Political science lags behind social history and sociological theory in its contributions to the academic understanding of sport. One remedy for this lag might be the analysis of the concept of civil society in relation to sport, since sporting institutions fit many of the definitions and fulfil many of the supposed functions of civil society. An analysis of sporting institutions in Georgia, Thailand and South Africa shows that they do ‘reflect’ the general condition of civil society in those countries, albeit in a distorted or exaggerated way, and that it is possible, though not necessary, for sport to be a major component of civil society.