Introduction to the Special Issue: Perspectives on Sport, Media, and Migration

This Communication & Sport special issue explores the complex intersection of sport, media, and migration from multiple interconnected perspectives. As human migration accelerates globally, understanding how sports media facilitates and contests migration narratives is increasingly critical. The issue examines four foundational concepts—media, sport, migration, and culture—to investigate how athlete mobility and national identity are constructed and perceived. As outlined in this introduction, the collected articles are organized into three thematic sections. The first section addresses the transnational identities of elite athletes and their navigation of hybrid cultures across various media platforms. The second section investigates the systemic impacts of athlete naturalization, highlighting state media narratives alongside grassroots fan responses. The third section provides theoretical and historical frameworks for understanding how national belonging can migrate across borders through sporting narratives. Ultimately, this collection of articles demonstrates that sports media acts as a powerful mechanism in shaping cultural boundaries and national identity, emphasizing that sports migration extends far beyond the physical movement of athletes.