European Identity Politics in Euro 96

Abstract

This article analyses the relationships between sport, national identity and the media in the English press during the European Football Championship, EURO 96. Our objective is to highlight some of media representations that surround and underpin sport in general and (association) football in particular in the context of contemporary European politics. This is done primarily through a qualitative discourse analysis of some the English newspaper coverage of EURO 96. In examining the identity politics that were evident during the championships, we will also consider the specifically English position relative to their/its continental European neighbours. More broadly, we want to make the case that, while the concepts of `imagined communities' and `invented traditions' are of considerable help in making sense of identity politics, Elias's examination of the socio-genesis of more deeply sedimented national character and habitus codes also sheds important light on current European identity politics. As such, the article is based on a specific approach to the study of sport and national identity, derived from a process-sociological perspective.

How to influence national pride? The Olympic medal index as a unifying narrative

“…In most modern countries, elite sport is regarded as one of the main vehicles for constructing and maintaining an idea of national unity (Bairner, 2001;Blain et al, 1993;Giulianotti and Robertson, 2007;Houlihan, 1997;Maguire and Poulton, 1999;Wong, 2002). Sports offer many unique and different ways to articulate national identities, opening up a broad spectrum of rituals that create a sense of union and national cohesion (Evans and Kelley, 2002;Lechner, 2007aLechner, , 2007bSmith and Kim, 2006).…”

DIY in the DNA: Macro Context and National Myth as Enduring Advertising Discourse

“…A sense of identity is not only established by looking inwards but by looking out beyond the national boundaries, making the comparisons and emphasising what the nation is not. Often, this imagining of the nation as special and different from others is done through sport events and their representations (Hill 1999, Maguire/Poulton 1999Silk 2001). In commercials of various dramatic complexity and that dealt with a wide range of product categories, the Kiwi ingenuity myth was explicitly re-framed within an international context, taking on a global significance, as when the notion of nation was clearly attached to it through the presence of national heroes or national events.…”

Fan debates on English national identity surrounding the Almunia case

“…Maguire and Poulton conducted such an analysis on English newspaper coverage of the Euro 96 football competition and focused upon the portrayal of English national identity. 32 Practically, the qualitative discourse analysis used was similar to that suggested by Miles and Huberman. 33 'Codes', also referred to by Miles and Huberman as 'tags or labels for assigning units of meaning', 34 were developed using a 'semi-inductive' coding technique.…”

“…10 According to Levermore and Millward, informal interactions between supporters of 'G14' football clubs in European competitions (such as the UEFA Champions League) have been more successful than other more official attempts to establish a European identity, 11 or at least a European consciousness. 12 Using evidence from fan contributions to e-zines (the equivalent of fanzines on the Internet), Levermore and Millward suggest 13 Maguire suggests that sport occupies a 'contested terrain' which is used to display multiple layers of identity and global flows are producing a number of unintended consequences relating to the diversification of links between sports and cultural identities.…”