More than a club, more than a game: the case of Diverse City

ABSTRACT

Rationale: In 2014, the prohibition of the hijab in sporting competition was abolished by FIFA. In response, an initiative designed to encourage and support the participation of Muslim women in football was launched in Dublin. This paper seeks to understand the experiences of some of those young women who play with Diverse City FC.

Approach: This paper utilises a cultural studies approach bolstered by a theoretical framework focussed on cultural and social capital and micro-level interactions in order to explore the politics of participation when that participation may be policed by community members monitoring behaviours in accordance with the groups preferred norms.

Findings: Our discussions with the young women that play for Diverse City provide rich insights on issues relating to female participation in sport, their experiences of racism; cultural and religious barriers; and the resolve and determination of the players to challenge and overcome these barriers – thanks in no small part to the support of parents, coaches and each other.

Research contribution: The paper demonstrates that the Diverse City project delivers inclusion in and inclusion through football and underscores the importance of understanding the experiences of our participants when developing strategies for inclusion in sports management and in wider society, particularly in an international context where securitised practises and discourses are discouraging the socio-civic participation of young Muslims.

KEYWORDS:

• Islamophobia
• Integration
• Ireland
• Football
• Policies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 It is important to note that participants were specifically asked if they believed they were targeted based on their Muslimness. Hostility was defined as physical assault, theft, graffiti (home or work), damage to property, verbal assault, threats or harassment.

2 A total of 44% of Muslim women reported experiencing hostility compared to 28% of Muslim men; 40% of Muslim women reported experiencing anti-Muslim discrimination, while the figure was 22% for Muslim men.

3 A piece of clothing, of religious significance to the wearer, that is readily identified as being associated with Islam (Allen, 2010) in Western societies and has come to symbolise the racialised understanding of the (alleged) second-class position of women in Islamic societies and communities (Hoodfar, 1993; Open Society Institute 2011).

4 See Carr, Haynes, Power, Schweppe, and Garland (2015).

5 She eventually joined Diverse City FC.

6 For example, in 2017 members of the Republic of Ireland women’s team refused to rule out a boycott of their international against Slovakia because of their frustration at the FAI’s failure to deal with issues they had raised. PFAI solicitor Stuart Gilhooly said that “we need to recognise that the women's team are fifth class citizens, the dirt on the FAI's shoes” (see Malone, 2017).

7 The Qur’an is the central religious text which, for Muslims, is believed to be the word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammed; the Sunnah refers to “the way of life of Muhammed”, the Prophet’s lifestyle, the manner in which the Prophet conducted himself; and Ahadith, plural of hadith which are something that the Prophet did or said, taught or approved of as shared by those close to the Prophet. For more please see Hewer (2006).