Football and nation. F. C. Barcelona and Athletic de Bilbao during the Franco dictatorship (1937–1977)

• Autores: Alejandro Quiroga Fernández de Soto
• Localización: Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies, ISSN-e 1469-9524, ISSN 1470-1847, Vol. 26, Nº. 1, 2020, págs. 65-82
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This article analyses the Franco dictatorship’s use of football to gain popular support. Specifically, the article focuses on the Francoists’ utilization of F. C. Barcelona and Athletic Club de Bilbao to foster a regionalized idea of Spain where Catalonia and the Basque Country played a central role. The article challenges the idea that Francoism sought the destruction of Catalan and Basque cultures and shows how regional identities were disciplined and manipulated to the dictatorship’s benefit. The piece also demonstrates the limits of the Franco regime when it came to promote its regionalized, far-right idea of Spain. The study of Francoist regionalisms via F. C. Barcelona and Athletic Club demonstrates the contingent nature of national identities and the instrumental and mutable character of football clubs.