Football and National Identity in Twentieth-Century Argentina: La Nuestra

Football has become the key cultural signifier of national identity in Argentina since its arrival in 1867 with British immigrants, and has projected the country onto the global consciousness. Mark Orton's book challenges existing myths surrounding the nativization of football in Argentina, showing how the game provided a conduit for the assimilation of European immigrants and gave 'voiceless others' an arena to project themselves.

Format: Hardback
Length: 305 pages
Publication date: 10 January 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Since its arrival in 1867 with British immigrants, football has become the key cultural signifier of national identity in Argentina over the long twentieth century. With the international exploits of players such as Luis Monti, Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Diego Maradona, the sport has projected Argentina onto the global consciousness in a way that has never been seen before. In this book, Mark Orton challenges existing myths surrounding the nativization of football in Argentina away from British influence, as he shows how the game provided a conduit for the assimilation of millions of European immigrants in the early decades of the century into a new Argentine "race." The book also examines how football gave some of the "voiceless others," such as women, Afro-Argentines, indigenous people, and those in the interior, an arena to project themselves in an Argentine society that was masculine, white, and Buenos Aires-dominated.

Since its arrival in 1867 with British immigrants, football has become the key cultural signifier of national identity in Argentina over the long twentieth century. With the international exploits of players such as Luis Monti, Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Diego Maradona, the sport has projected Argentina onto the global consciousness in a way that has never been seen before. In this book, Mark Orton challenges existing myths surrounding the nativization of football in Argentina away from British influence, as he shows how the game provided a conduit for the assimilation of millions of European immigrants in the early decades of the century into a new Argentine "race." The book also examines how football gave some of the "voiceless others," such as women, Afro-Argentines, indigenous people, and those in the interior, an arena to project themselves in an Argentine society that was masculine, white, and Buenos Aires-dominated.

Weight: 544g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031205880
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023