: sports systems; soft power; sports success; organisational performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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