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Kung Fotboll: Den svenska fotbollens kulturhistoria från 1800-talets slut till 1950

Andersson, Torbjörn LU (2002)
Abstract
This thesis concerns Swedish football´s cultural history from the end of the nineteenth century to 1950. It is the story of how the game was gradually established, and overcame a great number of internal and external problems and conflicts, before entering its sporting and cultural golden age during the 1940s. I demonstrate how this game´s middle-class dominated power elite tried to control the development of a sport rapidly gaining in popularity. They took upon themselves the task of controlling and moulding all the players and spectators who were drawn to this sport. A stable, hegemonic dominance was aimed at, the objective being the realisation of soccer as a manly, class non-specific and successful national project. The analysis has... (More)
This thesis concerns Swedish football´s cultural history from the end of the nineteenth century to 1950. It is the story of how the game was gradually established, and overcame a great number of internal and external problems and conflicts, before entering its sporting and cultural golden age during the 1940s. I demonstrate how this game´s middle-class dominated power elite tried to control the development of a sport rapidly gaining in popularity. They took upon themselves the task of controlling and moulding all the players and spectators who were drawn to this sport. A stable, hegemonic dominance was aimed at, the objective being the realisation of soccer as a manly, class non-specific and successful national project. The analysis has been guided by three major questions. First and foremost, this work has focused upon how football changed ideologically and culturally from the end of the 1800s to 1950. Of great importance here is to follow how a rational amateur system was created and how the local patriotism of the spectators was handled. I have additionally sought to answer whether soccer can be interpreted as a way of implanting the "manly" attributes of respectability and diligence (skötsamhet). If this is in fact the case, the question arises how successful this project really was. Furthermore, I have chosen to survey the manner by which football could attain such a strong cultural position and a class-neutral character, to the extent that it could be automatically classified as the national sport. To answer these questions I focus on many actors: the national and regional federations, the club managements, the players, the sports journalists, the referees, the illegal pools industry and the spectators. A wide variety of football clubs in the whole of Sweden as well as the national team is included in the study. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Avhandlingen behandlar den svenska fotbollens kulturhistoria från 1800-talets slut fram till år 1950. Det är berättelsen om hur spelet gradvis etableras, överkommer en mängd inre och yttre problem och konflikter, för att träda in i sin guldålder under 1940-talet. Mer konkret följs hur fotbollens medelklassdominerade maktelit försökte kontrollera skeendet inom en sport på snabb kulturell frammarsch. Det gällde att skapa och upprätthålla ett trovärdigt moraliskt ledarskap och en ideologisk åskådning, som inte bara accepterades av de underlydande massorna, av vilka majoriteten hörde till arbetarklassen, utan även av samhället i sin helhet. En stabil hegemonisk dominans eftersträvades med målet att... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Avhandlingen behandlar den svenska fotbollens kulturhistoria från 1800-talets slut fram till år 1950. Det är berättelsen om hur spelet gradvis etableras, överkommer en mängd inre och yttre problem och konflikter, för att träda in i sin guldålder under 1940-talet. Mer konkret följs hur fotbollens medelklassdominerade maktelit försökte kontrollera skeendet inom en sport på snabb kulturell frammarsch. Det gällde att skapa och upprätthålla ett trovärdigt moraliskt ledarskap och en ideologisk åskådning, som inte bara accepterades av de underlydande massorna, av vilka majoriteten hörde till arbetarklassen, utan även av samhället i sin helhet. En stabil hegemonisk dominans eftersträvades med målet att föra fotbollen i hamn som ett manligt och klassöverskridande nationellt projekt. Avhandlingens övergripande frågeställning syftar till att svara på vilka ideologiska och kulturella förändringar som inträffade inom fotbollen från 1800-talets slut fram till 1950. Viktigt i sammanhanget är att studera huruvida fotbollen kan ses som ett lyckosamt manligt skötsamhetsprojekt. Lika väsentligt är att besvara hur det kunde komma sig att fotbollen, genom sin klassöverskridande karaktär, växte fram till att bli Sveriges nationalsport. För att besvara frågorna anläggs ett brett kulturhistoriskt perspektiv där analysen ligger på nationella och regionala fotbollsförbund, klubbar av olika dignitet i hela landet, klubbledningar, landslaget, spelare, domare, sportjournalister, den illegala tipsindustrin samt sist men inte minst publiken. I avhandlingen visas att fotbollen fram till mellankrigstidens mitt var en kontroversiell företeelse, som av många förknippades med en ohämmad lokalpatriotism, smygprofessionalism, omoraliska spelarvärvningar, odisciplinära spelare, stökiga åskådare och en illegal tipsindustri. Från och med 30-talets början ökar dock spelets trovärdighet, inte minst genom de olika samförståndsarrangemang, som kommer till stånd mellan inflytelserika grupper inom och utom fotbollen. Under andra världskriget kunde fotbollen därför slutligen etableras som en nationell och okontroversiell populärkultur av rang. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Olstad, Finn, Norges Idrettshöjskole
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Humaniora, class, football, gender, local patriotism, nationalism, hegemony, respectability and diligence (skötsamhet), hooliganism, rational amateurism, History, Humanities, Historia, Sociology, Sociologi
pages
754 pages
publisher
Brutus Östlings Bokförlag Symposion
defense location
The Department of History
defense date
2002-05-04 10:15:00
external identifiers
  • other:ISRN: LUHFDA/HFHI-2002/1109-SE+754
ISBN
91-7139-565-2
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
281b6fb3-f149-4c90-89fb-46abfb270d54 (old id 20615)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 12:21:36
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:10:30
@phdthesis{281b6fb3-f149-4c90-89fb-46abfb270d54,
  abstract     = {{This thesis concerns Swedish football´s cultural history from the end of the nineteenth century to 1950. It is the story of how the game was gradually established, and overcame a great number of internal and external problems and conflicts, before entering its sporting and cultural golden age during the 1940s. I demonstrate how this game´s middle-class dominated power elite tried to control the development of a sport rapidly gaining in popularity. They took upon themselves the task of controlling and moulding all the players and spectators who were drawn to this sport. A stable, hegemonic dominance was aimed at, the objective being the realisation of soccer as a manly, class non-specific and successful national project. The analysis has been guided by three major questions. First and foremost, this work has focused upon how football changed ideologically and culturally from the end of the 1800s to 1950. Of great importance here is to follow how a rational amateur system was created and how the local patriotism of the spectators was handled. I have additionally sought to answer whether soccer can be interpreted as a way of implanting the "manly" attributes of respectability and diligence (skötsamhet). If this is in fact the case, the question arises how successful this project really was. Furthermore, I have chosen to survey the manner by which football could attain such a strong cultural position and a class-neutral character, to the extent that it could be automatically classified as the national sport. To answer these questions I focus on many actors: the national and regional federations, the club managements, the players, the sports journalists, the referees, the illegal pools industry and the spectators. A wide variety of football clubs in the whole of Sweden as well as the national team is included in the study.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Torbjörn}},
  isbn         = {{91-7139-565-2}},
  keywords     = {{Humaniora; class; football; gender; local patriotism; nationalism; hegemony; respectability and diligence (skötsamhet); hooliganism; rational amateurism; History; Humanities; Historia; Sociology; Sociologi}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Brutus Östlings Bokförlag Symposion}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Kung Fotboll: Den svenska fotbollens kulturhistoria från 1800-talets slut till 1950}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}