Becoming European Through Football Media? Representations of Europe in German Football News Coverage

Abstract

In recent decades, the administrative and competitive structures of men’s elite club football in Europe have undergone a profound transformation toward Europeanization. As a result, football fans are increasingly exposed to European influences. These dynamics shape fans’ perceptions of and orientations toward Europe and contribute to constructions of collective identities. Because football is a highly mediatized sport, fans’ exposure to European influences and their constructions of identity are highly dependent on the representation of Europe in football media. To analyze this, we conducted a quantitative analysis of text-based online news media. Using selected German media outlets, we examined the extent and the patterned variation of media representation of Europe in football news articles. Our results indicate a highly selective media environment focused on a limited set of countries with high sporting relevance and a presence of German national-team players, while other countries rarely enter the media discourse.

Researching football, identity and cohesion in Europe

“…Secondly, while such individual cross-border contact and mobility have proven to be decisive factors for European identification, they often remain limited to groups of higher formal education and socio-economic status, 3 exemplified by the Erasmus program 4,5 or touristic mobility, 6,7 or specific social groups as shown by the Eurovision Song Contest. 8 We propose that sports, and especially football, can serve to fill these gaps in the network of transnational exchange and cooperation, since it complements the institutional(ised), 'official' as well as more 'elitist' individual modes of exchange.…”