It was once common for leading figures in the sporting world to declare that sport was, effectively, a politics-free zone. Sport was cast as the perpetual innocent party, liable to be corrupted by any connection with politics. However, it has become increasingly clear that these assertions are fundamentally wrong and there are numerous examples where sport and politics mix only too well. This free course, The football World Cup: where sport and politics collide, examines how sport and politics exist, support and challenge one another through the contextual backdrop of the football World Cup.

Interested in taking your learning further? You might find it helpful to explore the Open University's Sport and fitness courses and qualifications.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• understand how sport and politics are connected
• describe how political themes have impacted both men's and women's World Cups
• discuss the concept of national identity and understand how it has influenced the World Cup
• identify how the women's World Cup has developed and illustrations of the political challenges faced by some women.