The two chapters of Simon Martin’s book ‘Football and Fascism: The National Game under Mussolini’ deal with the early influence of Fascism on the game in the 1920s and 1930s and their effect on the teams of the 1930s. Martin makes clear that Fascist Italy saw football as both a good and bad influence upon its people. The regime saw the incredible influence that the sport and its players had over the population. By reorganizing the league structures and making it marginally under the control of government appointed persons the Regime sought to use the sport as tool of unifying its people and exporting the virtues of Fascism to the rest of the world.

What I found particularly important was the new regulations that sought to limit the ‘rivalry’ factor between city teams. For a large period of its history Italy was comprised of city states which traded and warred with each other for centuries. It was only in the 1870s that these city-states were fleshed together to make modern Italy. Fast-forward to the 1920s and many of these old rivalries were revived through the cities’ respective teams. Many viewed the rivalries as beneficial for the teams as they provided a steady flow of fans to the stadiums.

However Mussolini’s government saw the potential danger of these rivalries fracturing the national identity of Italy, core to Fascism fundamental tenets. As football was one of the tools through which the new government would promote itself to the world having such fractures was detrimental to the countries image. After several incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct and potential riots arose, the new governing bodies moved to alleviate the high emotions that surrounded these rivalries. By decompressing these rivalries, an unprecedented growth in north-south play and player movement occurred within the newly established leagues. This invariably led to a healthier playing atmosphere as well as allowed competition to occur outside of strictly regional rivalries.

By attaching itself so closely to the development of the leagues Mussolini’s regime began inextricably tied with Italian football. As such, extra weight was added to Italy’s international play as it was representing not only the nation but the institution of Fascism. Italy’s subsequent World Cup wins in 1934 and 1938 helped to give credence to the Regime’s investment in the sport. However the team, representing the regime, suffered backlash as Fascism’s ugly side became more known throughout the world. Fascism’s obsession with nationalist pride prevented many of Italy’s finest players from taking to the field as well as prevented a beneficial flow of foreign talent. In the end Fascism was only able to marginally influence the beginnings of the Italian soccer leagues as its continued presence brought an unwanted negative attention.

Quotations

Football would be fatally condemned to degenerate into the trick of a money grabber, worthy of repressive police measures and the contempt of the citizens….Because it is a grave problem we are setting about resolving it in a Fascist manner: that is seriously.

In essence, league football had not changed beyond recognition, but the principle of a truly national competition had been established, even if it was still contested on a north-south basis. It was the first step in the regime’s unification…

While calcio was the perfect allegory for the merits of the idealized Fascist society, it failed to resolve — and thereby exposed — many of the contradictions that existed within the constructed Italian Fascist identity. 

Questions

Would modern leagues benefit from the same governmental oversight and restructuring as under Fascism?