Abstract
The relationship between hosting an international sporting event and national pride has been extensively studied with host countries benefiting from a temporary slight increase in the level of national pride. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between national pride and international sporting events further. 155 respondents from a tertiary educational institution were recruited to watch football matches from the 2009 Asian Youth Games. They were randomly split into two groups with one group watching a match featuring their home country. The study found that for the group watching the match featuring their home country, there was a significant, strong, positive relationship between national pride and perceived excitement of the game (r=.52, n=61, p<.01). This suggests that national pride can affect the perceived excitement of the game and hence intention to be a spectator of international sporting events.