One of Italy’s most prominent dilemmas in an increasingly globalizing world is how they will combat the increasing number of immigrants that are coming into their country. Until recently, Italy’s contribution to world migratory patterns had to do with their contribution to emigration, as millions left to travel to the United States throughout the early parts of the 20th century. However, currently Italy is going through somewhat of a crisis on how to deal with the immigration influx occurring throughout their country, as well as many other Western European and European Union members. With thousands of African immigrants being smuggled into Southern Italy, and thousands more emigrating to the peninsula from Eastern European countries such as
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Third places are designated as public places that “host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realm of home and work.” (Buz et al., "Aging and Social Networks in Spain: The Importance of Pubs and Churches" 23-46) In Italian culture, nothing operates as much as the heart of communal gatherings as football clubs and the followings they have. Since third places supposedly create havens of social connectedness and large generators of social capital, it seems imperative that the immigrant groups be assimilated using third places, and more specifically football clubs. While there are obvious risks to this such as cultural differences leaving complete assimilation possibly unattainable, or even current minority groups and native Italian communities resisting assimilation between cultures, to produce better community understanding, and thus more social capital, utilizing a third place as zealously worshipped as football is in Italy seems not only hugely practical, but also sustainable. (Hay, "Croatia: Community, Conflict and Culture: The Role of Soccer Clubs in Migrant Identity" …show more content…
If political agendas of groups that gather to watch football matches align with leftist views of welcoming immigrants into the country, these clubs will most likely have a higher level of diversity in their followings. On the contrary, far right-wing isolationists may be antagonist towards ethnic minorities participating in the following of their clubs. With this divide between political agendas throughout football clubs, which can is noted in clubs like Livorno who “stands apart as one of the few Italian clubs to maintain a resolute Communist identity,” (Doidge, "The Birthplace of Italian Communism: Political Identity and Action amongst Livorno Fans" 246-261) it is useful to take into account the feelings associated with living in the North or South of Italy. Despite the Northern League’s (a racist political faction of Italy) presence within some communities and thus their affiliated football clubs, Southern Italy is much more heavily characterized as prejudices ingrained in their communities. Studying the political affiliations of the clubs and how they differ among the geographical locations of Italy will allow for better research towards the solving the final puzzle of using football to integrate ethnic minorities that are continuously increasing in
Third places are designated as public places that “host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realm of home and work.” (Buz et al., "Aging and Social Networks in Spain: The Importance of Pubs and Churches" 23-46) In Italian culture, nothing operates as much as the heart of communal gatherings as football clubs and the followings they have. Since third places supposedly create havens of social connectedness and large generators of social capital, it seems imperative that the immigrant groups be assimilated using third places, and more specifically football clubs. While there are obvious risks to this such as cultural differences leaving complete assimilation possibly unattainable, or even current minority groups and native Italian communities resisting assimilation between cultures, to produce better community understanding, and thus more social capital, utilizing a third place as zealously worshipped as football is in Italy seems not only hugely practical, but also sustainable. (Hay, "Croatia: Community, Conflict and Culture: The Role of Soccer Clubs in Migrant Identity" …show more content…
If political agendas of groups that gather to watch football matches align with leftist views of welcoming immigrants into the country, these clubs will most likely have a higher level of diversity in their followings. On the contrary, far right-wing isolationists may be antagonist towards ethnic minorities participating in the following of their clubs. With this divide between political agendas throughout football clubs, which can is noted in clubs like Livorno who “stands apart as one of the few Italian clubs to maintain a resolute Communist identity,” (Doidge, "The Birthplace of Italian Communism: Political Identity and Action amongst Livorno Fans" 246-261) it is useful to take into account the feelings associated with living in the North or South of Italy. Despite the Northern League’s (a racist political faction of Italy) presence within some communities and thus their affiliated football clubs, Southern Italy is much more heavily characterized as prejudices ingrained in their communities. Studying the political affiliations of the clubs and how they differ among the geographical locations of Italy will allow for better research towards the solving the final puzzle of using football to integrate ethnic minorities that are continuously increasing in