Abstract
The invention of modern sport at the end of the 19th century is consubstantial with the question of migrations and circulations, since the codification of universally accepted sporting rules should make it possible to pit competitors of all origins against each other. What's more, this invention took place as European powers, particularly Great Britain, resumed colonizing the world. Colonial troops and officials, traders, missionaries and educators spread sport around the world in the course of their travels and migrations. In the "new " countries of North and South America, sport played a role in creating a new identity and bringing together peoples of multiple origins. From the Belle Époque onwards, sports-related migration became more complex. They become migrations of professional elites, those of sport (black boxers in Paris before 1914, footballers from South America and Central Europe, and already from Africa between the wars). These flows are regulated by major sports federations such as FIFA. At the same time, sport is a means of integration - or of asserting identity for some - particularly in France in popular sports such as boxing, cycling and soccer. We must emphasize the French model here, which was very early and original compared to its neighbors. In contemporary times, we'll be looking at how sport raises the question of multicultural societies and is one of the sometimes complex arenas for the promotion of visible minorities and, at the same time, for the construction of a new national narrative, that of sport. The question of racism in sport will also be addressed.
