The Invention Of Sporting Nationality: How Transnational Law Tamed “The Last Bastion Of Sovereignty”

This Article investigates how and why private global actors have created an enforceable transnational legal framework to tame the near-unqualified discretion of States in what appears to be, at first blush, the most sovereigntist of decisions: who may represent the nation, and according to what criteria. Based on a novel and comprehensive study of the legal regulations adopted by a complex web of transnational actors and institutions governing sporting megaevents, we trace the origins and consequences of the rise of “sporting nationality”—a transnational eligibility framework that creates principled enforceable conditions for international play, which participating countries may not override or temper. By studying this remarkable legal transformation, our discussion contributes to debates about citizenship, talent migration, and the role of transnational law—some of the most bitterly contested issues of our
time.