(Anti-)Hero, refugee, soccer player: the case of bakery Jatta. A discourse analysis of German newspapers

Michelini, Enrico; Seiberth, Klaus

doi:10.1080/14660970.2022.2080668

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The socio-political context of the stories collected is the so-called European refugee crisis, which is here understood as the migratory wave from Africa and Asia to Europe during 2015 and 2016. The scare quotes indicate that we are well aware and critical of the use of this term (Gutiérrez Rodríguez, 2018), of the term ‘refugee athlete’ (Michelini and Seiberth, 2022) and of the implications beyond the use of this rhetoric in the socio-political discourse. To illuminate both the individual and contextual perspectives, we address the question ‘how do footballers with a refugee background experience the process of accessing top-level football?’, adopting a socioecological approach to the analysis of ‘refugee footballers’ careers, taking account of their shifting environments along migratory journeys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Refugee footballers’: A socioecological exploration of forced migrants in the Italian and German elite football system

Norrito

Giulianotti

Mason

et al. 2023

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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Against the background of the recent European ‘refugee crisis’ and its long-term consequences, this article investigates the research question ‘how do footballers with a refugee background experience the process of accessing top-level football?’, using ethnographic material and interviews with competitive footballers with a refugee background in Italy and Germany from two studies. The material was examined using qualitative content analysis and interpreted through the ecological systems theory. The results show that inclusion to professional football is complex for refugee footballers who are faced with the additional hurdles and consequences of a forced migration. Moreover, refugees build their networks within the process of resettlement, without a clear path for inclusion to elite football. Those who ‘make it’ have relied on key enablers within their microsystem and on mesosystemic interactions, further emphasizing the importance of networks for professional development. In contrast, exosystemic and macrosystemic factors further hinder the possibility of a sport career in football, on top of the existing difficulties of a forced migration. The process of seeking inclusion in competitive football however has been identified as a positive element that can provide direction in resettlement and opportunities for socialisation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Refugee footballers’: A socioecological exploration of forced migrants in the Italian and German elite football system

Norrito

Giulianotti

Mason

et al. 2023

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…Moreover, these athletes have been politicized and depicted as positive symbols of newly arrived migrants in Europe, sometimes reaching a certain celebrity status in the process. However, their fame has not always facilitated long-term benefits (for them or their communities), and their heroification has been subject to political vicissitudes and a contingent process of toleration in relation to specific national “core values” (Agergaard, 2019; Burdsey, 2016; Michelini & Seiberth, 2022). In these cases, public solidarity towards them sometimes disappeared rapidly in relation to social, as well as sporting, events.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Crisis? Institutionalized Mediatization of the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Olympic Games

Burdsey

Michelini

Agergaard

2022

Communication & Sport

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Following the global “refugee crisis” of 2015, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) established the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT), providing opportunities for refugee athletes to compete at the 2016 and 2020 (2021) Summer Olympics. To examine the changing intertwinements between wider social dynamics and mediated constructions of refugees, this article considers the IOC’s representation of the ROT around the 2020 Games. With this aim, a catalogue of articles published on the IOC’s website was examined through critical discourse analysis. Four discursive themes emerged: 1. The saving, healing and transformative power of Western sporting capital and the Olympic Games; 2. The ROT as epitome of the Global North’s inclusivity and benevolence; 3. Refugee athletes as offering hope and inspiration to other refugees; and 4. The neoliberal ideal that “hard work pays off” and “you can overcome everything” in and through sport. More broadly, current changes in the societal reception of refugees were evident in the IOC’s communication, which appeared to assume that we have moved beyond the “refugee crisis”. The IOC disseminates an “official” discourse, which elides the challenging structural conditions that refugees face after their arrival in receiving contexts, and obscures current political reluctance towards finding more long-term solutions for refugees.

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(Anti-)Hero, refugee, soccer player: the case of bakery Jatta. A discourse analysis of German newspapers

Cited by 2 publications

References 37 publications

‘Refugee footballers’: A socioecological exploration of forced migrants in the Italian and German elite football system

‘Refugee footballers’: A socioecological exploration of forced migrants in the Italian and German elite football system

Beyond Crisis? Institutionalized Mediatization of the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Olympic Games

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