Football and Belonging

This book analyses the formation of football teams and leagues by Latin American migrants, as well as the transcultural and gendered negotiations of belonging within migrant amateur football spaces in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil. Football provides an important space for Latin American migrants to come together culturally and socially, and to express a sense of belonging to the same nation, region, or even locality of origin. Appropriating space for football is also an important transcultural strategy: migrants integrate themselves into everyday Brazilian culture while expressing their affiliation to their country of arrival, since amateur football is a widespread and popular sport in Brazil. Drawing on in-depth ethnographic research in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, this book explores the transcultural and gender-specific dynamics of Bolivian and Peruvian football leagues and teams. The authors examine the role of identity markers such as nation, ethnicity and community in shaping a sense of belonging, as well as the links to workplaces, religion and church affiliations. By focusing on negotiations over the use of urban sports spaces and processes of self-empowerment in migrant football spaces, the book sheds light on topics that have received little research attention to date, yet are of great importance to critical Latin American migration and sports studies.