The Political Football Stadium: Identity Discourses and Power Struggles

Description

This book focuses on the football stadium as a political space and examines how stadiums can be viewed as the objects and catalysts of political change. Rather than acting as functional constructions designed merely to host football games, stadiums stand out in the urban landscape as landmarks that serve as gathering points for large communities. The manifestation of the political in football stadiums can be heard in the discontent voiced by supporter activism; in the use of stadiums for national and local identity politics; in attempts to instrumentalize emotions by both totalitarian and democratic regimes; among fan groups in political uprisings, and in the surveillance of fans through e-tickets and seat allocation. This edited collection brings together a variety of case studies from a wide range of different contexts. Contributors stem from political science, sociology, history, anthropology, human geography and urbanism. As such, the book redefines and broadens what we understand as the political dimension of the football stadium. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Tables Part I: Introduction 1: Mysterious Places, Political Spaces Magic, Myths and Memories The Football Stadium as Object of Social Sciences Research Stadiums as Terrains of ‘The Political’ Political Dimensions of Supporter Behaviour The Structure of the Book References 2: Take Me Out to the Ball Game! Stadium Attendance Across Europe: A Cross-Country Description Introduction Stadium Attendance in the Main European Leagues Which Fans Go to the Stadiums? The Profile of Fans Who Go to the Stadiums Going Solo or with Brothers in Arms? Stadium Attendance Group Patterns What Attitudes Towards Club Governance Characterises Those Who Attend Matches on the Stadium? Conclusions References Part II: Historical Case Studies 3: The Stadio Mussolini Between Fascisisation and Commercialisation of Football (1933–1945) Introduction The Mussolini Stadium, Sport Facility of the Fascist Ventennio Ancient and Modern: Italian Stadiums of the Fascist Era The Stadio Mussolini: A ‘Città sportive’ A New Stadium for Turin Stadio Mussolini and the Urban Planning Policy of the Municipality of Turin First Prestige and Propaganda Uses: Littoriali 1933 and the European Athletics Championships 1934 Between Business and Politisation: Juventus and the Stadio Mussolini An Economic Choice? Football at Stadio Mussolini The Stadio Mussolini Versus Amateur Football Pitches or the Contradictions of Fascist Sport Policy In the Shadow of the Professionals: The Teams of Sezione Propaganda Beyond the Mussolini Stadium: Football and the Totalitarian Turn Between Fascisisation and Commercialisation of Sport Conclusions Bibliography 4: What’s in a Name? The City of Stuttgart and the Toponymical Journey of Its Football Stadium Introduction Apolitical: Bringing the Sport Movement to the City (1929–1933) Totalitarian: Embodying the New Ideology (1933–1945) Innocuous: Shrouding the Past (1949–1993) Discreet: Corporate Renaming in All But … Name (1993–2008) Commodified: The Brand Takes Over (Since 2008) Conclusions Bibliography 5: Political Emotions in the Post-War Stadium: A Franco-German Perspective on the 1950s and Early 1960s Introduction “Don’t Forget That the Franco-German Friendship Is Well Established”—The 1962 International Friendly in Stuttgart “How Many of Those Misadventures Have Already Damaged Our Prestige?”—Incidents at Club Matches in the Early 1950s Conclusions Bibliography Archives Koblenz Bundesarchiv (BArch) Paris French Football Federation, Media Library (FFFM) Stuttgart Stadtarchiv (StAS) Periodicals Part III: Contemporary Case Studies 6: Politics, Identity, Global Branding, and the Stadium: FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou Introduction Literature Review/Context Sport, Stadium, and Identity Collective Identification Place Representation Globalization and the Stadium FC Barcelona, Catalonia, and Spain: A Brief History The Camp Nou as Site of Resistance and Political and Cultural Identity Reproduction The Camp Nou as Site of Global Branding and Consumption Conclusion: Negotiating the Local and the Global in the Stadium Bibliography 7: Spatial Aspects of Identity Differentiation—Stadiums in Sarajevo Introduction Football as a Metaphor of War in Yugoslavia A Brief History of Football in Bosnia and Herzegovina Football in Bosnia and Herzegovina Under Habsburg Rule Football in Yugoslavia Football in Independent Bosnia and Herzegovina The Sarajevo Derby: FK Sarajevo Versus FK Železničar The Sarajevo Stadiums Stadiums: A Determinant in Identity Construction Bibliography 8: Pitch Fever: Swedish Football and the Politics of Grass Introduction Spring 2019—The Plastic Is Coming Plastic Solutions to Natural Problems Children Growing on Green Plastic The Pitch and the Climate Questions Conclusions Primary Sources10 Bibliography 9: Stade de France and Wembley as Social Space: A Tale of Two Stadiums Introduction Stade de France: Communities, Commodities and Identities Place and Social Space: A Difficult Birth for a New National Stadium Entertainment and Commodification: Sport and ‘Neo-liberalism’ Sporting Politics: National, Regional and Sporting Identities Wembley New (and Old): More than World Cup 1966 and its Memory Place and Social Space: Birth or Regeneration? Entertainment and Hyper-Commodification Sporting Politics: National Identity, Inequality Conclusions Bibliography Part IV: Protest Cultures 10: Football Fans, Social Movements and Contentious Politics: Cairo and Istanbul Introduction Football and Politics in Egypt Football and Politics in Turkey: Locating Çarşi15 Çarşi in the Gezi Park Resistance Conclusions References 11: Places of Resistance and Right-Wing Ideologies: The Politics of Polish Football Stadiums Introduction Fandom and Authorities in Post-Transformation Poland Fandom as a Legal Issue Fandom as Uncivilized Domain Resistance Identity Right-Wing Tendencies as a Form of Collective Identity Conclusions Bibliography 12: Stadiums as the Sites of the Political: The Case of Passolig in Turkey Introduction Politics and Stadiums in Turkey Conceptual Framework, Surveillance and Domains of Insecurity Stadiums as a Domain of Insecurity: Country Cases and the Passolig Experience in Turkey Three Strategies of the Passolig in Making Stadiums “Domains of Security” Gentrification5 Infantilisation Commodification Conclusion Bibliography 13: The Football Stadium as a Space for Protest: The Case of Iranian Female Supporters of FC Persepolis Introduction Cross-Dressing for a Match: Between Resistance and Helplessness Zeinab, Zahra and the Others Cross-Dressing as an Act of Resistance? Football and the Stadium as Mirrors of Female Protest 1988–1998: The Development of Female Sports Through the Lens of Political Openness 1998–2018: The Stadium as a Symbol of Assertion of Identity Conclusion Bibliography Part V: Outlook 14: The Post-Pandemic Football Stadium In 2050 Preliminary Thoughts Context Ground Zero Dystopia The Closed Leagues of Europe and South America National Championships Amateur Championships Utopia’s Playing Field False Start Social Movements UNESCO Collaborative Cities and Stadia Network Stadiums and Life in the Neighbourhood The Stadium’s Afterlife Bibliography Index