Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Amateur soccer games on weekends are often seen as the moment to unwind and relax by many inhabitants of different social groups (rural or urban) and it may seem as a moment of sharing between friends which focuses solely on the practice of soccer. This work aims to understand the impact this practice has on the daily lives of people in a semi-urban area shaped by the heavy presence of industries and agricultural jobs. Opposite to the idea expressed by many works and researchers who only study the practice of soccer as an entertaining activity without considering the relevance in the social organization, this presentation will aim to dissect the social networks created and fortified through the practice of amateur soccer. This topic derives from the data collected for the PhD thesis work (2016-2019), in which it was clearly observed that the players of the different leagues: male, female, junior, kids; the referees, and local tournaments during the town ‘fiestas’ share such a strong bond which directly relates to local identities. This, in return, helps strengthen this link outside the soccer fields as well as daily routines. It is important to mention that this can be seen even in contexts where soccer is not supposed to be the focus of attention. This paper will show the progress of the thesis study mentioned above. Ethnographic data collected throughout the different periods of field work these years will be presented.