The moral glocalization of sport: Local meanings of football in Chota Valley, Ecuador

Abstract

Studies of the glocalization of sport usually focus on 'aesthetic glocalization' (how local actors adopt a global sport and create a new hybrid aesthetic). This has led some critics to dismiss glocalization as a superficial 'façade' of diversity hiding global homogeneity. This paper challenges this view by looking at the 'moral glocalization' of sport and at the ways local actors give global sports local moral meanings. Drawing on interviews with Afro-descendants from Chota valley, Ecuador, it shows that in this peripheral community football is seen as: (1) a morally safe emotional outlet; (2) a moral education; (3) a source of national 'communitas'; (4) racial pride; (5) a space for local moral heroes; and (6) a gateway to communal progress. In conclusion, local actors give global football deep moral meaning when they can associate it to local conceptions of the sacred.

The glocalisation of sports: a study of the influence of European Football Leagues on Nigerian society

“…The past few decades have witnessed an increased "marketization" (or commercialization) of sports (Enjolras, 2002;Hassan, 2014;Hassan and McCue, 2013;Sterkenburg, 2013;Jijon, 2017). This has been fostered by political, economic, social and technological developments such as shrinking domestic markets in Western countries, increasingly global workforce and the proliferation of satellite and internet telecommunications (James, 2012).…”

“…This has been fostered by political, economic, social and technological developments such as shrinking domestic markets in Western countries, increasingly global workforce and the proliferation of satellite and internet telecommunications (James, 2012). Jijon (2017) explains that globalization is the increased movement of capital, people, images, and ideas around the world and sports like football are part of these processes, moving money and players across borders and promoting images, celebrities, and brands through the global media (Campbell, 2011;Carter, 2013;Gilmour and Rowe, 2010;Giulianotti and Robertson, 2007a and b). Throughout its history, football has been a catalyst as much for social cohesion, unity, excitement and integration as it can be for division, exclusion and discrimination (Cleland, 2015).…”

“…Sport is a major interest in modern society with a greater number of participants than ever before (Enjolras, 2002). Sporting activities in Western countries are characterized by a trend toward pluralization, that is, the increase in the number of different sports activities (Enjolras, 2002) and internationalization of brands and sports activities (Jijon, 2017). Despite the globalization, sports remain inherently connected to national and local roots (Rowe, 2003;Cho, 2009).…”

“…The theoretical model underpinning this research is 'glocalization of sports' (Robertson, 1995;Giulianotti and Robertson, 2004). Jijon (2017) maintain that studies of the glocalization of sport usually focus on 'aesthetic glocalization' (how local actors adopt a global sport and create a new hybrid aesthetic). Globalization is marked by processes of glocalization, whereby local cultures adapt and redefine any global cultural product to suit their needs, beliefs and customs (Robertson and White 2003a and b;Robertson, 2004 and2007a and.…”

State, sport and resistance: A case of Palestinian sports clubs in the West Bank

“…While Basque pelota and Gaelic games in Ireland are examples of traditional games revived for the sake of national renaissance, examples from other contexts show that also ‘imported’ sports may be transformed, or ‘glocalized’ (Giulianotti and Robertson, 2004), to meet the needs, values and political struggles of local populations, with the most well-known case being the Triobriand cricket (Foster, 2006). Also, the imported or ‘Western’ sports may be adopted in form but given distinctive local moral and political meanings (Jijon, 2017). Such has been the case in the Arab world, where stadiums and organized football have been among the very few places where dissenting political opinions and anti-patriarchal stances could be voiced by the dissatisfied youth and ‘the autonomy and opposition experienced at the football arenas have in numerous cases been transcended into society at large’ (Tuastad, 2014b: 384).…”