Is sport a cross-cultural universal?

In my “Increasing your Cultural Intelligence” training courses, as part of one of the strategies for building relationships across cultures, I encourage people to think about the universals.  These are things we have in common with other people around the world, regardless of where they may come from.  In a course in Canberra, Australia, last week a participant suggested sport was a universal. This was strongly debated by another participant.

The young woman pointed out she had no interest in sport and it would be a detriment rather than a help in building a relationship if someone introduced sport into a conversation.  The group came to the conclusion that if you are interested in sport –it is a universal.  The interest in sport will open doors to conversations and shared interests when you have seemingly little else in common.  

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