The Making of Brexit: Football, Sporting Disasters and the Thin Veneer of Englishness

Abstract

Underpinning the construction and representation of English national identity are senses of nostalgia and ethnic defensiveness that are engendered, represented and embodied. The media play a crucial role in this, as do embodied male sport identity practices. Hence, I explore how English identity found expression in British / English media coverage of past and most recent Euro 2020 men’s football championships. Initially, I outline aspects of these long-term processes with reference to the early 1990’s. Then, I briefly review work conducted in the late 1990’s with specific reference to football and indicate how the research has subsequently developed. The final section explores both continuity and change in relation to the Euro 2020 football competition and how notions of Englishness remain contested.