West Virginia University’s Gonzalo Bravo, associate professor of sport management, CPASS, will speak before the Sport Committee of the House of Representatives within the Brazil Ministry of Sports on June 23, 2015 in the city capital of Brasilia, in Brazil.
Since being selected as the host of the two largest sporting events in the world, the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian government is currently examining the present and future impact of sport in its country. To further explore national systems, the Brazil House of Representatives has invited sports authorities and experts to evaluate the development of a future Brazil sport system.
Bravo’s presentation will discuss the structure and organization of sport within a select group of countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Mexico. His previous efforts on studying national sport systems gives him a unique expertise to provide not only the highlights of sport policies in other countries, but also the similarities and differences of those countries when compared with the Brazilian sport system.
Last May, Bravo and five CPASS students visited several sport organizations and businesses in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro as a part of study abroad trip to Brazil. Bravo also led a special topic two-credit course titled Sport in Brazil last spring.
Bravo’s research interests in sport governance and policy have been significantly influenced by his unique blended experience of serving in both the professional and academic worlds. At CPASS, Bravo instructs undergraduate and graduate courses in sport governance, sport in the global market, research methods and history and philosophy of sport.
Related to policy and governance, Bravo’s work has examined the role of public and private structures in shaping the sport system across Latin American countries. He is the co-editor of International Sport Management (published by Human Kinetics) and the main editor of Sport in Latin America: Policy, Management and Organizations (Routledge) scheduled to be in print in early 2016.