Football and Politics in Latin America

Data início: 18/03/2024Data de encerramento: 15/09/2024Data limite inscrição: 15/09/2024

COMPARTILHE

Frontiers

In Latin America, the field of social studies on football began to develop in the 1980s with the establishment of research groups, networks of researchers, the organization of scientific events, and the regular production of articles and books. Up to that point, a critical perspective heavily influenced by authors like Louis Althusser, Theodor W. Adorno, and Max Horkheimer prevailed. In their view, football was seen as an alien activity designed to control the working class and perpetuate the capitalist social order. This perspective started to be challenged in the 1980s by anthropologists such as Roberto DaMatta, Simoni Guedes, and Eduardo Archetti. They proposed an almost opposing view of football, interpreting it as a space for identity formation, participation, belonging, emotion, creativity, and imagination.

In the following years, the field of social studies on football solidified in Latin America, with the publication of important research on subjects like “national identity, media, and football,” “organized supporters, violence, and politics,” and “gender relations and women’s football.”

Recently, a new phenomenon has caught some researchers’ attention: the emergence of activist football fan collectives aiming to contend with both the domination and inequality found in the world of football and those characterizing society at large.

In light of this (new) context and the significant role of football studies and its power dynamic, this Research Topic aims to compile articles reflecting on the intricate relationship between football and politics in Latin America, both historically and currently.

We invite researchers from various areas within the humanities and social sciences to contribute innovative approaches to the subject that can offer new insights and interpretations, shedding light on previously overlooked aspects of sporting and political phenomena. We welcome and encourage submissions of different types of articles (e.g., original research, clinical trials, systematic reviews). Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

– National identity, media, and football

– Organized supporters, violence, and politics

– Gender relations and women’s football

– Politics and sport

Keywords: politics, football, Latin America, gender relations