Lilian Thuram, a retired French soccer player, has traveled the world discussing matters of racism in football. Through his teachings he delivers the notion that defeating racism in soccer is quite simple. As he states “If you are not doing something, then you are doing less than nothing”, which notes the obvious fact that while many do not verbally support certain racist acts during matches, the fact that they stay silent is just as bad as being a party to those who are shouting such intolerant remarks. In order to overcome racism one must openly support and accept players of all races and ethnicities.

http://www.silive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/11/lilian_thuram_racism_in_soccer.html

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

Introduction:

-Due to the media in society, it is difficult to watch a sporting event completely disconnected from the media.

– The combination of sports and the media are a key component to globalization. For example, you watch on a day-to-day basis the interaction of players from different countries on the pitch, this type of connection echoes to the millions of viewers that see these acts. Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, Nicolas Anelka, a french striker in the English Premier League, displayed an anti-semitic sign which is described as a Nazi salute by French Jews. Also, Anelka is of African descent and claims that this was merely a joke, but these types of incidents are examples of how the relaxed disposition of the FA allows players and fans to believe that these acts are acceptable.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/west-bromwich-albion/10540437/Nicolas-Anelka-faces-ban-after-giving-an-anti-semitic-gesture-during-West-Broms-3-3-draw-with-West-Ham.html

Imagined communities in the global game: soccer and the development of Dutch national identity

Introduction:

-The style in which Dutch soccer was played during the 2006 World Cup was extremely important because it defines the individuality of Netherlands soccer and differentiates themselves from other countries.

-Our way of playing is more important than the result”(Van ’t Schip) Continue reading →

U.S. Ambivalence Toward the World Cup and American Nationalism

-Through the lack of media attention, the World Cup is a “neglected subject” which fails to be recognized as a factor of national identity in the US.

-“Previous research has interpreted similar stories on American ambivalence toward soccer as an accurate reflection of the sport’s low cultural valence, adding it to a list of other ‘American exceptionalisms’”.

National Identity and Sport

-The US wanted to use the claim of external differences and chose not to emphasize the importance of soccer in order to establish their individuality from other nations.

-Although it is interesting that in the US, soccer is now becoming a much more prominent sport as the MLS is drastically expanding and players from Europe are now joining clubs in the US as they become older.

National Sporting Styles

-The manners in which a club plays, wins, and loses are indicative of the identity of its nation

Differentiating us from them: The United States versus the world

-The game of soccer was perceived in a very passionate and extreme manner in countries throughout the world, but must have seemed rather controversial when the US had games such as Football.

– While support for the US national team grew only upon realizing that the team in the 2002 World Cup did better than expected, was the media really behind the rationale of Americans generally being unenthused with soccer?

-In the US is “life will go on as normal, while the rest of the world goes crazy over the World Cup”

-It seems as though Americans were reluctant to approve of soccer due to the fact that it seemed foreign and they did not wish to conform to the rest of the world.

Representing Sport Fandom as National Culture

-It is difficult to represent the interest of soccer in America based on how “passionate” the people interviewed were.

-The US attempted to use technology as a means of facilitating the formation of their national identity.

Racism at Italian Soccer Matches

This article depicts another example of racism in football within the past year during an italian match in Italy.  The author giving the concerning statement that the issue of racism is “growing day by day”. The article also connects to the increasing concern of racism in eastern European countries such as Poland, an issue which coincides with my last TIFO regarding racial abuse of players in Serbia.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=130886

Racism in Serbian football fan culture: the establishment fails to act

Recently in a U-21 game with Serbia and England spiraled out of control upon Serbian fans chanting racist remarks, not an uncommon occurrence during Serbian matches but certainly a first on the global stage. These acts of racism being a prevalent feature in Serbian soccer establishes the “systematic failures of the Serbian political leadership”, not to mention the racial intolerance of many other Eastern European countries.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/19/racism-unchallenged-serbian-establishment-football

About a month ago a Brazilian player walked off the field in La Liga after he was racially abused throughout the match. This incident was reported and fines were slapped on the alleged culprits of this act, but many feel that while FIFA has technically made efforts to cease racist remarks, it is “nonsense to fight racism with fines”. And while FIFA is under the spotlight with the impending 2014 World Cup in Rio De Janeiro, there is now another incident of not allowing a black couple to host the final World Cup event and decided to elect a white couple for the job. While this is still only an alleged accusation, this is simply a continued view that FIFA does not want to have and is furthering the image that they are racially intolerant.

Fascist Football Foundation

Introduction:

-Italy felt the need to restructure football in order to gain the support of the masses. This in turn becomes another form of nationalism.

-The new league of calico formed in the early 20^th century was the cause of much disapproval from the smaller clubs, which in turn caused a divide in big and small clubs and strayed away from the initial belief of “a healthy and chivalrous game that tempers the energies of the race”. Continue reading →

Who Really Invented Modern Football

 Introduction:

-Football became a means of maintaining rivalries and boosting nationalism during the 19^th century.

The Rules of football and Sheffield’s contributions: Continue reading →