Dark-skinned pioneers in European national football teams: patterns and stories

In 2012, five Qatari women participated in a qualitative research study, which aimed to explore the negotiation of opportunity to be members of Qatar's first national women's football team. Qatar is a conservative Islamic country which is experiencing rapid modernisation. Part of this modernisation includes the increasing visibility of sport, for example the successful bid for the 2022 men's Football World Cup. In response to this bid, the first Qatari women's national football team was established in 2011. The project was positioned within a social constructivist framework. Five out of 12 squad members, over the age of 18, volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. Interview questions probed the women's experiences and influences on their opportunities and journey to membership in the national team. From a thematic analysis, issues such as the management of gender norms and the influence of significant others dominated the data. This research indicated that the women's agency enabled them to manage their situation with a range of strategies and to change attitudes towards women footballers. The winning of the bid to host the men's World Cup has been a catalyst for change in making spaces for Qatari sportswomen.

The research aimed to know the role of sports marketing in the national football teams participating in foreign tournaments according to the opinion of the national football team players. The researcher used the descriptive approach in a survey style, and the study tool was preparing a questionnaire on the subject of the research and study, which consists of (20) items. While the research sample was the players of the Iraqi national football teams, the research sample was distributed in each of the exploratory experiment samples (4), as well as the construction sample (20) and the application sample (30). The results showed that the media have an impact on the success of the marketing process, including the national teams. The national team does not exploit it well in marketing, which consequently leads to raising the level of its financial income. The opinions of the sample members differed regarding the policies and systems related to sports marketing, and the results showed that their role is weak, and the role of the sports marketing methods used by the clubs to achieve their self-financing was weak.

The inclusion of foreign-born sportspeople in national sports teams has become increasingly common. At the same time, the assumed increase in diversity within national football teams has turned into a major subject of (inter)national controversy and debate. This applies, in particular, to the football World Cup, as the assumed increase in foreign-born players in national football teams detracts from the (homogeneous) nation-state basis of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) international football competitions. However, the actual dynamics and complexities of the presence of foreign-born players in national football teams within this context have remained under-researched. In this paper, we use the idea of ‘migration corridors’ to examine the underlying structures that contribute to the diversification of national football teams, in particular during the World Cup. We do so from both an immigration and emigration perspective. By connecting our foreign-born player data to three types of migration corridors, we discuss the bidirectionality of player movements and nationality choices. Our outcomes indicate that the selection of foreign-born footballers within national football teams in the World Cup can mainly be considered as an echo and/or reversal of preceding migration flows between pairs of countries, indicating that historically embedded migration corridors sustain or are rediscovered in this process.

Summary The focus of this research was to determine the relative age effect (RAE) on selection in the Slovakia national football teams. A factor that may have a significant impact on the quality of players chosen for the national teams or may result in a poor selection of players for the elite teams. Anthropometric and cognitive acceleration of players born in the first months of the calendar year concerning the overall context of the competition for placement in the national teams may be considered as a significant advantage. The aim of this research was to examine, determine and verify the presence of relative age effect in the selection of football players for the Slovakia national teams starting with the under 16 age category (U-16) through to the A - senior national football team. We presumed that the elite teams under this review and study consisted predominantly of players born in the first quarter of the calendar year, while also presuming that relative age effect receded with the increasing age category. Our survey sample U16 consisted of 79 players, U17 consisted of 47 players, U18 consisted of 58 players, U19 consisted of 71 players, U21 consisted of 52 players and A - senior national team consisted of 302 Slovakia national football players. The information obtained from the Slovak Football Association has been processed by the application of statistical methods and statistical significance test (T-test). Our research confirmed the presence of relative age effect in the U-16, U-17 and U-18 teams under our investigation (p≤0.01). In the U19 and U21 age categories, statistical significance has not been confirmed. As for the senior national team, statistically significant difference has been found in relation to players born in the last quarter of the year as opposed to players born in the first three months of the year (p≤0.01). Our results have shown that with the increasing age, the relative age effect fades and vanishes in full in the category of senior elite players. In the U-19 and U-21 age categories, statistical significance has not been confirmed. Based on this research results it may be recommended to use the advantage of relative age effect for the selection of players of the particular age category in the particular competition (such as e.g. the European Championship qualification, the European Championship final tournament qualification, or the World Cup qualification in the U-16, U-17, U-18 age categories).

The English St George Cross has recently become more prominent than the British Union Jack among English football fans. Some authors assume this to be evidence that a specifically English national consciousness is arising. However, the ways in which English fans describe their own national identity and their feelings towards the national football team have not been the primary focus of previous research. In order to explore this area further, online questionnaires were disseminated among various fan groups during the 2006 World Cup, the 2008 European Championships and the summer of 2009, gleaning a total of 1355 valid responses. Frequencies were calculated for answers to multiple-choice items and answers to open response items were categorized using a qualitative coding approach. Findings indicate that the relationship between English national identity and support for the national team is more complex than the increased display of the St George Cross suggests. Specifically, English articulations of identity were not homogenous among English football fans: British, local and even European layers of identity were considered to be more important to some fans. Also, the relationship between English national identity and feeling represented by the national team was often dependent on their success. Finally, results signified a complex relationship between fans’ support for their English club and their support for the England team, which was often related to club location.

Myths, although social constructs, are necessary means for constructing and preserving national identities. Sports and football in particular, have shown to be one of strongest myths of national identity, and thus, of a national unity. This is true for Albanians, and in particular for the Albanians living in Kosovo, due to the process of establishing a new state identity parallel to the existing national identity. The aim of the paper is to present the specific case of Kosovo, whereas a national football team upholds the main myth for a unified Albanian community, and the challenges brought about by Kosovo’s acceptance to the UEFA, in regard to the preservation of national identity. The theoretical review will reflect upon myths, its relation with sports and football in particular, and semantics behind the notion of nation and state, as used by the Albanian language. Through the comparative method, similar examples will be presented whereas the football myth has become the strongest national pride. Lastly, through the quantitative method, selected results of a survey conducted for the author’s main PhD thesis will be presented, in regard to affiliation with a national football team. The paper will reveal that a national team may and usually serves as the strongest imaginative community of what we call a nation. In cases such as Kosovo, it is actually the strongest myth, parallel to other symbols, such as the national flag, capable of mobilizing masses. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4p533

This article presents the results of a pedagogical observation study of the competitive activity indicators of men's national teams in different age categories, based on the results of the 2025 World Championships. The study aimed to determine the indicators of competitive activity of national handball teams of different age categories. The research methods employed were theoretical analysis and generalisation of data from scientific and methodological literature, as well as pedagogical observation and methods of mathematical statistics. The analysis covered 116 games of the 2025 World Handball Championship among athletes under 19 years of age, 116 games among athletes under 21 years of age, and 108 games among adult athletes. The following components of competitive activity in handball were determined: the average number of attacks, shots and goals per game; shooting efficiency; and the average indicators of shooting from different playing positions in positional attacks and high-speed attacks, and their respective effectiveness and efficiency. Analysis of the general components of the competitive activity of national handball teams of different age categories showed a decrease in quantitative and qualitative indicators as the level of qualification increased. Pedagogical observation of shooting indicators from different playing positions by players in national handball teams of different age categories showed that the highest quantitative values were recorded in teams of under-19 players when shooting from extreme positions, while the highest efficiency values were recorded in adult teams. When throwing from close range, the number of throws decreases, as does their effectiveness and efficiency, with increasing age. Analysis of speed types in team attacks showed that teams of players under 21 years of age performed better than teams of players under 19 years of age and adult teams in terms of both quantitative and qualitative indicators.

The psychological factor is one of the least exploited aspects of football. In sports, developing performance capacity is the primary objective of training. Maintaining motivation and achieving performance are the foundations of the educational-instructional process and have great value as outcomes both individually and for the team. Research hypotheses. (H1). It is assumed that the members of the national football team have average/above-average emotional intelligence (test score => 100), significantly different from the rest of the students in grades VII-VIII, because teamwork and the psychological training included in the preparation develop the mental qualities and properties of the students who play football. (H2). It is assumed that there is a significant correlation between emotional intelligence and the performance of students in the experimental group. Research methods. In the present research, the initial testing was carried out among students in grades VII-VIII and the national football team (February 2024 – May 2024). This research was conducted at “Sf. Ilie” General School in Toplița. The research subjects were 68 students, 35 females and 33 males. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used, and the following methods were chosen: observation, emotional intelligence test (Roco, 2001), performance test (ball sense, heading the ball, complex test, shooting at two goals, bilateral game), and statistical analysis (t-test). Results. The level of emotional intelligence of the students is 86 and 81 in the national football team, below average, which raises a red flag. At the level of the national football team, a strong self-awareness among the students is noted. This indicator has the highest score, 500, far ahead of empathy (-180) and very far ahead of social skills (-360). After applying to the middle school team's training program, we see a significant increase in the level of emotional intelligence. The correlation statistical test and the t-test show a correlation of r=0.86 and a significance of p=0.00 between the initial and final test results. The Pearson correlation shows a strong link between emotional intelligence and the bilateral game (r=0.76), but does not show a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the other performance indicators. To confirm if the value of r is statistically significant, i.e., if the two variables are correlated, the t-value was calculated. Conclusions. This research confirms that the psychological factor cannot be absent from the preparation of school representative teams. It was confirmed that a high level of emotional intelligence improves the performance of football players, especially in team play, increasing group cohesion. Keywords: football, psychological factor, performance, athletes, school team

Objectives. The objective of the study was to determine the features of competitive activities among national football teams based on the integral assessment of playing tactics. Materials and methods. The study was conducted during the 2024 European Football Championship. The competitive activities of national football teams from European countries (Germany, Spain, England, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Turkey) were analyzed, focusing on the playing tactics in 50 halves. In order to carry out the study, the following methods were used: theoretical analysis of literature sources; pedagogical observation of competitive activities; analysis of video materials of competitive activities; methods of mathematical statistics. The statistical analysis of the research results was conducted using descriptive mathematical statistics. The sample was characterized by determining the arithmetic mean, standard deviation (S), and coefficient of variation (V). The significance of observed differences in the indicators was assessed using the parametric Student’s t-test for independent samples. Prior to this, the data’s conformity to a normal distribution was verified using the Shapiro-Wilk W-test. Results. A methodology for the integral assessment of the tactics undertaken by national football teams was developed. The integral assessment of team tactics consisted of 10 specific coefficients that reflect the main components of football players’ competitive activities in the phases of ball possession and recovery. The competitive activities in 50 halves of the 2024 European Football Championship were analyzed. The average value of the integral assessment of the tactics in national football teams was determined to be 5.62 ± 0.43 points. The findings revealed significant tactical variations between the teams, with Spain’s use of high pressing and creative play contributing to their championship victory. A ten-point scale for evaluating the tactics of national football teams was developed, on the basis of which the level of competitive activities is interpreted. Conclusions. The developed methodology for monitoring and analyzing the tactics of football teams allows for targeted management influences on the competitive activities of football players at the operational, current, and stage levels.

While the presence of foreign-born footballers in national teams has a long history, it is often believed that the World Cup has become more migratory over time. The presumed increases in the volume and diversity of foreign-born footballers have, however, remained empirically untested. In this article, we empirically test whether the presence of foreign-born footballers at the World Cup has changed over time in respect to these two dimensions of migration. We conducted an analysis on 4.761 footballers, derived from the fifteen national teams that competed in at least ten editions of the World Cup between 1930 and 2018, which comprises of 301 foreign-born football players. We argue that countries’ different histories of migration, in combination with historically used citizenship regimes, largely influence the migratory dimensions of their representative football teams. Our outcomes show that the (absolute) volume of foreign-born footballers in World Cups is indeed increasing over time. Moreover, foreign-born footballers seem to come from an increasingly diverse range of countries. We, therefore, conclude that the World Cup has become more migratory in terms of volume and diversity from an immigration perspective.

The involvement of immigrant descent footballers has become an important phenomenon for the demographic changes in the world, partially Europe. This phenomenon has reflected multiculturalism and heterogeneity in European society. The inclusion of foreign footballers into national teams has become common which leads to denationalisation of European national football teams, but the dynamics and complexities have remained under-researched. In this research, we will use the paradigm of constructivism to see Europe as a world society constructed by shared identities and values. This research will analyse how diversification and multiculturalism represented by football in nine countries who heavily impacted by immigrants could shape heterogeneity in European society. The results depict that the existence of immigrant descent footballers reflect the multiculturalism and heterogeneity of the European society.

This study sets out to explore prevalent attitudes amongst the Israeli-Jewish majority towards Arab footballers playing for Israel’s national team via an analysis of online reader comments (‘talkbacks’) posted by Jewish–Israeli readers to 360 online articles discussing the Israeli national football team between the years 2012–2014. Whilst some readers demonstrated a sense of support and empathy with the Arab players, the majority of Jewish–Israeli readers, however, showcased in their ‘talkbacks’ a persistent pattern of minimizing and underplaying Arab–Israeli footballers’ contribution to the national team. Despite the fact that some readers did warm to the prospect of having ‘their own Arab’ play for the national team (that is to say, an Arab footballer who also plays for the domestic team they support), most Jewish–Israeli readers continued to vocalize their protest over the ever-increasing number of Arab players in the Israeli national team.

The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of the Greek economy with the FIFA ranking of the Greek National Football Team in order to find out whether there exists some sort of statistical association. The period under consideration starts with the establishment of the European and Monetary Union in 1992 and ends with the current year of 2021. In 1992, FIFA started to rank national football teams which restricts the extent of time to be used in this study. The descriptive evidence presented in this paper shows that there exists strong positive association between the level of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Greece and the ranking of its national football team. Keywords: FIFA, Greece, Football, GDP, European Union, National Teams.

Football spectators (N=760) at two local and two international matches were surveyed with the aim of investigating how identity is created and sustained in relation to top-level sport in general, and local and national football teams in particular. Two-way between-groups analyses of variance were applied, and effect sizes calculated. There was a statistically significant main effect for gender, showing that male spectators identify more strongly with their favourite team than female spectators. The findings also include an interaction effect between gender and level of matches, indicating different effects on male and female spectators. Male spectators identify more strongly with the national team than the local team, whereas female spectators identify more strongly with the local team. Strong identification with the national team goes together with more positive attitudes towards the nation. The results are analysed within the theoretical framework of social identity theory (SIT) and self-categorization theory (SCT). Team identification is context-dependent and partly explained with reference to the principle of meta-contrast implied in SCT. Positive attitudes towards the nation are interpreted as beneficial from a nation-building point of view, but have possible negative consequences concerning the evaluation of social groups not included in the in-group.

Football is a sport that has a very complex variety of tactics, strategies and formations. In this study, the researcher observed and studied the game patterns, tactics and game strategies applied by the Indonesian men's national football team. The methods used are the FP-Tree algorithm and FP-Growth Data Mining to learn the tactical patterns used in the match. Data is collected from a variety of secondary sources, the internet, and match recordings. The purpose of the research is to model the national team's game activities to be simulated with a data mining algorithm, so that competitive game level standards are obtained from national teams that are able to compete at the Asian level. This can be the standard for the quality of performance and coaches of the national team in the next era. The result obtained is that the data mining algorithm can be used to analyze the game pattern of a football team