July 22, 2024 | 4 pm Rabat & 5 pm Brussels

Sports and culture: creating identity in the EWANA region

Main takeaways:

The principle of neutrality in sports can offer an open space for people of all backgrounds to partake, but can also work excluding
As the cultural majority defines what ´neutral´ means, cultural minorities can have difficult time adapting to these cultural norms without giving up (part of) their own identity
Barriers to participation in sports activities also relate to class-issues, with certain sports kept exclusive through high fees
Limited mobility due to visa issues is a serious obstacle for athletes from North Africa and West Asia to participate in sports events in Europe, making exchange in the field of sports in the EWANA region difficult.
Socio-cultural factors at times hinder women´s (professional) participation in sports, particularly when cultural and social norms dictate that women take on limited or traditional roles.
International sports events can lead to a spike in nationalistic sentiments, but can also have the potential to open space for activism.
Participation in sports, at an individual, national and international level, thus relates to questions of social justice, including mobility between the EWANA region, and women’s participation

The fifth online Maqha Conversation took place in July in between two mega sports events, the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament and the Olympic Games in Paris. While both events sparked high interest within the three regions of Europe, West Asia, and North Africa (the EWANA region), they also pointed towards the ongoing discussion around identity and sports on a national, regional, and individual level. Sport is often displayed as a medium to communicate with each other without the need to speak the same language. The discussion during the Maqha Conversation showed that while sport can have the positive effect of bringing people together and offering a space to display elements of one’s own culture and identity, it can also lead to exclusion and othering.

The session was held on July 22, 2024 and featured Jasmijn Rana, an assistant professor at Leiden University Institute for Cultural Anthropology looking at gender, race/ethnicity, embodiment and especially in women-only kickboxing, Chaîmae El-Ghazi, an Moroccan researcher looking at female Moroccan athletes through the intersection of public law, political science, sociology, and anthropology and Christoph Wagner, who’s research focuses largely on football and the representation of identity in the media

Sports and cultural identity

The conversation opened with an exploration into expression of one’s individual identity while doing sport or participating in international sports events. Neutrality is seen as an important part of fair play in sports, including bans for athletes to display political symbols or religious signs. While this can open space for people of all backgrounds to partake, it can also have the potential to exclude athletes of minorities who cannot as easily set aside certain cultural markers.

An interesting example for this is the case of the Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner Sifan Hassan. While performing on the track she often wears short running outfits, in her everyday life she wears a hijab. While she is seen as a role model by many young women with a similar (migration) background in the Netherlands, in some countries, like France, her day-to-day outfit, including the hijab would bar her from partaking on the runner track.

Her example points toward the question of how Muslim women in Europe are participating in sports. One of the speakers pointed out that especially sports that happen indoors or in closed settings offer the opportunity for women with a more modest dress code to participate. While jogging happens outdoors, sports like kickboxing can be performed without being exposed to others, especially the other sex. In the Netherlands this has led to closed sports clubs becoming safe spaces for many women wearing the hijab, in which they can perform in their clothing of choice.

While there are more and more options for women-only sports clubs, the professional level is often still a closed door for those athletes with a Muslim background, one speaker argued. Dress code rules ban the hijab as an act of religious display or require clothing that could contradict the preference of individuals, such as in the case of women beach volleyball.

During the 2024 Olympic games in France, while being the first games with gender equality between athletes, the French team did not allow their athletes to wear a hijab, arguing it is a religious symbol. While the French law does not explicitly target the hijab, one speaker argued that Muslim women are most affected by clothing restrictions in sports. Since the cultural majority defines what ´neutral´ means, some minorities have a very difficult time adapting to these cultural norms without giving up their own identity. The case of Sifan Hassan shows how much the decision in either way is publicly discussed, with her at times being criticised by parts of the Muslim as well as the Dutch community for her clothing.

The problem of representation does not end with certain spaces being restricted to groups from certain cultural backgrounds, but also has a class-element to it. High fees for participation in sports clubs and the costs for outfits or other equipment can create obstacles for milieus with lower income. Such barriers perpetuate the underrepresentation of parts of society and can be seen in sports like tennis or golf. One speaker argued that participation in such sports should be seen as a question of social justice. This also holds true for the participation fee in tournaments and competitions.

Last but not least it has to be mentioned that especially athletes with an immigration background or who have a nationality situated in the global south face large obstacles when it comes to travel restrictions. Receiving visas can become a frustrating individual barrier and restricts athletes from West Asia and North Africa from partake in international events. This is an important issue when it comes to the EWANA region, as exchange in the field of sports is hindered due to mobility issues.

Sports and Gender Roles

While being part of a minority can thus make participation in sport and international sports events difficult, socio-cultural factors at times hinder (professional) participation in sports. As one speaker elaborated, in societies in which cultural and social norms dictate that women take on traditional roles, doing sports and developing professional sport careers are often discouraged.

Looking at the case of Morocco, one panellist asked the question how the female body can fit both the traditional role and be that of an athlete and described this is often seen as an inevitable contradiction, leading to fears of lesser marital chances among Moroccan women. The accusation that is indirectly raised against women in high intensity sports is that they become physically masculine, or aspire to step out of their societal roles. Language plays an important part in shaping the image of an athlete in a society. Words surrounding high intensity sports in Morocco, for example, are rough and masculine, which contradicts with the ascribed female appearance of softness and modesty.

Yet, the panellist also described that in some more traditional societies, the acceptance of sports as an important aspect of physical and mental health has risen in recent years. This has created a tension field with the prevailing norms and the acceptance of practising sports. For women, the red line is often drawn when it comes to engaging in professional sports due to the high exposure of the body and the way it is presented, as well as the changes in life as a professional athlete, such as perceived limited time for family.

The speaker argued that the last years have shown many cases of intimidation of female athletes in Arab-majority countries. She further stated that a normalisation of women in sports needs to happen and that this does not need to mean a change to their gender identity. The markers that are linked to (professional) sport as being masculine and rough should be translated into more neutral ones, opening up the field of (professional) sports for women without the fear of not being perceived as feminine any longer. As such, sports is thus an arena for women’s emancipation.

Sport and national identity

Lastly, the Maqha Conversation moved to the use of sports as an expression of national identity, with one speaker arguing that major international sports events can lead to a spike in nationalism. The speaker highlighted the usage of war vocabulary in the United Kingdom when reporting on international football tournaments, invoking rhetoric from the Second World War, especially when speaking about the Germans as enemies. Such wording for international reporting supports nationalist sentiments and moves away from fair play, making games less about the sport itself and more about the national display.

The demonstration of nationalism was also visible in the UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament, with players as well as fans displaying national symbols during and around the games. Comparing the German FIFA World Cup in 2006 with the current UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament illustrates the embedding of such events in the global political sentiment of its time. While in 2006 the slogan “Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden” (´The world as a guest at friends´), was used to display an open and welcoming Germany, while in 2024 Germany was perceived as more nationalistic and less open. One speaker pointed out that parallels can be drawn between the tournament and the elections of the Parliament of the European Union which took place one month before the games and saw a rise of conservative and nationalist parties.

On a positive note, nationalist sentiments can also turn into political action, as in Türkiye in 2013 around the Gezi protests. During this time the normally adverse ultra groups of the big football clubs in Istanbul formed an alliance to support the mostly peaceful protests. This alliance was formed under the umbrella of a shared nationalist idea, as one participant pointed out, in this case working towards political changes on the national level. This example displays how sport clubs, fans but also the athletes themselves, can create attention by using the platforms created through sport events as an activist space.

Overall, the Maqha Conversation brought to light the positive effects sports can have for individuals and societies, connecting groups in fair play and supporting health and community building. On the other hand it also showed that sports can lead to nationalism, exclusion and othering. Countering such sentiments, offering opportunities for everyone as well as creating safe spaces for minorities could increase the positive effect sport can have on creating identities and constructive relations within the EWANA region.

As such, the speakers made the case for more government support for inclusion in local, national, as well as international sports activities, among others through financial support to make sports more accessible. When it comes to the EWANA region, mobility between the three regions should also be made possible more, so that sports can be used as a means to bring together people from different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, we need to keep asking questions that go beyond our assumptions to understand the relationship between sports and identity more thoroughly, including how sports can be utilised as a means to self-expression, from the individual and recreational level, to the national and international professional level.

Reading list:

Speakers

Jasmijn Rana

Jasmijn Rana is assistant professor at Leiden University Institute for Cultural Anthropology. Her research is characterised by a critical look at contemporary society, in which discussions on gender, race/ethnicity, embodiment and movement take centre stage. She has published on women-only kickboxing (Secular-Religious Self-improvement: Muslim Women’s Kickboxing in the Netherlands. American Ethnologist 49(2): 290-302), recreational running (Gendered Enskilment: Becoming Women through Recreational Running. The Senses and Society: online first), diversity in cultural heritage, and decolonizing anthropology. She is the author of Punching Back: Gender, Religion and Belonging in Women Only Kickboxing (Berghahn Books 2022).

Chaîmae El-Ghazi

Chaîmae El-Ghazi is a Moroccan researcher born on May 8, 1997, she holds a doctorate in constitutional law and political science at Mohammed V University – Rabat. She worked on the topic “Political and constitutional life in Morocco in the writings of foreign researchers.” Her fields of work and academic production intersect with the knowledge fields of public law, political science, sociology, and anthropology. In this context, she has a number of published writings, the most important of which are: “Professional Athletes in Morocco: The Female Sports Body Confronting Gender Stereotypes,” “Globalization and Transformations of the Religious Phenomenon: From Institutional Religiosity to Individual Youth Religiosity.”

Christoph Wagner

Christoph Wagner teaches at secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Paris, where he teaches English and German as well as Business English and Social Sciences and Sport. His research focuses largely on football and the representation of identity in the media. His PhD researched the Anglo-German football rivalry in the press and was published in 2023 by Peter Lang with the title Crossing the Line? The Press and Anglo-German Football Rivalry.

Host

Walid Al-Aghbari, deputy director of the EWANA Center