cheering for barça fc barcelona and the shaping of catalan identity

8/2/2019 Cheering for Bara FC Barcelona and the shaping of Catalan identity

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Cheering for Bara:

FC Barcelona and the shaping of Catalan identity

Emma Kate Ranachan

Department of Art History and Communication Studies

McGill UniversityMontral, Quebec, Canada

August 2008

A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of

the degree of Master of Arts

Kate Ranachan (2008)


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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................ii

Abstract...iii

Rsum.iv

Introduction..1

Chapter 1 Literature Review.10Sport, Society and Politics...11

Sport and Globalisation22

Chapter 2 The Birth of a Club and a Political Movement..30From Recognition to Repression.38

Camp Nou44Rivals...45

A New Dawn...49

Chapter 3 Representing Catalunya.......................................................................51Who is a Catalan?............................................................................................52

Culture and Politics......56The Camp Nou as Cultural/National Instrument.59

Acknowledging the Nation..68FC Barcelonas Catalan Nation...70

Chapter 4 At Home Abroad?.................................................................................77

Whos Club Is It?.............................................................................................80The Socially Responsible Club83

The Museum ...97Building a Catalan National Team.100

Conclusion104

Bibliography.109


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Acknowledgements

I would like to begin by thanking my advisor Prof. Darin Barney for his

immeasurable support and help. This project would not have been possible without

his early enthusiasm and assistance in organising my research trip.

I am indebted to Media@Mcgill and the Faculty of Arts for each awarding me a

graduate travel award. With their generous support I was able to undertake invaluable

field research in Barcelona.

I would like to thank Antoni Aira Foix and Marta Cantijoch Cunill for helping me

arrange interviews in Barcelona and Davide Calenda for his helpful suggestions in

tracking down resources. I am deeply indebted to Jordi Penas, Antoni Rovira and

Victorio Beceiro for generously giving me their time. Their insights into the workings

of FC Barcelona were indispensable to my project. I would also like to thank the

dozens of Bara supporters that shared their passion and love for Bara with me.

I would like to thank my friends and roommates for listening and learning more about

Bara and Catalan nationalism than they wanted to. I owe a debt of gratitude to Zo

Cappe for her translation skills. To my parents, for their love and support, which

helped make this project possible.

Lastly, to the people of Glasgow whose joyful celebrations when England lost to

Germany in Euro 96 showed me the possibilities that football opens up for national

expression and set me on this path.


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Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between Football Club Barcelona (Bara) and

the Catalan nationalist movement. From its creation, Bara has been identified as a

Catalan club. This identity took on new meaning during the Franco period when the

regimes oppression of Catalan society drove all expressions of Catalan identity out

of the public sphere. It was through the club and within the walls of the Camp Nou

stadium that Catalunya was able to sustain its identity. The end of the Franco regime

has created new opportunities for national expression and political solutions and the

forces of globalisation have expanded Baras fan base beyond the borders of

Catalunya and now includes many who do not identify with the Catalan cause. This

thesis assesses how the end of Franco and globalisation have changed Baras Catalan

identity and whether Bara might provide a model for expanding our understanding

of the roles that cultural institutions can play in developing, shaping and sustaining

sub-state nationalist identities.


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Rsum

Ce mmoire examine la relation entre le Football Club Barcelona (Bara) et le

mouvement nationaliste catalan. Ds sa cration, Bara fut peru comme un club

catalan. Cette identit a pris un nouvel aspect pendant le rgime de Franco, qui, par

loppression de la socit catalane, a pouss lexpression de lidentit catalane hors de

la sphre publique. La Catalogne est parvenue maintenir son identit grce au club

et au stade Camp Nou. La fin du rgime de Franco a cr de nouvelles opportunits

pour lexpression nationale, alors que les solutions politiques et les forces de la

mondialisation ont tendu le support de Bara au del des frontires de la Catalogne :beaucoup de supporters aujourdhui nadhrent pas la cause catalane. Ce mmoire

examine comment la fin du rgime de Franco ainsi que la mondialisation ont chang

lidentit catalane de Bara, et la faon dont Bara peut servir de modle pour

approfondir la comprhension des rles que les institutions culturelles peuvent jouer

dans le dveloppement, le faonnement et le maintien des identits nationalistes

minoritaires lintrieur dun tat.


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Introduction

In Vienna on June 29th, 2008 the Spanish national football team was crowned

European Champions for only the second time in their history. This victory freed

Spain from its reputation as perennial underachievers and saw them finally live up to

the expectations commensurate with the teams talent. This victory could be enjoyed

in a way that the first one, coming in 1962 and at home, could not. While the 1962

win has been credited with helping to bring Spain back to the international sporting

stage after a period of isolation, for many in the country the victory will always been

tainted by the spectre of Franco. It was not a victory for Spain, but for Francos vision

of Spain, which excluded a large swath of the population. In the post-Franco period,

Spain struggled at the international level and the blame for their defeat often fell at

the feet of players that came from the previously repressed regions of Catalunya and

the Basque region. While the teams undeniably had the talent to win tournaments,

they played like individual players and not as a team. The lack of team unity was seen

as being the fault of those who were not Spanish enough.

Yet 2008 felt different. All the talk coming out of the teams camp was that

the players were united and focused. Spains subsequent triumph was seen by many

as being emblematic of the new united Spain that had overcome its fractured past and

was moving towards a new vision of Spanish identity (Ball 2008; Govan 2008;

Keeley 2008; Stewart 2008). While it is true that all the players on the team were

genuinely excited about their victory, how the various players chose to celebrate

indicate that the proclamation of a singular Spanish identity may have been

premature. While many of the players chose to literally wrap themselves in the

Spanish flag, none of the players from the Basque Region or Catalunya chose to

celebrate in this manner. In fact the reaction of the Basque player Xabi Alonso at


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being handed a Spanish flag was tentative and uncomfortable, and he quickly passed

it on to another player. The Spanish flag was not the only flag on display. Sergio

Ramos wrapping himself in the Andalusian flag did not spark a negative reaction.

However there was a perception being that if the Catalan or Basque players had tried

to wrap themselves in their flags, the criticism would have been swift and strident.

The celebrations in the streets of Barcelona were muted compared to the celebrations

in Madrid or other cities around Spain. One could not help but feel that while the

Catalans could appreciate the talent of the Spanish team, it was not their team. Indeed

this position has longed been filled by another team, a team that has come to represent

the hopes and national aspirations of Catalunya: Football Club Barcelona, more

commonly known by its nickname Bara.

Bara is known throughout the world by its famous slogan, mes que un Club

or more than a Club whereby the Club has come to be associated with the Catalan

identity. From its conception, Bara has been defined through its identification with

the cause of Catalan nationalism, but it was under the repression of the Franco regime

that the true meaning of more than a Club became evident. Having been stripped of

their access to other forms of nationalist identification, Catalan society turned to the

Club as a surrogate to shelter their nationalist aspirations. With Francos death in

1975, the repression of Catalan society was lifted and ushered in a new era in which

Catalunya was granted recognition and its own parliament. While the current political

arrangement is an improvement, it falls short of full independence or even the full

acknowledgement of Catalunyas status as a nation in its own right. Spains new

constitution was completed in 1978 and divided the country into 17 autonomous

regions. Catalunya, Galicia and the Basque Region were recognised as the three


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historic regions and were allowed to fast-track their path to devolved power1

(Green

2007). The constitution did make it clear that Spain was one indivisible nation despite

the presence of the strong regional identities. The historic nations would have

preferred an arrangement of Spain as a federal state, a nation of nations rather than

being one indivisible nation. Despite the strides that have been made since the end of

the Franco regime, the issue of recognition and representation of the Catalan nation

has yet to be resolved. Therefore Baras function as a receptacle for Catalan

nationalist aspirations has not diminished. The idea that Bara is more than a Club

continues to resonate with the promise that just as the Club is more than a Club,

Catalunya may also be more than a region in the future.

The question of nation is the key to understanding both Catalunya and Bara.

For many Catalans, the nationalist question is not one of complete separation from

Spain. Indeed the support for full independence is quite small within the region,

generally hovering between twelve and eighteen percent (Eaude 2008, 262). The

preference is to remain within the Spanish state, but to be recognised as a Catalan

nation. This troubles the very foundation of the current nation-state system, which

rests on the indivisibility of the nation-state. Sub-state nationalist movements have

often been met with repression for the ways in which they seek to uncouple the nation

and the state and this was certainly what lay at the heart of Francos treatment of

Catalunya. In Francos worldview, Spains enemies were not outside their borders,

but within. Sub-state nations are often constructed in a manner that resembles

1Each autonomous community is entitled to a legislative assembly and government headed by a

regional president and a high court. The responsibilities of the assembly include: regional and local

administration, urban planning, housing, public works, environmental policy, social services, culture,

tourism, small businesses and crafts, agriculture, fisheries, communications and regional development.

Once a region has achieved the status of full autonomous community they are also responsible for

education and health policy, (Morata 1995, 116).


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Benedict Andersons idea of an imagined community (Anderson 1983). While this

creates an important space for seeing the nation as separate from the state, it is not the

best way of understanding how Catalunya relates to Bara.

As a sports team, Bara is not a nation, but it does have an imagined

community of supporters. Yet it does not adhere to Andersons definition in the sense

that it is neither territorially limited nor sovereign (Anderson 1983). This is

particularly true within the context of globalization, which exposes Bara to a wider

audience and builds supporters around the world. In this sense, the imagined

community of Bara is without borders or limits. Bara is also in an interesting

position of representing the identities of its Catalan supporters on two levels: as

Catalans and as mere supporters of Bara. A better way of understanding Bara may

be Michael Warners idea of a counterpublic defined as:

A counterpublic, against the background of the public sphere, enables a

horizon of opinion and exchange; its exchanges remain distinct from authority

and can have a critical relation to power; its extent is in principle indefinite,

because it is not based on precise demography but mediated by print, theatre,

diffuse networks of talk, commerce, and the like (Warner 2005, 56-57).

As a counterpublic, Bara fulfils Warners idea that participation in this kind of

public is a way in which, its members identities are formed and transformed

(2005, 57). One of the defining characteristics of Francos repression was that it

relegated the expression of Catalan identity to the private sphere. The regime could

not prevent the use of the Catalan language and the expression of Catalan identity

within homes, but it could limit its expression in the public sphere. Bara, in its

capacity as a counterpublic, was able to bridge the two spheres by providing a


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collective outlet for Catalan expression. The Club fostered a belief and a sense that

group members were not suffering alone. Bara was not only able to form and

transform the identities of its individual members, but it was also able to form and

transform the ways in which group members were able to relate to each other under

the dictatorship.

The idea that a sporting Club can form and transform identities may arouse

scepticism. Indeed it begs the question, what can studying Bara reveal about the

Catalan nationalist movement? As this thesis will show, it can be extremely

illuminating. Within the nationalism literature, when the importance of cultural

institutions within nationalist movements is studied, scholars largely look at print

culture or the role of intellectuals (Anderson 1983; Gellner 1983; Guibernau 2004).

While literature often made profound contributions to the development of particular

nationalist movements, its audience was often limited. As a popular symbol, Baras

appeal is wide-ranging and it has a tremendous capacity to bring people together.

Bara concretises the notion of the imagined community by bringing together the

diverse population of the Catalan community every week around the same nationalist

symbol.

Anderson argues that the imagined community is imagined because one never

meets their fellow community members, but nonetheless a shared sense of community

continues to exist within the minds of the groups members (1983, 6). While it is true

that all Bara supporters will never know each other, they are connected and united

by a love for the team. In his article, From Realpolitik to Dingpolitik or how to make

Things Public Bruno Latour makes the case for taking Things seriously as an


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organising principle. Latour argues that people often come together around objects

and it is through these objects that they relate to one another. Latour argues:

Each object gathers around itself a different assembly of relevant parties. Each

object triggers new occasions to passionately differ and dispute. Each object

may also offer new ways of achieving closure without having to agree on

much else. In other words, objects taken as so many issues bind all of us in

ways that map out the public space profoundly different from what is usually

recognised under the label of the political (2005, 15).

Bara could be described as an object or thing in precisely this sense. It gathers

people and attention around what Latour describes as matters of concern and maps

out nationalist space in a way that is different from what is usually considered

politics. Bara does map out nationalist space in a way that is different from what is

usually considered politics. It was Baras ability to appear outside the normal realm

of politics that allowed it to survive and to continue under Franco and today it is what

makes it so interesting and important for understanding how Catalan nationalist

identity has been shaped and re-shaped. The Club became the object or thing through

which different versions of the Catalan nation have been articulated and it has bound

people together on a weekly basis since 1899.

Globalization is changing the face of Baras counterpublic by increasing its

scope beyond the borders of Catalunya. Bara supporters can now be found all-over

the world. While the Club welcomes its new supporters and indeed needs them to

ensure its continued financial success, the question of Baras identity as representing

Catalunya finds new importance in this context. The Club is faced with a new


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dilemma of trying to balance its new international fan base with its commitment to is

supporters at home and its historic identity. Writing about Bara, author Grant Farred

argues, A politics of representation can project, but it is infinitely more difficult to

function at once prospectively and retrospectively to try simultaneously, to reclaim

the past and make a claim on the future, to make of the future a past that is unknown

and historically unknowable, (2008, 94). Farred outlines the fundamental challenge

that Bara is facing and a central question of this thesis how to face the future while

also trying to retain the identity of the past and how to insure that the past remains

part of the Clubs future.

Bara uses its institutions, the Camp Nou stadium, museum and FC Barcelona

Foundation, to shape how it projects itself to the world. To truly understand how the

Club is remembering its past and facing its future requires a trip to the Club.

Understanding the centrality of the Club to its supporters lives and identities requires

speaking to those whose lives are intertwined with the Club. While in Barcelona I

was able to conduct field research that allowed me to visit the Camp Nou and the

museum. Visiting the Camp Nou was a critical experience in understanding the

importance of public gatherings and how the stadium facilitated and encouraged a

group identification and expression. The museum offered insights into how the Club

writes its own history and how it is trying to balance between the interests of its local

and international supporters. Most importantly, being in Barcelona allowed me to

speak with supporters and officials associated with the Club. It is through its

supporters that the Bara finds its true importance and expression. In addition to the


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dozens of supporters I spoke to throughout the city, I was able to speak to former

Bara board member Antoni Rovira and head of the museum Jordi Penas.

In Chapter One, I review the literature related to the relationship between

sport and nationalism in order to assess what has been written and where there are

gaps in the current literature. I pay particular attention to the literature that has been

written on how globalisation is changing the relationship between sport and

nationalism.

Chapter Two examines the history of Baras relationship to Catalan

nationalism and traces how the two are intimately intertwined. The chapter expands

on the importance of Baras function as a bridge between the public and private

spheres and its ability to unite the population of Catalunya.

Chapter Three begins by examining the dominant features of Catalan identity

in order to understand what Bara is trying to represent and how its policies and

values do or do not represent the Catalan identity. It includes a brief discussion of the

important role that culture plays in politics and how the policies of Bara reflect this

relationship. This includes an examination of how institutions that could have

displaced Baras importance, in particular the European Union, have failed to deliver

on the promise of greater recognition for Catalunya . The chapter also looks at the

programs that Bara has created to integrate and retain its relevance within Catalan

society and the importance of the Camp Nou stadium. There is also an examination of

whether Baras lofty ambitions recognise some of the problems, such as racism and

the integration of immigrants that exist within Catalan society and Spanish football.


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Chapter Four looks at how Bara is attempting to construct itself as a global

Club while still retaining a strong Catalan identity. The conventional thinking about

globalization argues that it is a homogenising force, creating one monolithic global

culture. Bara is one of the many institutions that is challenging this idea by trying to

use a strong localised community in order to build international attention and support.

Trying to balance the local with the global is a clear concern for the Club. This

chapter examines the Clubs charitable work, in particular its association with

UNICEF, which tries to export Catalan values in a way that also reflects the needs of

the international community. How Bara balances the needs of its local and

international supporters will be central to the Clubs continued success and growth.

While it does not adhere to the conventional model of nationalist institutions,

Bara is an enduring symbol of Catalan nationalism. Yet it is also a sports team and

as a sports team, it has business interests that must also be fulfilled. It is now a sports

team with a growing international fan base whose concerns may lean more towards

winning trophies than supporting Catalan language programs. In trying to balance all

these different interests, Bara becomes an interesting and unconventional site for

trying to understand how communities are created when other conventional

organisational institutions are unavailable. I hope that what follows demonstrates why

Bara is such an important site for understanding why cultural institutions are

important nationalist institutions and how Bara contributes to a different way of

thinking about how globalization affects the creation and maintenance of different

forms of community.


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Chapter 1-Literature Review

Sport has long been acknowledged as playing a profound role in peoples

lives, but there has been much disagreement over what the shape and meaning of this

role is. Until the 1980s, the study of sports was largely divided between liberal

perspectives, which argued that sports were a voluntary social and cultural practice

that was part of the fabric of civil society and Marxist perspectives, which saw sports

as placating the proletariat in order to distract them from revolution (Cantelon and

Gruneau 1982). Both these perspectives do not see sports as being part of or exerting

influence on the state, which means that sports are not seen as playing a critical role

in prompting social change.

In early work in the field, little attention was given to sports role in shaping

or reflecting identities that were not direct reflections of the state nationalism. The

relationship between sport and nationalism was acknowledged, but only to the extent

that it was instrumentalised by the state to promote its own interests and that the

nationalism being promoted was congruent with the state. There was no recognition

of sport as an independent social force in peoples lives. Starting with the work of

C.L.R. James and Pierre Bourdieu, there was a move towards a greater understanding

of the power of sport at the societal level and as a potential instrument of social

change. Sport is becoming increasingly important in questions of identity formation

and articulation particularly in the context of the growing literature that exists on

globalization. Sport is seen as being a force in both cultural and economic

globalization.


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This review will critically consider the literature that exists on sport as a

political and social force and how sports relationship to identity is being considered

in literature about globalisation and sport. Does the current literature develop a more

critical framework for understanding the ways in which sport has been used as an

instrument for articulating group identity, particularly in cases where this identity is

being defined against the state? This literature review is divided into two parts. The

first will explore literature examining sports existence as a social and political force

both within and independent of the state. The second will explore that literature that

exists on sport and globalization.

Sport, Society and Politics

Classical Marxist theories of sport argue that sports can be best explained within

an exchange and surplus-creating paradigm (Ingham 2004). Sport, as a type of

cultural practice, is seen as a direct reflection of class interests and the material

forces/relations that define the capitalist mode of production (Cantelon and Gruneau

1982). Sport provides a false sense of escape and thus contributes to the retarded

development of class-consciousness among the proletariat (Cantelon and

Gruneau1982; Ingham 2004). Sport is seen as unable to operate separate from

hegemonic power. John Hargreaves (1982) divides Marxist sport theories into two

different models. Correspondence theory sees sport as a simple reflection of the

capitalist mode of production, a business aimed at generating surplus value for the

capitalist interests that own and control sporting enterprises. Reproduction theory

claims that sport provides ideological and cultural support for the capitalist mode of

production, reproducing capitalist social relations and contributing to the false


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consciousness of the working-class. In both cases the significance of sport is

determined wholly in relation to the capitalist mode of production. Marxist theories

have been criticised for being totalising and simplistic, failing to recognise that sports,

like any other social relation, has economic, political, cultural and ideological aspects,

whose importance is dependent on the social conditions at any given time

(Hargreaves 1982).

Some theorists have used the sociological theory of Emile Durkheim and Erving

Goffman on rituals and their symbolic aspects to develop a theory of sport (Birrell

1981; Birrell and Donnelly 2004; Hargreaves 1982). Birrell (1981) argues that sport

is a modern day ritual that can be best analysed by joining Durkheims social theory

of religion2

with Goffmans ideas of everyday interaction rituals as significant social

ceremonies. Hargreaves (1982) argues that conceiving sport as popular theatre rather

than other kinds of rituals allows for greater participation and shared experience on

the part of spectators because it connects more organically with peoples lives.

Hargreaves argues that this type of analysis dispenses with the need to consider things

like brainwashing and instead consider more important issues such as how peoples

rationalities are grounded in material practices and social conditions at any give time.

Pierre Bourdieu is one of the most important contributors to the development of

the sociology of sport. Bourdieu recognised the important role that sport played in the

formation and maintenance of a persons identity. Bourdieu argues that sport appears

as a set of ready-made choices, rules, values, equipment, etc. which receive their

social significance from the system they constitute and which derive a proportion of

2For elaboration on Durkheims social theory of religion see Durkheim, E. 1915. The Elementary

Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press.


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the properties, at each moment, from history (Bourdieu 1984, 209). Yet these are

dependent on how the agent perceives the sport and this perception may differ

according to each agent. Bourdieu argues, Because agents apprehend objects through

the schemes of perception and appreciation of their habitus, it would be nave to

suppose that all practitioners of the same sport (or any practice confer the same

meaning on their practice or even, strictly speaking, that they are practicing the same

practice (1984, 211). Sport has a different meaning even among bearers of the same

habitus.

In another piece, Bourdieu argues that the range of sporting activities and

entertainments offered to social agents can be considered as a supply intended to meet

a social demand. From this premise, Bourdieu raises two centrally important

questions: is there an area of production endowed with its own logic and its own

history, in which sports products are generated?; what are the social conditions of

possibility of the appropriation of the various sports products that are thus

produced (Bourdieu 1978, 820). Sports history is relatively autonomous; despite

being marked by major events of history (social and economic), it has its own specific

chronology. The relative autonomy of the sporting field is affirmed by the powers of

self-administration and rule-making enjoyed by a given sports governing bodies,

powers that have been traditionally recognised by states. Bourdieu argues, The

constitution of a field of sports practices is linked to the development of a philosophy

of sport which is necessarily apoliticalphilosophy (1978, 824). A model that seeks

to explain the distribution of sporting practices among classes and their factions must

take into account both positive and negative determining factors, including spare time


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(a form of economic capital), economic capital (necessary depending on the sport)

and cultural capital (amount depends on the sport).3

In order to develop a program for a sociology of sport, Bourdieu argued that one

sport could be not be analysed without considering the totality of sporting practices.

In order to create a sporting practice, one must first locate it in within a space of

sport, which can be constructed using a number of indicators. Crucially, Bourdieu

argues that this space must then be related to the social space of which it is an

expression (1988, 154). One mistake that is commonly made when analysing

sporting practices, is to assume that there is a consensus among participants on how

that sport should be practiced. Instead, Bourdieu argues that, as a sport increases in

popularity and in participants so does the social diversity of the participants and the

various ways of practicing the sport. A second common error sees the space of sport

as being self-contained. Sporting practices comprise a relatively autonomous space,

but this space is not wholly independent of social forces arising in the historical

context in which the sporting field is situated.

Sports are part of a historical trajectory and thus are changeable over time. In this

way, sports become a site of struggle in which dominant meanings (the social

meaning attached to the sporting practice by dominant users) of the sport can be

challenged and changed. This can include struggles over the social meaning of the

sport or who has the right to participate in the sport. Out of this struggle a new

3Bourdieu uses the term capital to refer to useable resources and powers (1984, 114). Capital can be

further divided into a difference between economic and cultural capital. Economic capital relates to

wealth indicators that often manifest themselves in the amount of money a person earns and thematerial goods they consume. Cultural capital is not necessarily dependent on economic capital and

instead measures access to cultural resources. Cultural capital is often dependent on familial ties and

the levels of education a person has access to. For a further discussion see Bourdieu, P. (1984)

Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Trans. Richard Nice. Cambridge: Harvard

University Press.


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sporting practice can emerge, even if it is in opposition to the dominant meaning. In

this way, sports can become crucial sites of resistance and provide a space for a free

expression of a non-dominant identity. This is particularly true for historically

marginalised groups who may find that sports allow them to attain a level of visibility

and prestige that was previously unavailable. The question of sports resistive

capacities will be re-visited later in this thesis.

One of Bourdieus main contributions to the sociology of sport was the

development of the idea that sports are cultural products that are shaped by those

who practice them rather than the more deterministic Marxist views that sees no

agency for actors within sport (Clment 1995). This challenges the idea that sport is

free of social determinants and that sport is unchangeable or unimportant to peoples

lives. Yet Bourdieu also recognises that sport often reflects and provides cover for the

naturalisation of social relations by masking the ways in which sports reflect different

class distinctions.

Sociology is not the only discipline in which serious inquiry into the role of sport

and society has been made. Cultural studies of sport start from the premise that

leisure activities, of which sports is a popular example, are important for

understanding the underlying power dynamics of society (Hargreaves and McDonald

2000). Much of the initial work in the 1980s was concerned with demonstrating the

centrality of sport to historical class and cultural struggles. Harvey and McDonald use

the work of Jarvie and Maguire to identify the main aims of the cultural studies

approach as: to consider the relationship between power and culture; to demonstrate

how a particular form of sport or leisure has been consolidated, contested, maintained


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or reproduced within the context of society as a whole; to highlight the role of sport

and leisure as a site of popular struggle.

The cultural studies approach also opened the possibility of developing a better

understanding of how sport operate as a site of identity formation that can be

relatively autonomous of prevailing power relations in a given society. While this

may be fruitful, this approach is not without its limitations. Andrews (2002) argues

that a cultural studies approach, in emphasising the agency of sporting subjects, can

fail to recognise the ways in which sport remains shaped by social and historical

events and is conditioned by institutions and structures of power. While it is

important to avoid determinist accounts that drain individual subjects of agency, it is

nevertheless crucial to recognise that sport is a social and historical product that

frames the potential for action by its participants. Despite the various possibilities for

individual agency offered by sport, particularly with respect to identity, the fact

remains that the shape of these possibilities is always bound up closely with interests

and relations of power in which sport itself is implicated.

Feminist interventions in the sociology of sport sought to trouble the

unexamined ways in which sports come to reflect and reinforce dominant power

relations. In the pre-WWI period, womens participation in sports was limited due to

the control exerted over womens bodies by the patriarchal norms of the day. An

expansion of womens participation in physical exercise coincided with the greater

political, civil and social rights gained by women in the wake of first-wave feminism.

Feminist approaches to the study of sport are varied and have a variety of different

goals. The three main strands are co-option, separatism, and co-operation (Giulianotti


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2005, 89-90). Co-option is aligned with a more liberal version of feminism that

argues that the main goal of female athletes should be equality (e.g. funding,

competitive opportunities, media coverage) with male athletes. This is often achieved

through the passing of legislation like Title XI, passed in the United States in 1972,

which guarantees equal funding for male and female sports programs in schools. This

strand runs the danger of not challenging the dominant gender norms that kept

womens sports subordinate to mens in the first place. The second approach,

separatism, believes that womens participation in sports should be completely

separate from men. This is not because, as current norms would have it, women are

incapable of competing physically with men but, rather, because separation would

provide an alternative to the masculinist norms of current sporting practices. This is

the most radical of all the approaches, but runs the risk of falling back on gender

essentialism as justification for keeping men and women separate. The last approach,

co-operation, involves an effort on the part of men and women to work together to

challenge the current sports model and establish new models that do not rely on the

dominant construction of gender identities. This approach focuses more on the ways

in which girls and boys are socialised in reproducing traditional gender roles in

sports.

The third approach is where some of the most interesting feminist sociology of

sport is occurring. Ian Day argues that women are taught femininity through

customary stereotyped expectations and their sanctions for transgressions and they

can face conflict when engaging in activities that seem to run counter to stereotyped

expectations (Day 1990, 22). The threat of this conflict can been seen as an obstacle


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that prevents girls and women from feeling comfortable in a sports environment.

These stereotyped expectations are promoted and enforced by family, peers, schools,

the media and other sites of socialisation (Day 1990, 22). Building on the work of

theorists like Day, feminist scholars have recently sought to inject themselves into the

sports literature on fan cultures in sports. There has been a recent increase in literature

that examines the ways in which the commercialization of sports is changing the

relationship that supporters to have to their favourite team and their fellow male

supporters (King 1998; Redhead 1997). These analyses mainly lament the passing of

the traditional working-class male support and suggest that these changes are

prompting a challenge and a disruption to working-class masculine identity. While

these authors make interesting critiques of the capitalist development of sport, their

analyses are often predicated on demonizing non-traditional supporters, often by

attributing feminine characteristics to them. Free and Hughson argue that one of the

problems with Kings analysis of football is that he fails to recognise the ways in

which the anti-consumerist identity that these alienated working-class male fans build

is predicated on a feminisation of the middle-class new consumer fan (Free and

Hughson 2003, 139). Instead the authors suggest that the grievances against

commercialisation are a performative renewal of masculinity because they feminise

the other fan (Free and Hughson 2003, 139). Feminist critiques of the supporter

literature is vital for the ways in which it suggests it is possible to critique the

commericalization of sport without falling back on a valorization of traditional male

support patterns that were often built on an exclusion and subordination of women.

These critiques open up the possibility of developing new models of football support.


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An example of sports relationship with the dominant power relations is that

between conventional politics and sports. Houlihan (2000) argues that there are two

different frameworks for this type of analysis; politics andsports and politics in sport.

Politics and sports look at the uses made by governments of sport and the processes

that develop sports-related social policy. In contrast, politics in sports views politics

as a ubiquitous aspect of all social institutions. In this case, the focus can be on the

ways in which organizations use power to pursue their own goals at the expense of

other social groups. Sports have often been part of states attempts to build national

identity, including attempts to project positive views of the nation-state abroad. In

many instances it is difficult to separate domestic and foreign policy motives as sports

is seen as a low-cost, low-threat diplomatic resource. The dominant understanding of

sport and politics is only able to understand this relationship in terms of traditional

state politics and the congruent relationship between nation and state.

The most obvious way that states use sports ideologically is in the service of

nationalism. Allison (2000) argues that one key factor in nationalisms successful

association with sport is because national identity is the most marketable project in

sport (346). In many cases, it is legitimate to question which nation a national team

represents in cases where there are different conceptions of national identity. Perhaps,

in cases where there are, in fact, competing national identities within the context of a

single state, sport can be deployed to efface, unify or otherwise manage this

potentially destabilizing competition. The setting of international sports (flags,

anthems, etc.) makes it easy for collective expressions of national allegiance to occur.

Yet this mimetic quality of sports can act as a safety valve that deflates rather than


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enhances nationalist sentiment (Allison 2000, 351). In this way, support for a national

team may be purely about a cultural, rather than political link to that nation. Sport can

also be a catalyst with respect to nationalism, provoking confrontations between two

nations.

Clifford Geertzs important piece, Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese

Cockfight outlines a methodology that encourages studying culture and cultural

practices in order to better understand the society in question (1973). Geertz came to

these conclusions while conducting fieldwork in Bali where he discovered that in

order to understand Balinese society he need to study the structures of the Balinese

cockfight. The cockfight was not sanctioned by the government, but continued as a

practice with a highly organised structure and hierarchy of play and participants. He

raises the important question of what happens when we start examining culture as an

assemblage of texts? (Geertz 1973, 448). In trying to answer this question, Geertz

writes, to treat the cockfight as a text is to bring out a feature of it (in my opinion,

the central feature of it) that treating it as a rite or pastime, the two most obvious

alternatives, would tend to obscure: its use of emotion for cognitive ends (1973,

449). Geertzs goes on to elaborate on how emotions, in particular risk, that are

present in the dynamics of cockfighting represent, that society is built and

individuals are put together (1973, 449). This text introduces the idea that in order to

understand the subjectivity and structures of a particular group of people, it is

important to study the interpersonal interactions that occur at the cultural level, often

within areas, such as sports, that are seen as mundane pastimes. This is an important


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development for understanding the ways in which sports can reveal the dynamics of a

society in a way that studying more traditional areas, like politics, may not allow.

C.L.R. James 1963Beyond a Boundary is seen as a key work of postcolonial

writing. Yet it is also an important work in the sociology of sport for the way in

which it articulates the important role that sport can play as a social and libratory

force in the creation of national consciousness. Cricket raised, for James, a political

consciousness before he even knew what that was writing, Cricket had plunged me

into politics long before I was aware of it. When I did turn to politics I did not have

too much to learn (1963, 65). James argues that social and political passions (denied

traditional outlets) could be expressed through cricket precisely because it was a

game. Being high-profile cricket players gave people political voices that would be

otherwise unavailable to them, not only in terms of being able to provide money for

the cause, but also by virtue of being in the public eye. Cricket was also a constant

reminder of the class and racial inequality that existed in Trinidad. For James, unlike

most Marxists, sport does not deflect people from politics; rather it can be integral to

political awareness and consciousness. Games come to represent something about the

culture, also, a site of power and conflict, in which they are played and are able to

reflect a nations value and sense of self.

James books distinctive insistence is that sport is more than simply a terrain

where racial stereotypes and hierarchies are reinforced and reproduced. Sport is also a

terrain where these stereotypes and hierarchies can be questioned, challenged and

changed (Hartmann 2003). Hartmann argues that cricket appears not only as a sport


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or game, but also as an entire social formation in which the players identities and

experiences as well as the games larger meaning become important.

Sport and Globalisation

In recent years, the problem Bourdieu identified of sport not being taken seriously

as an area of scholarly inquiry has been addressed. The area of sport and nationalism

is a growing field of inquiry particularly in the context of globalization. Sport is being

given particular attention in the globalization debate as representing a paradoxical

activity that is both integral to the dissemination of global values and capitalism, but

is also a vessel for strong local and national identification that can be resistant to

globalization. Bairners 2001 bookSport, Nationalism, and Globalization, critically

assesses the way in which globalisation interacts with both sport and nationalism.

One of the most common views suggests the process of globalization is causing the

relationship between sport and national identity to fall apart in favour of a

homogeneous global sporting culture. Bairner introduces the term Glocalization to

describe the extent to which sport and nationalism have resisted aspects of

globalization. The resilience of national sentiment is as much a result of globalisation

as a reaction to it. In many ways, the processes of globalization have facilitated the

identity politics of sub-state nationalisms and ethnic groups. A national sport need not

be one that was invented in the country in question, but can be one in which a

particular nation excels, which means that it can be shared by other nations. Sport can

be used to transcend rival identities, but it can also be used to form division between

rival identities. The definition of a national sport is specific to the nation in

question; in this way they either confirm the uniqueness of the nation in question (ex.


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hurling in Ireland) or reflect the conflict that exists between the civic and the ethnic

representations of the nation (ex. football as representing the civic Scottish nation and

Gaelic games the ethnic nation). It would be foolish to assume political disloyalty

from an expression of sporting nationalism in the sense that who one cheers for

during a sporting event does not necessarily indicate a desire to undermine the state

structure (Bairner 2001, 169). The sporting nation both reflects and constructs the

contested nation.

Using Bairners idea of glocalization, Jarvie (2003) argues that sports have

served as a kind of substitute for nationalism allowing citizens to voice their support

for the nation without voting for nationalist parties. The author writes, The

nationalism that is connected to sport may be constructed in order to be manifested

within and between different types of nations, to be real and imagined, to be a

creative or reflective force, to be both positive and negative, transient and temporary,

multi-faceted and multi-layered and/or evolutionary in its format (Jarvie 2003, 541).

This allows for alternative ways of expressing national identity that might sit outside

conventional party politics or movements. It might even allow for an expression of

national identity that supporters would not identify with a nationalist movement at all.

The question of the degree to which identity politics interacts with nationalism

and sport is addressed by Hunter (2003) and Carrington (2007). Hunter argues that

the use of symbols can become particularly important in terms of pseudo-

nationalities in which sport may be among their only expressions (ex. the use of The

Flower of Scotland rather than the official anthem God Save the Queen). Sport, in an

increasingly globalised world will become one of the most important areas in which


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the shaping and re-shaping of national identity will play out. Carrington argues for a

renewed focus on identity politics. He asserts that scholarly attachment to identity

politics has waned in recent years, amid claims that identity politics have moved too

far away from materialist concerns or that they have become overly politicised by

reading politics into every aspect of identity production. Instead, Carrington writes

that identity needs to be re-conceptualised as being a necessary, though not sufficient

precondition for any effective oppositional politics. This will allow for the

development of a more critically engaged way of incorporating cultural identity into

political action rather than seeing it as a substitute.

In Maguires important text, Global Sport, he takes a similarly critical view to

Bairner, but makes his analysis through a historical sociological framework (Maguire

1999). Maguire uses the process sociological approach, which has an advantage over

dependency theory in that it recognises that global cultural products are interpreted by

those that consume them and therefore it is not a one way flow. This is more useful

than simply considering globalizing practices by the idea of transnational practices,

and is able to move beyond simple nation-state interactions.

Both national identities and sport forms of cultures are undergoing a pluralization

process; it is becoming difficult to claim that a single sport represents the nation.

Sport remains an area where processes of habitus/identity testing and formation are

conducted. Sport is used by different groups (established, outsider/emergent) to

represent, maintain and/or challenge identities, as Maguire writes, The discourses

promoted in and through sport by dominant groups construct meanings about the

nation with which people can identify (1999, 177). In some cases, sports are seen as


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embodying the characteristics of national character. The author writes, In fact, the

emotional bonds of individuals with the nations they form with each other can have,

as one of their levels, sleeping memories which tend to crystallize and become

organised around common symbolsnational sports being one example (Maguire

1999, 184). Crucially, sports have the ability to sustain the myth of a common

national character that is inherent and natural rather than created and in some cases

ideologically motivated. There is no standardized, immutable, genetically inherited

national character. Yet the habitus codes, embodied feelings and discursive practices

of the individuals who constitute a nation play a powerful role both in the foundation

of cultural relations and in the construction and maintenance of national identities

(Maguire 1999, 185). One of the clearest reactions against globalization has been a

move towards the construction of nostalgia, particularly in relation to sport. Sports

can act as anchors of meaning in ...times where national cultures and identities are

experiencing the effects of global time-space compression (Maguire 1999, 204).

Sporting victories and losses can be remembered as national success or tragedies on a

large political scale.

Harvey and Houle (1994) take a political economy perspective on the

globalisation of sport. They take issue with previous treatments of sports and

globalization by arguing that in most of these analyses globalization gets conflated

with imperialism. Instead, globalization should be seen as a series of processes

(economic, political, cultural, etc.) that seek to alter the dominance of the nation-state

towards integration across national spaces. In this way, sports are both shaped by and

contribute to globalisation processes. Sport can also contribute to globalisation not


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only through the creation of a global metaculture, but also by providing sites for the

formation and maintenance of fragmented and segmented cultures that gather

individuals separately from the nation-state. Economically, sports are contributing to

globalization through the ownership of sports teams and sports equipment

manufacturers that are often international in character. The authors are particularly

interested in looking at the way that new social movements have used sports to

develop infra- and supra-national links and a common ethos (Harvey and Houle 1994,

352). To demonstrate this, they give the examples of the feminist movements success

in gaining greater equality for women in sports and the anti-racism movements

success with the boycott of South Africa in the 1980s.

The issue of territorial importance is analysed in Donnellys The Local and the

Global: Globalization in the Sociology of Sport (1996) in which he looks at some of

the major theories that have circulated about the different strands of globalization in

sport, particularly the idea of Americanization. While these processes do have the

capability to wipe out traditional sports, what is more interesting is the ways in which

a developing sport monoculture creates vast areas of cultural space in which new

sporting activities might develop and traditional sports may thrive (Donnelly 1996,

248). This is idea allows for a thinking about the ways in which globalisation may

cause people to retreat into their local identities and thus re-invigorate interest in

local/traditional sports.

Building on the question of the local versus the global in terms of sports

diffusion, Rowe (Rowe 2003) complicates the issue by suggesting that there is no

clear answer as to which is favoured or lost in globalization. The sporting nation,


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which symbolically manifests the hopes and aspirations of the nation in the body of

the athletes in question, has deep historical boundaries that may cross nation-state

boundaries and divisions of identity (class, culture, education, gender, religions,

politics, ethnicity, etc.). These contradictions are enhanced by the fact that citizens

play as team-mates in some instances and in other cases compete against each other.

Sport is resistant to harder forms of nationalism because of its dependency on the

idea of a sporting nation. Sporting events become more meaningful and powerful

(and more open to exploitation) when they have socio-political significance.

Sport can instead be seen as a perpetual reminder of the social limits to the

reconfiguration of endlessly mutable identities and identification (Rowe 2003, 286).

The sporting nation is not necessarily congruous to the sovereign, legal nation.

International sport can, then, be a key marker of national fantasy or aspiration, but

above all it is generative of a symbolic entity that comes into being by affixing a

notion of identity that is likely to be an impediment to the free-floating

cosmopolitanism so crucial to the ethos of globalization (Rowe 2003, 287). It is

impossible that sport would be stripped of its identity building properties because

they are the source of its power and the potential resistive impediments to

globalization. International sports reliance on localized, national forms of identity

offer resources for the mobilization of conscious and unconscious anti-globalization

perspectives.

In an increasingly cited piece, Sport, Identity Politics and Globalization:

Diminishing Contrasts and Increasing Varieties Maguire (1994) argues for the use of

a framework based on Norbert Elias civilization model for understanding the


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interaction between sport and globalization. Rejecting the idea of a homogenising

global flow does not mean accepting the idea that growth is unstructured or

haphazard. Maguire turns to the idea of diminishing contrasts and increasing varieties

(from Elias) to create a framework. Emergence and diffusion of modern sporting

forms on a global scale are connected to broader globalisation/civilizing processes.

This diffusion (late 19th

Century) was also concurrent with the intensification of

nationalism, the emergence of ethnic nation-states and the invention of traditions.

Maguire argues, In this way, sport synthesised peoples habitus with the ongoing

invention of political and social traditions to provide the medium for and barometer

of national identification and competitive community struggle (Maguire 1994, 405).

As modern sports become more diffused and widely played across the globe, the

colonizing forces that were responsible for introducing the sport in question start to

have their sporting supremacy challenged by former colonies, diminishing the

contrasts between them in the field of sport. However, Maguire also argues that

globalization processes involve multidirectional movements of people, practices,

customs and ideas. In the global marketplace of ideas, goods and culture, indigenous

groups have an active role to play in interpreting what they are receiving, thus there is

an increase in the varieties of sporting practices and national teams will often play in

a style that is seen to represent its specific national characteristics and values. Due to

the increasing variety of sporting practices that become available through

globalization, it becomes increasingly difficult to argue that each nation is represented

by only one sport. In addition, globalization has introduced embodied nostalgia,


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which allows for sporting disasters to be linked with the decline of the nation in

general.

Conclusion

The literature that is emerging within the field of sociology of sport is

increasingly cognisant of the fact that sport can represent a social or political force in

peoples lives (particularly in terms of national identification) rather than solely

leisure activity. Sport provides a significant example of how globalization does not

necessitate the elimination of local identity and instead points to the paradox of

globalization that sees a global outlook mixed with a local one. The literature

reviewed presents a framework for understanding the different approaches that are

taken to try and understand sport and demonstrates that sport itself is a more complex

field than at first glance.

The question of whether sports contributes to or is a stand against the

homogenizing forces of globalization is a key question for Bara who are struggling

with the problem of maintaining a local identity within a climate that is promoting

internatioanlization. The work of Rowe and Bairner in this area will create a context

for understanding Baras current policies and direction. Baras strong local identity

is best understood within Bourdieus argument that recognised the important role that

sport contributes to the formation and maintenance of a persons identity. This point

is well illustrated in C.L.R. James work on cricket. It is through James political

awakening through cricket that Baras true value and importance can be best

understood.


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Chapter 2-The birth of a Club and a political movement

The history of the modern Catalan nationalist movement is intertwined with

the birth and growth of FC Barcelona. It would be impossible to understand Bara

without understanding the development of the modern political Catalan movement. It

is within this relationship that the origins of Baras iconic slogan more than a Club

can be found and understood. The idea of a Catalan nation dates back to the Middle

Ages with the first recorded use of the terms Catalan and Catalunya appearing in

1150. From this period on, Catalan culture created a strong sense of identity amongst

its citizens. This strong emphasis on culture is a defining feature of Catalan identity.

It is unsurprising that in times of strife, that Catalan society would turn towards its

cultural institutions to sustain itself. The 20th

century in Catalunya (and Spain) is

marked by conflict, in particular a civil war that was book-ended by two dictatorships

that sought to destroy the Catalan nation. It was during these periods of silence and

marginalization that the true value and importance of Bara was to emerge. This

chapter will argue that Bara was able to play an instrumental role in maintaining and

shaping Catalan identity through its ability to create a sense of solidarity which

brought people and its ability to bridge the public-private divide by allowing some

public demonstration of Catalan identity.

The collapse Spanish empire with the loss of Spains overseas colonies in the

Spanish-American war galvanised the nascent nationalist movement in Catalunya and

raised important questions about the viability of the Spanish central state (Balcells

1996; Conversi 1997; Green 2007). The Spanish economy had been almost entirely

dependent on its colonies, and their loss revealed the extent to which the Spanish state


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had failed to modernise. Catalunya, unlike other regions of Spain which remained

largely agrarian, had industrialised which expanded the ranks of the Catalan

bourgeoisie increasing their financial and political power. Catalunyas self-perception

as a nation dates back to Middle-Ages and the region did not come under the control

of the centralised Spanish state until September 11th, 1714

4. Since the late 18

th

century, Castile had become the external threat that Catalunya positioned itself

against. Catalans saw themselves as progressive, pro-democracy, European and

modern in contrast to the conservative, Catholic and centralist Spain (Guibberneau

2004). Yet this sense of separate identity did not become a political movement until

the late 19th century when the collapsing central state presented the possibility of new

political configurations in the form of greater regionalism and de-centralisation.

The romantic movement of the 19th

century had inspired many nationalist

movements throughout Europe and Catalunya was no exception.La Renaixena

(renaissance) was a romantic revivalist moment that sought to promote the

revitalization of the Catalan language through literature, theatre and other art forms.

The movement was also accompanied by an effort to standardize the Catalan

language. It was this cultural movement that inspired a renewed interest in Catalan

culture that was necessary to inspire a political movement. An explicitly political

Catalan organization, Centre Catal, had been established in 1882 at the Catalan

congress of that year (Conversi 1997). The following year, the Congress passed

motions calling for co-official status of Catalunya, economic protectionism, Catalan

4Since the end of the Franco dictatorship and the re-establishment of the Catalan regional parliament,

September 11th is celebrated as the National Day of Catalunya (La Diada) to commemorate the defeat

in the Siege of Barcelona during the Spanish war of Succession (Green). The festival was celebrated

for the first time in the open on September 11 th, 1976 (Crameri, 31).


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law and a central government for the region (Conversi 1997; Guibernau 2004). In

addition, a motion was passed condemning Catalan participation in Spanish political

parties. The first explicitly politically nationalist text appeared in 1886, written by

Valenti Almirall (who would also establish the first daily Catalan language paper and

was responsible for organizing the first Catalanist congress) entitledLo Catalanisme.

In this book, Almirall outlined a transition from regionalism to nationalism,

emphasising Catalan character, mentality and language as being central to the

development of a national identity (Conversi 1997). Almiralls vision of Catalan

identity was based on the idea of a shared identity and imagined community, which

clashed with the more conservative nationalist position of the Catalan bourgeoisie,

who tended to view the central state more favourably. The bourgeoisie was only

interested in regionalism to the extent that it could pressure the central state to pursue

policies that favoured their economic interests. These two visions of the Catalan

nation would soon come into conflict with each other, leading to a split within the

Centre Catal with the right-wing forming the Lliga de Catalunya in 1889.

The Lliga de Catalunya, advocated conservative Catalan nationalism, a vision

of Catalan nationalism that fell well-short of separatism. In the conservative view, it

was the duty of Catalunya to take a leadership role within Spain in order to contribute

to the modernization of the state. The Lligas defence of Catalan institutions (i.e.,

their defence of the Catalan civil code in 1889) was not out of a belief in the romantic

ideals of nationalism, but rather a belief that Catalunya would drive Spain forward. In

1891, the Uni Catalanista was founded as a coalition to bring together groups that

advocated both federalism and regionalism. In 1892, the group produced the first


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document outlining Catalan political demands. The programme entitledBases de

Manresea (named after the town which sits in the geographic centre of Catalunya)

argued for:

inter alia political autonomy, the replacement of the artificially imposed

provinces with more natural comarques and municipis (town councils), the

reservation of public appointments for Catalonians (by virtue of either birth or

naturalisation), and Catalan as the only official language. The powers

attributed to Catalonia should encompass taxation, coinage, legislative and

executive authority, civil, penal and mercantile legislation, specific Catalan

units for the army, a regional police force, and control of education by the

municipi or the comarca (quoted in Conversi 1997, 21).

While the declaration had limited popular impact, it would come to influence the

demands of those at the elite level and shaped the direction of the movement.

In 1897, the Uni sent a message to the Greek king expressing sympathy for

the Cretans in their nationalist struggle against the Ottoman Empire. In response,

Madrid sent the army to occupy Catalunya and cracked down on political activities.

This move only deepened the growing sense within the region that Catalunyas

interests were not being served by the central state and encouraged greater support for

the persecuted leaders of the Uni. The 1899 loss of Cuba dealt a serious blow to the

Catalan economy, which supplied the island with sixty percent of their imports. This

spawned a new movement,Regeneracionismo, which believed that the Spanish state

needed to be regenerated. Catalan forces within this movement articulated the

position that Spanish malaise was the result of faulty centralism.


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The year 1899 was also notable for the founding of FC Barcelona by Swiss-

born Hans (who later adopted the Catalan name Joan) Gamper. Gamper and the six

others present at the founding of the Club were not initially looking to make a

political statement. With the rise of the industrial bourgeoisie, there was an expanding

interest in leisure activities and sports became a popular choice for young men

(FCBarcelona, FCB Museu & Fundaci. 2007). In addition, Barcelonas position as

an important port city had made it a magnet for foreigners for many years and

football was introduced to Spain through the presence of English and Scottish migrant

workers. The presence of foreign players in FC Barcelona reflected the character of

the city and this openness to the rest of the world would become a feature of the Club

for many years to come (Llobera 2004). The first few years of the Club were a

struggle to remain afloat with the Club encountering many problems such as trying to

find a ground on which to play. Grounds were limited and difficult to come by. Sports

were mainly confined to the upper classes with the working classes mainly excluded

through inaccessible facilities and long workdays. Football became one of the only

sports whose appeal found popularity amongst all classes.

The political landscape within Catalunya continued to undergo change during

this period. In 1901, the first explicitly Catalanist political party, la Lliga Regionalista

was founded. It was also the first year that Catalunya was able to hold local elections

after the repression of 1897. While conservative Catalan nationalism was still popular

in some quarters, more radical forms of nationalism were finding an audience5. The

radicalization of the movement was influenced by the 1906 decision by the Prime

5This was due in part the developing labour movement, which was becoming increasingly anarchist in

orientation. Barcelona, in this period, developed a very strong anarchist movement. For more

information see Daniele Conversi and Albert Balcells.


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Minister to introduce a law that made insults against the army and Spanish national

symbols a criminal offence. This led to the closing of Catalan newspapers and an

uprising in Catalan society. In 1909, a general strike was called by the Anarchists and

the Syndicalists, which led to the introduction of martial law and a revolt by the

residents of Barcelona. The reaction of the government and the army to the strike

became known as the setmana trgica (tragic week) in Catalan history for the

violence and destruction that the army wrought on the city (Conversi 1997; Balcells

1996). This left an indelible mark on the Catalan consciousness and foreshadowed

what was to come.

In 1911, it was proposed that the four provinces of Catalunya should be united

into one administrative unit. Two years later, it became a reality along with the

establishment of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya (a proto-regional government). By

1917, the radical turn in Catalan nationalism had been manifested in a greater

commitment to Republicanism and commitment to the promotion of the Catalan

nation (assaults on symbols of the Spanish state, i.e. the flag and the promotion of

Catalan illegally in universities). This coincided with the growing strength of the

anarchist and labour movements. The Catalan nationalist movement was not

dominated by one social class (Llobera 2004). Where the class difference could be

felt was in the differing versions of what the Catalan nationalist movement should

look like.

Between 1910-1913, football in Spain underwent a transitional period as its

accessibility and popularity grew. By 1913, Bara had undergone a change from an

amateur to professional sporting Club. With the outbreak of World War One, Gamper


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was forced to resign the post of Club president since his Swiss-German roots were

regarded with suspicion. He was able to regain the post again in 1917 and with his

second term came a renewed commitment to furthering the interests of his adopted

home. The end of the WWI raised the profile of football as social and media interest

increased exponentially. Baras position as Catalunyas Club was confirmed in 1918

when the Club formed part of the pro-autonomy campaign prompting the paper, La

Veu de Catalunya (The voice of Catalunya) to write The miracle was a matter of a

moment, of a Catalan Club, Futbol Club Barcelona, which has become a Catalan

Club (FCBarcelona, FCB Museu & Fundaci 2007,42). This symbolic declaration

in the newspaper confirmed a relationship that had grown in the preceding years. In

1914, Gamper had lent his support6

to Catalan Olympic Committee in their attempts

to get official recognition for a Catalan team. In 1920, Gamper travelled with the

Committee to the Antwerp Games in order to meet with the head of the Olympic

Association to discuss the possibility of a Catalan team and of hosting an Olympic

games in Barcelona (FCBarcelona, FCB Museu & Fundaci 2007, 43).

In 1922, the Club unveiled their new permanent home, Les Cortes stadium

with a capacity of 30,000. At the time of its construction it was one of the most

modern and prominent stadiums in Europe. At the same time, the political landscape

was changing. In 1923, the less conservative party Accio Catalana won in the local

elections which led to the signing of the Triple Alliance, uniting Catalunya with

Spains other two historic nations, Galicia and the Basque Region (Conversi 1997).

6Since the founding of the Club, Gamper had gone on to solidify his position in Catalan society by

marrying into a prominent Catalan family and through the success of his shipping business. This, plus

his involvement in the Club, meant that he was prominent voice in Barcelona (FCBarcelona, FCB

Museu & Fundaci. 2007).


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The post-WWI period also saw an increase in interest in Catalan culture beginning

with the creation of a National library in 1914. The 1920s saw a huge jump in

football spectatorship spurred on by the growth of radio, advertisement sand the

expansion of leisure time (FCBarcelona, FCB Museu & Fundaci. 2007,53). The

expansion of leisure time came as a result of the developing labour movement, which

also brought with it social change and unrest. In 1923, dictator Miguel Primo de

Rivera (father of Primo de Rivera, who would create the fascist Phalange party) was

allowed to retain power by the King Alfonso XIII after he overthrew the parliament in

the interest of restoring unity and peace.

One of di Riveras first actions was to crack-down on the burgeoning

expressions of Catalan identity. Within days of his seizure of power, the Catalan

language and flag had been banned and any acts against the unity of the state were

punishable in a military court. Sport became a particular target of the regime with the

government moving to shut down the Mancomunitats department of Sports and

Physical Education as well as the Catalan Olympic Movement (FCBarcelona, FCB

Museu & Fundaci 2007, 53). On June 24th, 1925, Les Corts stadium hosted a tribute

to the Catalan choral society. When an English band played the Spanish national

anthem, it was booed by many in the crowd of 14,000. Seen as an attack on the unity

of the state, the stadium was closed for five months, the Club condemned for its

separatist attitude and Gamper was exiled back to Switzerland.

In his personal life, Gamper was devoted his adoptive home sharing with the

nationalists a vision of a modern and free Catalunya. This commitment to the interests

of both the city and the Catalan region carried over into his vision of the Club. From


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the beginning Gamper always believed in the possibility of the Club having deep

links to the community. This relationship was solidified through the 1920s, but this

relationship would take on an entirely new dimension and meaning in the next

decades.

From Recognition to Repression

The end of the di Rivera government in 1930 and the formation of the

Republican government in 1931 had a very positive effect on Catalunya. In the same

year, a coalition of leftist parties, the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) was

formed and came to power in municipal elections. A Statute of Autonomy was

overwhelming approved in a plebiscite and the Generalitat (the Catalan regional

government) was re-formed in 1932. The Club also continued to pursue policies that

supported the cause of Catalan nationalism. In 1935, Josep Sunyol was elected as

Club president. Sunyol was well-known for his political activities including his

involvement in the left-wing Esquerra Republicana (Republican left) and his creation

of the weekly magazine La Rambla. As president, Sunyol pursued a policy called

Sport and Citizenship which argued that sports had an important role to play in

developing the values (such as loyalty and good health) that were critical to

developing good citizens. In addition, sports presented the opportunity to bring

people together and develop a sense of collective identity (Burns 1999; Finestres

2004).

When civil war broke out on July 17th, 1936, Francos Nationalist forces

found little support within Catalunya with the exception of the bourgeoisie who felt

that Franco would be more supportive of their economic interests (Conversi 1997;


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Guibernau 2004). In response to attempts by the anarchist workers movement to take

control of the Club, the board dissolved itself on August 20th, 1936 and was replaced

by a workers committee. This decision was not taken for purely political reasons,

but was mostly motivated by a desire to retain control of the Club (Burns 1999, 115).

With the country in political turmoil, the national league dissolved and most teams

aligned themselves with local political leaders and played benefit matches for the

soldiers in the area (Burns 1999, 116). The same year, a Catalan championship was

organised for teams in the region. Like many citizens in the region, Bara players

along with their counterparts on Athletic Bilbao joined the fight against the military

insurgency (Goig 2008, 59). With gate receipts falling and the political situation

becoming increasing tenuous, the Club was facing an uncertain future. In April 1937,

the Club was invited by a Mexican businessman to tour the country for a fee of

$15,000 (US) and all the expenses paid. Given that Catalunya was one of the regions

that was still resisting Francos advance, the tour was always going to have a political

edge with the team representing not only Catalunya, but Republican Catalunya (Burns

1999, 119). The tour continued into the United States and before the teams expected

return to Barcelona, the players were given the choice to return to Barcelona or to

remain as exiles. Of the sixteen players that travelled on the tour, four chose to return

to Barcelona with the rest going into exile, mostly in Mexico and France (Burns

1999). In October of 1937 the Republican government moved its base from Valencia

to Barcelona (Payne 2004).

One March 16th, 1938, Nationalists forces dropped bombs on Barcelona

including one that landed on the Clubs social Club causing serious damage.


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Catalunya held out until Febrary 5th

, 1939, with Girona the last Catalan city to fall.

The region experienced particularly high levels of retribution and oppression.7

Measures implemented included the elimination of all Catalan references from the

public sphere; the burning of hundreds of Catalan books; the removal of all signs and

posters in Catalan; the banning of Catalan as a spoken language in the workplace and

at the state government level and the removal or transfer of teachers with Catalan

sympathies; the removal of Catalan subjects from the universities and the purging of

professors in these areas; and the banning of the flag and the anthem (Burns 1999;

Conversi 1997; Green 2007; Guibernau 2004).

Bara did not escape the new regimes notice and changes were made at the

Club. The anglicised name Football Club Barcelona was hispanized to Club de

Football Barcelona and the crest was changed, changing the flag from the Catalan

(with four red stripes and five yellow stripes) to the Spanish two red stripes. This led

to a difficult period of squad re-building in the 1940s. The most traumatic incident in

the civil war was the execution of Club president Josep Sunyol on September 28th,

1936 by Nationalist forces.8

With the region once again facing repression once again, there was a need to

find other ways of maintaining a connection to the regions Catalan identity. The

Clubs increasing identification with the Catalanist cause seems to have been the

result of two main phenomena: the

cheering for barça fc barcelona and the shaping of catalan identity

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