Getting into Europe

This book is an investigation into the
identifications and stories told by football
supporters about some ill-defined entity
called Europe . The core aim is to
consider whether the experiences of football fandom
(and the ways in which these are recounted) may be
developing identifications with Europe and whether
this may legitimate the EU or assist in reducing
intra-European xenophobia. So, the book is
concerned with the consumption of football in
English and European competitions, with more than
one eye on fan perceptions of transnational
developments in the sport and its possible socio-
political resonance. The research is also centrally
interested in the development of European
identities, particularly in respect to the
way Europe is consumed. It is concerned with the
tensions of discourses which, on the one hand,
present Europe as abstract and almost ill-definable
and, on the other, with a Europe situated
within 'everyday' and lived practices.

Autorentext

Dr. Peter Millward is a Lecturer in Sociology, University of Liverpool, UK. He has several publications which examine: the relationship between 'Europe' and football; racism/xenophobia in English football culture (including 'Islamophobia') and the contemporary power structures within professional football. This is his first book.

Klappentext

This book is an investigation into the identifications and stories told by football supporters about some ill-defined entity called 'Europe'. The core aim is to consider whether the experiences of football fandom (and the ways in which these are recounted) may be developing identifications with Europe and whether this may legitimate the EU or assist in reducing intra-European xenophobia. So, the book is concerned with the consumption of football in English and European competitions, with more than one eye on fan perceptions of transnational developments in the sport and its possible socio-political resonance. The research is also centrally interested in the development of European identities, particularly in respect to the way 'Europe' is consumed. It is concerned with the tensions of discourses which, on the one hand, present Europe as abstract and almost ill-definable and, on the other, with a Europe situated within 'everyday' and lived practices.