‘Sport for Yes’? The role of sporting issues in pro-independence political discourse during the Scottish independence referendum campaign

ABSTRACT

This article critically considers the extent to which sporting issues were harnessed by pro-independence political campaigners during the Scottish independence referendum campaign. Developments such as the inclusion of sport within the Scottish Government’s White Paper on Scottish independence, the establishment of the ‘Working Group on Scottish Sport’ and the establishment of the ‘Sport for Yes’ campaign group demonstrate the harnessing of sporting issues as an additional, if somewhat peripheral, debate point in the referendum campaigns . The latter of these developments, the establishment of the ‘Sport for Yes’ campaign group, is of particular interest, offering evidence of the explicit political mobilisation of past and present athletes in support of the ‘Yes Scotland’ pro-independence campaign. The use of sport within pro-independence political discourse is therefore scrutinised, drawing upon the principles of critical discourse analysis to explore the ideological assumptions underpinning the discursive representation of sport in relation to Scottish independence.

KEYWORDS:

• Political discourse
• Scottish nationalism
• sport
• cultural nationalism
• political communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stuart Whigham

Stuart Whigham is a Teaching Fellow in Sport, Coaching and Physical Education in the Department of Sport and Health Sciences at Oxford Brookes University. Stuart recently currently completing doctoral studies at Loughborough University under the supervision of Professor Alan Bairner, with a specific focus upon the politics of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. His research interests revolve around the sociology and politics of sport, with a specific focus on Scottish sport and theories of nationalism.

Anthony May

Anthony May is a Lecturer in Sport Management at Coventry University, and has research interests in the fields of sport, culture, and politics. He is currently researching a number of sport-related topics, including the impact of austerity measures on sport organisations, the use of sport in political campaigns, sport and sustainability, and the relationship between sport and other forms of culture.