Stages of the global: Media, sport, racialization and the last temptation of Zinedine Zidane PCQ

 

This article discusses the presence of racism within the sporting world and how sport and competition can lead to racism playing an unnecessary role in sporting matches. It is true that as sports continue to grow and reach a global audience certain preconceived notions or beliefs about players of different races will become a bigger issue. An example I can think of that relates back to a class I took last semester is when we discussed the career of boxer Jack Johnson who for a certain point in his career wasn’t allowed to fight against white boxers. In reality there had been a black boxing champion before Jack Johnson but his efforts remained unnoticed due to his inability to secure a fight against a white opponent.

 

Introduction: Mediated Lives

 

“Sport and media were once largely confined within a national framework, but their infrastructure and imagery are increasingly subjected to the pressures of globalization. There is continuing, widespread debate about pros and cons of globalization, the extent to which it can be said to have ‘arrived’, the degree to which it is an isolable process, and its relationships with other processes.” (356)

 

When a sport reaches a level of popularity that allows it to not only attract a global market but allow for international competitions and championships to flourish the role of the media becomes that much more important. In international competition the media can either portray a match as a friendly competition between two different countries in the name of fair play and sportsmanship, or create controversy that sparks hatred between the two competitors. When I pulled this quote I also thought about the mindset of the players themselves. Athletes are supposed to play their hardest regardless of the venue but I wonder how much of an impact the media has on their determination to defeat their opponents, or to raise another point can poor relations between international teams be directly linked to the portrayal of the match by different media outlets?

 

‘Racists are not invited’: The rise and fall of ‘Zizou’

 

“These admirable sentiments, which few would dispute (at least officially), are somewhat at odds with the climate of contemporary competitive professional sport. They hark back to an Olympian ideal that was never an empirical historical reality, but seems increasingly difficult to recognize in a sports world where there are deep economic, political and affective investments in winning and losing, and where means are routinely at the mercy of ends.” (361)

 

I pulled this quote after reading about the Football Against Racism in Europe organization that tried to get various football associations and players unions together to fight against allowing racism and racists acts to continue to occur on the football field. While I do believe that this is a step in the right direction I think this quote says it all, too much is riding on sports for this organization to truly be effective. As awful as it may sound the fact of the matter is under bright lights on an international stage when it comes right down to it athletes that are true competitors will do whatever it takes to get a leg up on their opponents. If getting in your defenders head leads him to make more mistakes more often than players will do it. Sports have become intertwined with large economic gains and political backing which leads to more being on the line then just wins and losses.

 

‘Glocal boys’: Exploring experiences of acculturation amongst migrant youth footballers in Premier League academies

 

This article talks about the growth of English football academies that take in players from different regions and how these players have to adjust to new environments while playing a much more rigorous football schedule.

 

“It might be presumed, therefore, that individuals, who migrate within different political economies, at different career stages and with subsequently varying influences from vested interest parties, might have contrasting experiences of migration. In English youth football, regional policy restrictors contour the recruitment of indigenous players aged less than 16 years, and FIFA’s regulations on the international transfer of minors stipulate that players can only transfer between nations when aged over 18 year.” (205)

 

I chose to pull this quote because it reminded me of a documentary I watched where instead of English schools pulling players from all over Europe to come play football, it was a group of American prep schools who had created an organization that recruited top basketball recruits from Africa. This article stood out to me because I could see so many differences in the way these two programs went about recruiting and integrating their players into their new situations. In the English schools it seemed to be more about practicing and getting used to a more rigorous schedule than really integrating the kids or worrying about academics. While this group of American prep schools would use sporting schools in Africa to choose from a talent pool that had to not only be able to compete at a competitive level, but also had to have outstanding grades to be able to participate.

 

“They observe that ‘by the standards of most other professions, football players’ careers are short, few lasting more than 15 years’, and that ‘during that time, players endeavor to make the most of their playing ability or body capital’.”(206”

 

I pulled this quote out just because  I thought it was a wild idea for kids still in school to be worried about their “body capital” while I understand that these schools are put in place to produce the best players they can, it is also important to realize that assimilating into a new culture is a challenge in itself. I was surprised by the fact that one of the coaches was quoted saying that the Italian players on his team generally kept to themselves and isolated themselves from the team after practice by frequenting an Italian café. As members of his football team I would expect that there would be more effort put in to stopping players from isolating themselves in such a way but if the only end goal is to play professional football I guess it doesn’t matter in the long run.

 

Questions:

• Knowing the competitive nature of sports, how can FIFA or any other organization truly try and rid itself of racism in such an international sport?
• Was publicly handling the Zidane situation the best way to send a message to other clubs that racism wouldn’t be tolerated?
• Of all the kids who are recruited to play for these English football schools, how many of them either don’t live up to their potential, or head home due to an overwhelming feeling of isolation?