European Union

The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lay in the codification of many traditional European games, especially those in Britain. Because Europe is so large and diverse our classes tend to alter quite significantly depending on which countries we are visiting in any given year. All classes will include sport specific exposure from an academic and recreational perspective along with tourism highlights of the various geographic regions we are visiting.

Miami University European Summer Class Information Packet
 
Miami University European Class Syllabus
 
Applications are now open for the Miami University of Ohio Summer program to Europe being conducted June 28 – July 19, 2010. In 20 days your class will visit the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Scotland & England and along the way you’ll cross several diverse sporting and cultural borders. You will be exposed to a number of different sports and will no doubt increase your knowledge of sport in the global community. This class is open to all graduate and under-graduate students interested in studying abroad within a sport setting, but is an especially good choice for students in Sport Medicine, Athletic Training & Sport Management as it directly caters to these majors.

Unlike major team sports in North America, where franchises are awarded to nominated cities, most European teams have grown from small clubs formed by groups of individuals before growing rapidly. Churches and work places have often been the most fertile birth place of many of Europe's major sports clubs. The most common sport in Europe is undoubtedly Association football (soccer). European club teams are the strongest (and highest paid) in the world led by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA). Their Champions League and the European Cup are the sport's most prestigious tournaments. The European national teams which compete in the UEFA Champions League often dominate in FIFA World Cup play. The most popular and successful football leagues are the Spanish “La Liga”, the English “Premier League”, the Italian “Serie A”, the French “Ligue 1” and the German “Bundesliga”.