Football and the media construction of Iranian national identity during the FIFA World Cup 2018 and AFC Asian Cup 2019

Ziaee, Ali; Elling, Agnes; van Sterkenburg, Jacco; van Hilvoorde, Ivo; Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin

Abstract

Elite sport success in international tournaments is supposed to play an important role in shaping national identity. In this article, we explore if and how this applies to the Iranian context. The current study made use of a Google alert with the title of ‘Iran Men’s National Football Team’, and a general content analysis of Iranian national and sport media. The analytic focus was on media coverage of the Iranian national football team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. All relevant newspaper articles before, during, and after Iran’s matches were reviewed, coded, and analysed. We developed four main themes in the coverage expressing Iranian identity in the context of the aforesaid football events: ‘united passion’, ‘determined and conscientious’, ‘oppressed but great’, and ‘emotion-ridden’. It was concluded that political and historical references used by Iranian media contribute to the invention and reproduction of Iranian national identity through the aforementioned sporting tournaments.

Citation

Ziaee, A., Elling, A., van Sterkenburg, J., van Hilvoorde, I., & Adib-Moghaddam, A. (2021). Football and the media construction of Iranian national identity during the FIFA World Cup 2018 and AFC Asian Cup 2019. Soccer and Society, 22(6), 613-625. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2021.1952691

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 3, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jul 13, 2021
• Publication Date: Jul 13, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 27, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 27, 2022
• Journal: Soccer and Society
• Print ISSN: 1466-0970
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-9590
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 613-625
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2021.1952691
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970.2021.1952691