World Cup Final July 12th, 1998: Zinedine Zidane, Algerian-descendant and captain of France, scores as the “Rainbow Team” defeats Brazil 3-0
“Zidane created a new national identity and redefined what it meant to be a French citizen”
National Identity and European Soccer
Half the world's population tuned in to this year's soccer World Cup (won by France)
More than 3.5 billion viewers engaged with some part of the 2018 soccer World Cup in Russia
French President Macron French team bus with fans in Paris
‘We Are United’: France’s World Cup Win Brings Together a Nation
…(nuance) …what then to make of one fan flying the black and white flag of Brittany (a traditionally independent region with its own language)?
Soccer and National Identity is a large area of scholarship
…even something as specific as Zidane and the 1998 Rainbow Team is an area of study…
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization Interview with author Franklin Foer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Amo1b3BUgc
Prezi: https://prezi.com/n9t2kepublhq/how-soccer-explains-the-world/
Teacher, what team are you from? How soccer explains Spain
http://franklinstudents.com/teacher-what-team-are-you-from-how-soccer-explains-spain/
Soccer played a unifying role in the European public space
Presse 3 octobre 2014 Interview de Pascal Boniface - Eutopia magazine
Invented in Italy (calcio) and in England, is soccer fundamentally European?
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Soccer and European Identity
Throughout Europe, soccer matches like the FIFA World Cup have become deeply significant, in part because that continent’s identity is so complex.
While a soccer rivalry can intensify each country’s sense of “the other,” it can also create a powerful unifying force.
https://daily.jstor.org/soccer-and-european-identity/
Benjamin MendyVerified account @benmendy23
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Replying to @Sporf @equipedefrance and 7 others
Pogba
Mendy
Mbappe
Griezmann
WHOLE TEAM fixed
10:17 AM - 17 Jul 2018
Identity is passionately displayed …. this tweet war was in response to a claim the winning team was African
French player Mendy tweeted this in reply to the claim his team was not really French
Identity is passionately displayed…in weekly attendance at games all over Europe
Appreciation of the vital role soccer has played in recent and current European History has been reflected in three recent AP Euro DBQs:
2006 – How did Europeans perceive the role of organized sports in Europe during the period 1860-1940?
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/_ap06_frq_european_hi_51759.pdf
2011 Form B – Analyze views concerning immigration to Europe in the second half of the twentieth century and explain how these views changed.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/ap11_frq_european_history_formb.pdf
2015- Analyze changing conceptions of French National Identity in the period since 1960.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_european_history.pdf
National Identity and Soccer - further areas of study
Soccer as a religion
"The similarities between sport fandom and organized religion are striking. Consider the vocabulary associated with both: faith, devotion, worship, ritual, dedication, sacrifice, commitment, spirit, prayer, suffering, festival, and celebration.”
Psychology Today
"Football Is Our Religion" is a country-dance song by the Swedish band Rednex. The song served as the unofficial song to UEFA Euro 2008 which took place in Austria and Switzerland in June of that year.
“Football is a worldwide language that may even surpass languages of faith. Young and old can talk about football icons around the world, just as they can talk about FIFA corruption or the fate of the Arsenal Football Club.
By contrast, talk of religious substance seems sectarian, arcane, irrelevant. It often divides people of diverse backgrounds rather than bringing them together around common things.”
Harvard Professor Hamid Dabashi
https://inallthings.org/soccer-2-saints-0-world-soccer-as-a-rival-to-traditional-religion/
Soccer often makes religious references…
…sometimes deliberately…
Manchester United player Luke Shaw refers to British laws where shops were often closed on Sundays, after a Sunday game against Tottenham Hotspur where Man Utd goalkeeper David de Gea conceded no goals
https://twitter.com/LukeShaw23/status/1084526960003420160
Soccer often makes religious references…
…sometimes unknowingly…
20 times 20 times Man United�20 times 20 times I say�20 times 20 times Man United�Playing Football The Matt Busby Way!...
…is sung to the tune of a Hosanna (praise) song to Jesus…
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning�Give me oil in my lamp, I pray�Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning�Keep me burning till the break of day
INSERT SONG CLIP
“When the Saints Go Marching In”, is chanted by Southampton United … and 53 other soccer teams worldwide, plus a dozen other American football, Australian football, rugby, ice-hockey and basketball teams worldwide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Saints_Go_Marching_In_(sports_anthem)
National Identity and Soccer - further areas of study
Soccer as class identity
As the working class were uprooted from their regular social orders and moved to the city, they had to learn how to spend their leisure time. Cities did not offer traditional pastime enjoyments, therefore workers turned to sports to spend their free time and to keep their bodies in shape. Popular sports such as soccer or rugby were always associated with the working class and were seen as brutish by the upper classes.
http://fussballstadt.com/soccer-great-britain-industrialization/ “Soccer: The birth of a modern game during Britain’s industrialization”
National Identity and Soccer - further areas of study
Soccer and Nationalism
Is Soccer the “last acceptable form of nationalism”?
Russian “Ultras”
Barcelona
vs
Real Madrid
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2002/06/soccer-the-last-acceptable-form-of-nationalism.html
National Identity and Soccer - further areas of study
Soccer and racial integration
How diverse national soccer teams challenge anti-immigrant and racialized politics in France and Germany
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/07/03/how-diverse-national-soccer-teams-challenge-anti-immigrant-and-racialized-politics-in-france-and-germany/?utm_term=.babbd90df8de
Integration and Youth Sport
Multiculturalism – a means to success
National Identity and Soccer - further areas of study
Soccer in popular culture today
Trevor Noah, French ambassador in row over 'Africa' World Cup win
Question 1 (Document-Based Question)
Evaluate whether national identity in France, 1990s-today, is challenged or reinforced by soccer (European football).
(please note: this DBQ is the private work of the author and is not a reflection of the Development Committee or of future AP Euro DBQs)
Follow-up activity: binge-watch on Netflix “Sunderland ‘Til I Die” (contains strong language)
“Sunderland 'Til I Die: Netflix series charts pain, prayers and passion for the club – trailer”