Football and National Identity in Slovenia

V teoretičnem delu magistrske naloge smo se osredotočili na opredelitev osnovnih pojmov, kot so narod, nacionalna identiteta in nacionalizem, in kako so le-ti med seboj povezani. V nadaljevanju smo opisali razvoj nogometa v Sloveniji po osamosvojitvi ter predstavili spremembe, ki so vplivale na njegov razvoj. Poseben poudarek v teoretičnem delu je na pomenu in vlogi nogometa v slovenski družbi. V tem delu smo predstavili dogodke, ki so bili pomembni za vzpon nogometa pri nas, na kakšen način so se ljudje začeli povezovati med seboj in kako so nogometni uspehi vplivali na ljudi in percepcijo nogometa, ki se je začela izboljševati. Nato smo se osredotočili še na vpliv nogometa na oblikovanje nacionalne identitete. Opredelili smo nogometno identiteto, kakšno funkcijo imajo moderni šport in športni dogodki v današnji družbi ter kako vplivajo na posameznika in njegovo socialno vedenje. Ob koncu teoretičnega dela smo predstavili nekatere vidike nogometnega huliganizma, ki se pogosto pojavlja ob športnih dogodkih in v športu nasploh. Prav tako smo omenili nacionalizem in rasizem, ki se pojavljata v športu in sta zasidrana v družbi. V empiričnem delu smo preverjali stališča anketirancev, povezana z njihovim dojemanjem nogometa. Preverjali smo, kakšno mesto zaseda nogomet med drugimi vrednotnimi kategorijami, ki so povezane z nacionalno identiteto. Prav tako smo preverjali, kateri dogodki in osebe iz nogometnega področja so najbolj vplivali na prepoznavnost Slovenije. Zanimalo nas je tudi, kakšen je pomen nacionalnosti pri navijačih, kakšen pomen ima nogomet v slovenski družbi ter kakšen je občutek povezanosti med navijači. Pogledali pa smo še drugo perspektivo, in sicer mnenje nogometašev o temah, ki smo jih preverjali pri anketirancih. Pridobljeni rezultati so pokazali, da ima nogomet v današnji družbi pomembnejšo vlogo in je povezan s krepitvijo nacionalne identitete. S pomočjo nogometa se oblikuje identiteta, ki posameznike povezuje in jim nudi odmik v drug svet.In the theoretical part of this master\u27s thesis, we focused on defining basic concepts like nation, national identity and nationalism, and examining how they are connected with each other. We also described the evolution of football in Slovenia since the country’s independence and outlined the changes which had an impact on the development of football. We put particular emphasis on the importance and role of football in Slovenian society. Here we presented the events that were important for the rise of football in our country, how people had started to connect with each other and how the successes in football influenced people and the perception of football, which had started to improve. Furthermore, we focused on the impact football has on national identity. We defined football identity, what role modern sports and sporting events play in our society and how they affect an individual’s life and social behavior. At the end of the theoretical part we presented certain aspects of football hooliganism, which often occurs at sporting events and in sports in general. We also discuss nationalism and racism occurring in sports and our society. In the empirical part, we examined the views of the questionnaire respondents with regard to their perception of football. We examined the degree of importance football holds for them compared to other value categories related to national identity. We also examined which people and events related to football, according to our respondents, had the most influential impact on Slovenia’s international recognition. We examined how important the concept of nationality is to the fans, the significance football holds in Slovenian society and how the fans perceive the interconnectedness amongst themselves. We also looked at another perspective. We interviewed football players and asked them to give us their views and opinions on the topics we examined with the mentioned questionnaire. The obtained results showed that football is very important in today’s society and has a more prominent role in building and strengthening national identity. With the help of football, an identity is formed, which connects individuals and offers them an escape into another world