Football and patriotism in South America: Between the elite and civil society

Abstract

Football in South American societies became a community pillar over the twentieth century, against the backdrop of nation building processes characterized by social inequalities. In this context, both elites and civil so­ciety made use of football’s original patriotic influence in distinctive ways. Thus, through a historical analysis of three sporting events – the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the 1980 ‘Mundialito’ in Uruguay, and the protests that took place during the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil – this article looks at the different ways in which football is used by the ruling governments and the citi­zens; namely a hegemonic use by the elite and a contra-hegemonic usage by the civil society. In this manner, the con­clusions allow to banish the persistent beliefs about the one-sided hegemonic character of the sport phenomenon and highlight the transformative evolution re­flected in football events. Similarly, the sociological approach to sport in South America leads to conclude the conflict­ual nature of contemporary societies.