LAUSR

ABSTRACT From 1947 until 1954, the Free Territory of Trieste (FTT) was formally an independent territory under the direct control of the UN. However, unlike the case of the Saar Protectorate, the FTT never managed to achieve recognition in the international sports arena. This article has two key aims. The first is to investigate how different international sports organisations, such as IOC, FIFA and UCI, dealt with the issue of the recognition of an in-limbo state. The second is to analyse the role of the Cold War in the decision taken by the main international sports bodies to not recognise the UCEF. The case of Trieste also allows an analysis of the dual nature of the international sports institutions when they have to deal with political issues. From one side, the IOC and the ISFs can be seen as an arena of confrontation between the interests of different nations. However, at the same time, those sports organisations managed to maintain some degree of autonomy from the realm of international politics. In fact, the decision on Trieste was a compromise between the respect of the rules, the influence of international politics and the internal balance of power of every single body.