This book shows why football has become an important social phenomenon in the Balkans. Interdisciplinary chapters present various aspects of the development of football, including the political background; the development of fan culture; the importance of football for nationalities and social groups and the cultural framework of the Beautiful Game.

The book is concerned with the history of football and its role in Balkan society. The aim is to analyse and discuss various aspects of football as a social and political phenomenon. Collectively the authors address the following themes: football's political background over the years; the formation and development of fan culture; the importance of football for various social groups and nationalities; the cultural framework; and the impact of football on international relations. The following regions are included: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Hungary. The book complements and is a thematic development of the issues raised in the volume Football in the Balkans I: Internal Views, External Perceptions (Peter Lang, 2023). Both volumes present the interplay between sport and politics and the shaping of sport policy in the Balkan countries. This is a project initiated by the Balkan History Association and carried out in cooperation with the Centre for Research on the History of German and European Sport of the Willy Brandt Centre at the University of Wrocaw in Poland.

Autorentext

Dariusz Wojtaszyn is professor of modern history and head of the Centre for Research on the History of German and European Sport at the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wroclaw (Poland), visiting professor at the University of Vienna (Austria) and a member of the Sport History/Sport Studies Network and ISHPES. Teodor Borisov is a historian, former assistant professor at the Institute for Historical Studies of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and guest lecturer at the National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski" in Sofia (Bulgaria). He is a freelance sports journalist with 13 years of experience. He is a member of the Balkan History Association. Maro Melichárek is assistant professor of Modern European and Balkan History at Pavol Jozef afárik University in Koice (Slovakia) and a member of the Balkan History Association. He has received several domestic and international grants and is a two-time Visegrad scholarship holder.

Inhalt

Richard Mills: Preface - Teodor Borisov/Maro Melichárek/Dariusz Wojtaszyn: Introduction: Football as a Social and Political Phenomenon in the Balkans-Local Specificity - Dariusz Wojtaszyn/Lorenzo Venuti: Between Collaboration and Tension: Balkan Football Teams in the Mitropa Cup - Tin Mudraija: A Haven from the War: Slovenian Football During Occupation (1941-1945) - Teodor Borisov: The People's Republic of Bulgaria and Its Football through the Eyes of the West - Tea Sindbæk Andersen: Football Culture and Public Memory: The Drone and Banner Incident and Transnational Memory Debates in the Balkans - Andrei Mihail: The Whole Neighborhood Was Breathing Steaua: The Urban Dynamics of Bucharest's Fan Entourages - Valentino Grbavac: Jel' igraju nai? Football, Identity, and Nationalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Zsolt Havran: Orbán Goes to the Balkans: How Does the Support of Hungarian Government Affect Club Football in Neighboring Countries? - Kristijan Fidanovski/Vlora Rechica: North Macedonia Goes to Euro 2020: Football and the Ethnic "Other" on Social Media - Teodor Borisov/Maro Melichárek/Dariusz Wojtaszyn: Conclusion - Notes on Contributors - Index.