“…In Spain, the analysis focuses chiefly on those football clubs that by definition manifest a bond with a specific autonomous community, region or city. For instance, FC Barcelona stands for Catalonia, Barcelona, Catalanness, and Catalan nationalism (Shaw, 1987;Sobrequés, Callicó, 1991;Soldevila, Giraldes, 2014;Ruiz, 2010;García Luque, Finestres, 2014); Athletic Bilbao epitomizes the Basque Country, Bilbao, Biscayness, Basqueness, and Basque nationalism (Vaczi, 2011(Vaczi, , 2013a(Vaczi, , 2013b(Vaczi, , 2014Sanz Hoya, 2012Bertelegni, 2006Bertelegni, , 2011Bertelegni, , 2017MacClancy, 2003;Aranes Usandizaga, Landa Montenegro, 2000;Guttiérrez Chico, 2017, 2018; while Real Madrid is symbolic of Castile, the capital metropole, Spanishness, and Spanish nationalism (Escandell Bonet, González Calleja, Villacorta Baños, 2002a, 2002bTorras, 2013;Arias, 2013;Ball, 2010Ball, , 2014. Similar analyses have been carried out with respect to Spain's national team, as embodied in the neologism "La Roja" (Screti, 2009;de la Madrid, 2013;Quiroga Fernández de Soto, 2014;Ball, 2010Ball, , 2014Burns, 2013), whose source lies in the ethnic and identity-related dilemmas of the inhabitants of the nation, especially those originating from Catalonia and the Basque Country.…”