Football, diaspora, and Turkish Cypriot identity in London

Abstract

This study aims to understand and explain the impact of football on both diaspora formation and the construction/reproduction of ­ethno-national identities, focusing on constructionist practices in this process. In this context, an ethnographic field study was conducted for six months in an amateur football league established by Turkish Cypriots in London, England. The theoretical framework is modelled on the concept of diaspora proposed by Rogers Brubaker. The study shows that it is possible for a dispersed population to come together in diaspora through football. However, the process is not spontaneous but takes place through the active role of core members. Secondly, the paper provides evidence that football-centred practices of ethno-national identity construction are actively reproduced in a diaspora-specific context through ‘core members’.

Keywords:

• Football
• Turkish Cypriot
• ethno-national identity
• diaspora
• sport

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Kurds and Turks from Turkey and Turkish Cypriots from the TRNC.

2 In international migration studies, he describes diaspora and transnationalism as ‘two strange dance partners’ (Faist 2010, 21), noting that both are based on different intellectual pedigrees. Not every transnational migrant community is a diaspora, but every diaspora is a transnational migrant community.

3 As a result of the historical construction of official political relations between Turkey and the TRNC, the term ‘the motherland’ refers to Turkey, while the term ‘the baby homeland’ refers to the TRNC. In this study, although the participants had different political positions, they mostly identified the TRNC as their homeland.

4 This study was conducted in the northern part of Cyprus in the early 2000s, and the results of the research should be evaluated within the framework of that historical period. However, we think that it also refers to the present day in terms of ‘identity fluctuations’. Küçükşener, Sonan, and Gokcekus (2024) the new study provides evidence that ethnic homogeneity in the TRNC does not lead to a common collective identity. In the diaspora, it can be observed that the ‘boundaries’ between Turkish Cypriot and Turks from Turkey identities are sometimes ‘crossed’. They may even choose to, and sometimes do, identify themselves as Turkish, like Turkish Cypriots in Australia, and the discourses they use are similar to those of mainstream Turks, even though they construct their identities differently from them (Ali and Sonn 2010). There are identity and cultural ‘borders’ in the diaspora and between Turkish Cypriots and Turks from Turkey (Canefe 2002), just as has happened between Turkish Cypriots and Turkish who came from Turkey and have settled in the TRNC (Kurtuluş and Purkıs 2014).

5 It is often referred to as the ‘Greek League’ by participants. KOPA UK was a league open to Turkish Cypriots as a reflection of international politics, Turkish Cypriots both had football teams and played football in KOPA UK.

6 Kurds from Turkey were and are also involved in the TCFF. Some Kurds and Turks from Turkey who have come to London and wanted a more inclusive league and formed a league called the Turkish and Kurdish Football Federation (TKFF) in 1992. The reasons for the establishment of this league, which no longer exists, were the growing Turkish-Kurdish population and their negative experiences in the TCFF. The TKFF was a diverse league open to all, with no ‘foreigner restrictions’ (Unutulmaz 2013, 210–215).

7 This research focussed on the TCFF. Undoubtedly, research with Turkish people who are not affiliated with the TCFF and play football in other leagues in the UK has the potential to contribute to the literature in various dimensions.

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) under the 2219 International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program.