On the completion of its twentieth anniversary, the Taylor & Francis journal Soccer & Society plans to compile and publish a special issue on Sports Mega Events (SMEs), Nationalism and Transnationalism: The Euro Cup in the Twenty-First Century to commemorate the soccer mega event of 2020 – the Euro Cup.
The year 2020 will witness the grand European spectacle in the world of football – the UEFA Euro Cup to be hosted by 12 cities of 12 countries. As the countdown to the UEFA Euro Cup 2020 begins, with the UEFA deciding to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament by organizing it in 12 countries, the idea of grand spectacle in terms of sports mega events acquires a unique dimension. It is expected to create a new space of interaction and coalescence of national and transnational forces and feelings to make an intriguing impact upon the football world and beyond. From fans to media, players to team officials, sponsors to broadcasters, hosts to refugees, and organizers to the UEFA establishment, all will be negotiating with this new spatial format of the tournament, which will connect the local, national and global stretch of the game in more meaningful ways than ever – a process worthy and must-exploring for social scientists.
The proposed special issue intends to explore the varied significances of the Euro Cup as a sports mega event (SME) in terms of national and transnational projections in the twenty-first century. The plan is to highlight and assess the new dimensions of the tournament in the new century in terms of hosting, participation, impact and legacy through the lens of national and transnational assertions, conflicts, and interactions. With the 2020 event being unique for its organization in as many as 12 countries, the special issue provides an opportunity to explore the march to, and possible implications of, this mega event in an interface of local, national and transnational spaces. This collection would thus attempt to bring together scholars from various backgrounds to reflect upon the most important issues in the history of the Euro Cup as an SME in the new century from different perspectives with a focus on nationalism and transnationalism. Some key issues that authors may relate to the theme in the context of the twentieth century while contemplating their contributions are as follows:
Sports Mega Events (SMEs) and European football
Nation, nationalism, national identity
Globalization, transnationalism, connectivity
Europeanism and Brexit
Migration and Refugees
Security, violence, terrorism
UEFA and governance
Fandom
Women and gender
Media
Television
Commercialism, sponsorship, branding
Abstracts in about 300–500 words are invited for articles for the special issue. Selected papers will be published as a special issue of Soccer & Society. Since the special issue is being planned to commemorate the Euro 2020, contributions on the forthcoming event are particularly encouraged.
Deadlines
Submission of abstract with title: 15 December 2019
Intimation to authors of selected papers: 31 December 2019
Submission of the first draft: 30 April 2020
Communication to authors of comments/queries after review: 30 July 2020
Submission of the final paper: 30 September 2020
All submissions are to be sent to: [email protected]