New Europe, old games? Making sense of Anglo-Polish media coverage of England versus Poland football matches

Abstract

Attention is primarily given to a comparative qualitative discourse analysis of British/English and Polish media coverage of England versus Poland football matches as part of the qualification rounds for the men's World Cup football tournament that were to be held in Germany in June 2006. The media discourse surrounding these matches was characterised by nostalgia, an ethnic assertiveness / defensiveness and a wilful stereotyping of opponents that can be understood as part of an active construction of ‘fantasy group charisma’ based on both the ‘invention of traditions’ and, at a deeper level, the habitus codes that underpin the ‘national character’ of European nations. The media's representations of identity politics can be understood from the vantage point of not solely ‘imagined communities’ and ‘invented traditions’ but also national habitus codes.