The Olympic sports development in the context of marketing and their professionalization

Currently, the sports industry is generated by a professional movement. The association policy has strong repercussions on the degree of professionalism, efficiency and freedom of initiative in the activity of professionals in the field. In modern society, professional sports are presented as a type of business, as an important part of the entertainment industry, as well as one of the most complex forms of trade. In other words, we can mention that professional sport is a type of entrepreneurial activity, whose purpose is to make a profit from the sale of the competitive show. In the last decade, professional sports have actively developed, both nationally and internationally, so that the practice of entering into partnerships has expanded, if we refer to athletes who are interested in working in foreign clubs. The professionalization of sport is an objective, inevitable process that contributes to an increase in the effectiveness, technicality, aesthetics and entertainment of sport. In addition, placing sport on a new organizational and economic basis gives the state the opportunity to supplement its budget with additional financial resources [3, 4]. However, the characterization of the dynamics of the development of professional sports, reflected by several authors, attests to the fact that, through its professionalization, sport loses its function and humanistic role in society. "Professional sport is a social disaster, because its product does not only consist of victories and results that constitute the glory and image of a state, but involves people who have lost their health" [5]. In professional sports, the principle of the Olympic sport "Fair - play" loses its meaning, leaving room for the one referring to obtaining "Victory at any cost" (intimidation of the opponent, aggression, fraud, severe psychological pressure on the competitor out of competition and in the competitive process). We are currently witnessing the commercialization of sport and the fact that the Olympic movement is beginning to be a "synthesis of sports performance, advertising technology and public policy". Olympic sports are distancing themselves from mass (ordinary) sports, arguments highlighted by the following aspects: the rapid growth of sports achievements is not in line with those of the physical condition of the population. At the same time, Olympic sports guide and ensure the subsidization of huge sums from a state budget. For example, the budget for the Tokyo Olympics was 1.6 - 1.8 trillion Japanese yen, or about 14.5 - 16.2 billion euros for 33 sporting events, 47 disciplines and 324 events, at which was attended by over 12,000 athletes [7].