Category Archives: Football and Race

Gabriel Maletta Final Paper

Leave a reply

European Integration and Racial Controversy at Euro 2012

Soccer is often described as the “beautiful game,” captivating people around the world with its simplicity and ability to bring people together. This can be seen from the lowliest back alley pick up game to the worldwide tournaments that attract millions. In many instances however, major soccer events are sought after for reasons beyond an appreciation of the sport.  Hosting a major tournament has become a way for countries to show their best side to the world and to secure political and economic benefits that last after the final game is done.  But soccer has a dark side as well, a history of racial and ethnic intolerance and violence that can show a nation at its worst.  In 2012, Poland and the Ukraine defied expectations and demonstrated that a concerted effort by all participants keeps racism in the shadows. Continue reading →

TIFO 8: BBC Documentary was ‘necessary’

Leave a reply

This TIFO is the BBC’s response to accusations of sensationalism in its documentary ‘Stadiums of Hate.’ The BBC declared that the documentary was beneficial for soccer in Eastern Europe, as it was enough of a gut check to spur leagues in Poland and Ukraine to take action.

PCQ 7 Gabriel Maletta

Leave a reply

Rowe’s article ‘Stages of the global’ shows both the positive and negative effects that media has upon football. On one side the media is capable of broadcasting football to the world. Just as our classroom shows, people from across the world cheer for teams thousands of miles away. Cable television and the internet have allowed fans unprecedented access to their teams and even spread the fan bases. Media forms take a large portion of the credit in making soccer the world beloved sport that it is today. Continue reading →

Cole PCQ 1/16/2014 Problems with 21st Century Football

Leave a reply

Racism, Sexism, and International Migration in 21st Century Football

The football academies in the United Kingdom are an excellent example of how commercialized and global all aspects of the game have become.  These youth football academies were originally formed to propagate talented football players from an early age.  By having Premier League clubs sponsor these schools, these clubs got were able to keep the talent for themselves and in the UK.  Recently, other countries have followed the UK’s example, but with one key difference; from the start, they actively sought out young players from around the world for their academies.  These academies are also responsible for teaching the youth players workforce skills to fall back on in case their football dreams fall short.

By actively looking for and recruiting youth players from around the world, European football academies are embodying some of the founding ideas of the European Union.  Even if the extranational youth players do not make it in the big leagues, they become a part of that country’s workforce and contribute to its global image.   Continue reading →

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

Leave a reply

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

 The institution of the media is an enormously powerful force in shaping knowledge and understanding of increasingly dynamic, complex societies. This is not to argue, of course, that the media are all-powerful, creating new ideologies and values out of thin air.

Reaction: This statement is so true because from an early age one can learn their alphabet, numbers along with other vital things which are important to human development. Media also shapes our understanding of what is going on around the world and helps us to broaden our knowledge.

Without media I don’t think that sports would be as big as it is today. Media helps people to follow teams from all over the world in real time. However, if you missed the game you will get all the important highlights that shaped the final outcome. Media brings people who share a certain commonality together.

A Short not on ‘race’

The meanings of ‘race’ generated through such processes both draw on and re-draw those located at their points of origin, and are diffused through global commodification into new zones of cultural interpretation.

 In the case of Zidane you can see that race causes you to do things that you will end up regretting for the rest of you life. His actions showed that you have to be strong willed and put your pride away in cases like he was in.

 Global boys: Exploring experiences of acculturation amongst migrant youth footballers in Premier League academies

 The rule of recruiting youths from abroad has been around for centuries. European countries realized that they needed new talent back in the late nineteen hundreds so they started looking at countries they once occupied. These academic schools are very rigorous for these youths but it is molding them into players the club will hopefully use.

Players are not the only people who migrate to these school also coaches and future majors.

Acculturation as an experiential facet of globalization

‘acculturating strategies’ through which migrants make decisions as to what extent they wish to maintain their indigenous cultural heritage and/or embrace their culture of settlement. These strategies include: assimilation, in which the migrant actively interacts with the host culture whilst showing little or no desire for indigenous cultural maintenance; separation, where indigenous cultural norms are maintained with no desire to embrace the host culture; marginalization, when neither cultural maintenance nor interaction with the host culture are desired; and integration, when both the maintenance of one’s cultural behaviors and involvement in the host society are sought (Berry, 1997).

Acculturation is the movement from a norm that you know to the adaption of new customs and traditions.

The four things that these individuals might encounter in the new environment are transformation, relativization, accommodation and hybridization.

 

TIFO 6: Controversy over ‘Stadiums of Hate’

Leave a reply

This TIFO is in response to an early TIFO I submitted, a documentary by the BBC’s Panorama program. After additional research I have found the documentary to be highly controversial, with many accusing it of being incendiary and fear-mongering. While my TIFOs turned towards highlighting the feat of racism at EURO 2012, particularly by Eastern European clubs, for the most part it was a success. Polish and Ukrainian fans, as hosts, acted accordingly and it was foreign fans who caused the majority of racist incidents.

TIFO 5: Racism Blocks Reintegration

Leave a reply

This TIFO focusses on sporting events as a platform for ‘showing off’ a nation to the world. This piece in particular focuses on Poland as one of the host nations for Euro 2012. The piece argues that if Poland is to use the UEFA as a venue to broadcast its changes to the world, it must first work to eliminate the racism that surrounds its football teams. Germany was successful in using the 2006 World Cup to show how far it had come since the 1990 reunification. South Africa in 2010 showed the world how vibrant and accepting it had become too since its reunification. The 2012 Euro Cup was a stage for the reintegration of Eastern Europe, former Soviet states, into the EU area.

TIFO 4: Racism Fears at EURO2012 Part 2

Leave a reply

This TIFO continues the theme from my last TIFO about racism fears leading up to the Euro 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine. Several weeks before the events the BBC released a short documentary highlighting racist and Neo-Nazi fans from several Polish and Ukraine teams. The documentary questions what will happen when British and European fans, many of whom are non-white, will enter Polish and Ukrainian stadiums.

Fascism and Soccer in Italy (Seth Browner PCQ 1/9/14)

Leave a reply

Football and Fascism: The National Game Under Mussolini, by Martin Simon

The intrusion of politics into domestic and international soccer is nothing new; many governments lender their support to football to achieve some sort of means. However, Italy under the pre-World War II dictatorship provides a particularly apt example, as the author Mr. Simon notes. By the 1920s, football in Italy had become a national institution that was highly esteemed. Know as calcio in Italian, the game was very popular and engendered much loyalty and fanaticism.

On the other hand, much structural and administration reforms were needed in the game. Many ministerial aspects of the game were inept. One move in attempt to solve this dilemma was to move the structural center to Milan. I found the choice of this city unsurprising. Milan, and other cities in northern Italy, were always the leading centers of Italian industry and economics. While Rome might be the political, and to some degree, the cultural hub of Italian, Milan is the financial heart of the peninsula. The move to Milan caused controversy nonetheless.

Continue reading →

Leave a reply

The reforms that were made to the soccer program did not benefit the small clubs. This caused the smaller clubs to reject ideas that would benefit the larger clubs when things were voted upon. This made the larger clubs form other confederations. The issues that the small clubs faced were that they could not acquire the best players because the larger clubs got them all. This also forced the small clubs to drop into leagues where they could compete and make money. Large clubs were able to build up a following by paying fans to go to away games. Acquiring the best athletes was a vital part to the clubs success but we also see that fan support was a major factor in the outcome of games. While the game was developing so was the officiating aspect. We see from the article that the referees were conscientious about where they were when making calls and how the call would be received by the fans and later the committee.

The protracted season also only highlighted the stark division between the wealthy and poor clubs. A rich minority capable of winning the title had emerged but the demands placed upon them had also become more exacting as supporters demanded stronger squads, which required more money to attract the best players. Many games had also become unattractive mismatches between the rich and poor, the real business of the season commencing only once the play-off positions had been decided. Unable to break into the league’s elite due to their financial limitations, the poorer teams were left with little to fight for other than survival (Martin 56). Continue reading →