Racism is a persistent and significant social issue plaguing the world, despite the insistence on equality owing to varying skin colors or tones. Dominant racial groups have tendencies of viewing members of other ethnicities or racial affiliations as being inferior. There are culturally accepted stereotypes that have been used to decide how people are supposed to relate based on their racial affiliations. These stereotypes that have been in existence for a long period are used to dictate one’s economic, political and social outcomes. Racism is not confined to one sector but thrives in all ranging from healthcare education, sporting and business fields. The sporting field, especially soccer, is one sector where racism thrives most, particularly in clubs where whites are the dominant players or fans. An analysis of this racism through a Foucauldian, racialization, and settler colonialism perspective will establish its implications.
Analyzing Racism in Soccer through Foucauldian Perspective
The Foucauldian perspective revolves around the idea that groups or people wield power through sovereign and episodic acts of coercion and domination or coercion. This power is used as a form of control that is advanced through social institutions, thus creating a system where one societal group or class oppresses the other. Sport is one of the social systems that are used to advance this control with players who are from a lower class are subjected to discrimination. Chase (2006) gives the example of women in rugby by adopting the Foucauldian notion of the disciplinary power where relations of oppression and inequality are reproduced via a psychological complex. Women who participate in extreme sport, especially rugby challenge the dominant discourse on sport and sporting bodies, considering that masculine bodies contravene the American culture. Chase (2006) further asserts that there is a universally accepted notion that rugby is a male terrain, meaning that the rugby body must belong to males. In this case, the disciplinary power paves the way for gender discrimination in an overly patriarchal system.
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The Foucaldian theory advances the concept of racial microaggressions which are subtle forms of racism that are directed towards minority or marginalized groups. Women, especially those who play soccer are prone to racial aggressions, considering that the sport is a male-dominated field. The patriarchal society, which is the dominant system in the modern world, advances stereotypes that place women at lower ranks, despite their capabilities. According to Gill (2017), gender constructions are racialized, classed, and structured by continuing and stark inequalities. The media may try to advocate for girl power, but on the other hand, there is hostile and intense scrutiny of women who hold positions of power. This would be the case for women in sports who have managed to make a name for themselves in the male-dominant field. They will be exposed to unsolicited scrutiny in a bid to tame them so that they do not forget their place in society. Women who are focused on self-determination risk being brought down by racial aggressions that are being directed towards them.
Application of Racialization to the Topic of Racism in Soccer
Racialization is a form of discrimination and a basis for marginalizing individuals based on their ethnicity or race. Soccer which is supposed to be inclusive as an embodiment of culture allowing individuals to deal with inherent struggles in society is highly racialized. Players who are affiliated with minority ethnicities or are marginalized are prone to direct and indirect discrimination. Carrington (2017) gives the example of Mohamed Ali, a renowned boxer who had to deal with discrimination before transcending them to become a model athletes. The sporting discourse promotes institutionalized discrimination as it has strict guidelines revolving around rules, ownership, and participation. Essentially, sport embodies black politics, thus becoming an avenue for denying marginalized groups access to the public sphere in Western liberal countries. Razack & Joseph (2020) support this claim by asserting that subtle and overt misogynoir, most particularly directed at blacks, is persistent in sport and sports media. In this case, it becomes hard for women in the Black diaspora to control sporting regulations and how the media represents them. Naomi Osaka, a tennis professional is a victim of racialization considering that the media is more focused on her racial identity as opposed to her excellence in sports. The media tends to disregard her blackness but instead insists on her Asian identity and Japanese nationality. The shift from her black identity is an example of racialization directed towards the blacks to suggest that they cannot excel in sporting discourse because of their racial affiliation.
Application of Settler Colonialism to the Topic of Racism in Soccer
Colonialism created the superiority versus inferiority mindset where the dominant races, most notably superpowers belittled indigenous racial groups. In as much as settler colonialism is no longer operational, the stereotypical mindset still thrives in the sporting discourse. The modern sport depicts the colonial mindset of subjugating marginalized groups to achieve economic prosperity. According to Norman et al. (2019), settler colonialists destroying indigenous groups’ cultural practices and replaced them with their own. Euro-western sport was one of the settler-colonial practices which in turn became a form of discrimination. The minority ethnicities work hard to excel in various sports, including football, to show that they are not limited as popular stereotypes indicate. Despite their efforts to excel, they are faced with the reality that they cannot dominate as the colonialist modest is there to derail their efforts. Scherer et al. (2020) emphasize that settler colonialism still defines modern societies considering that sporting discourse revolves around economic and racial segregation. Edmonton sporting territory which has a landmark ice hockey arena is an example of colonialist settlers versus indigenous minorities. The city which is located at Metis and Cree's traditional homeland is indicative of a deep-seated settler-colonial mentality as the minority ethnicities will not have the opportunity to use the arena.
Economic, Social, and Symbolic Capital as Causes of Player Migration
The sporting field is increasingly becoming globalized and professional, meaning that players’ success would depend on their willingness to migrate to other countries. Europe is the main destination for soccer players from other continents, most specifically Africa and South America as well as from other European clubs. Krizaj et al. (2016) note that a player’s willingness to migrate is dependent on the support one receives from others, previous behaviors or attitudes as well as previous successes and experiences in sports. Soccer clubs, on the other hand, are keen on recruiting young and talented players who have in the past demonstrated stamina agility, speed, and coordination. These clubs will spend huge funds to acquire these players as they are sure that there is a greater likelihood of winning championships and leagues. In this case, soccer clubs will commodify players who have a higher economic, social, and symbolic capital paving the way for migration from one soccer club to another
References
Carrington, B. (2017). Raced bodies and black cultural politics. In M. Silk, D. Andrews and H. Thorpe (Eds.), Routledge handbook of physical cultural studies (pp. 132-142). Routledge.
Chase, L. (2006). (Un)Disciplined bodies: A Foucauldian analysis of women's rugby. Sociology of Sport Journal, 2 3(3) 229-247.
Gill, R. (2017). The affective, cultural and psychic life of postfeminism: A postfeminist sensibility 10 years on. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 20 (6), 606-626.
Krizaj, J., Leskosek, B., Vodicar, J., & Topic, M. D. (2016). Soccer players' cultural capital and its impact on migration. Journal of Human Kinetics, 54 (3),195-206 DOI: 10.1515/hukin-2016-0052
Norman, M., Hart, M., & Petherick, L. (2019). Indigenous gender reformations: Physical culture, settler colonialism, and the politics of containment. Sociology of Sport Journal, 36 (2), 113-123.
Razack, S., & Joseph, J. (2020). Misogynoir in women's sports media: Race, nation, and diaspora in the representation of Naomi Osaka. Media , Culture & Society , 00 (0), 1–18.
Scherer, J., Davidson, J., Kafara, R., & Koch, J. (2021). Negotiating the new urban sporting territory: Policing, settler colonialism, and Edmonton's Ice District. Sociology of Sport Journal , 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0113
