Summary:
The purpose of the present thesis is to highlight the two concepts - Athleticism and Nationality - in the legal field, emphasizing that the aforementioned are in reality two collateral concepts. An attribute of the last few decades is undoubtedly the fact that professional, and partly amateur sports, have been evolved into an 'industry' with a particularly large economic impact. Consequently, the financially sound sport organizations are seeking to attract top athletes both from within their own national borders as well as from abroad, resulting in gaining an undisputed advantage in the other countries’ detriment that cannot afford having in their national teams top athletes of such range. The term "sporting nationality" (differentiated from the legal sense of nationality) has been further introduced as a "barrier" to these practices in order to set limits and to eliminate the unfair competition in the field. Therefore, the key issue that comes up and is elaborated under the present thesis is the exact definition of the term sporting nationality and the components that the same is consisted of.
The answer is not particularly plausible, nor should it lead to heretical approaches. What is sought to be highlighted in the present thesis is the issue of participation of people, who have different origins and are coming from different ethnic backgrounds that could be perceived as a process of successful integration and acceptance of another social environment into the specific field by overcoming nationalism and racist stereotypes. Nonetheless, it should not be forgotten or neglected that it is essential to further promote domestic sports production.
In addition, the present thesis makes a thorough reference and overview of the "Bosman" precedent highlighting the changes that has effected to the "athletic" life and the developments that has introduced in recognizing the rights of a foreign athlete, either professional or amateur.
Finally, in view of the enormous impact that the international success and recognition of the Greek basketball player and "superstar" of the American Basketball Championship (NBA) Giannis Antentokoumbo had in a worldwide level, the issue of acquiring the Greek citizenship in our country is being also examined and the legal status that governs it, is also analyzed in the following chapters. The integration of the second generation of immigrants into the political community is a result of the "genuine relationship of the foreigner with the Greek state and society", and can be further demonstrated by rather substantive than formal criteria. The whole rationale of the abovementioned criteria is akin to those that are considered for awarding the sporting nationality.
Keywords:
Athleticism, Sports law, Sporting Nationality, Antetokounmpo, Free movement of workers, Nationality, Bosman
