Pitch Fever : Swedish Football and the Politics of Grass
(2023) In Football Research in an Enlarged Europe (FREE) p.151-170- Abstract
- This chapter explores moral and ethical discussions that emerged in Sweden when the number of artificial grass pitches rose substantially. Based on research in the Swedish top-tier football league, named Allsvenskan, I shall present conflicting discourses that appear whenever grass is considered. The grass discussions often take a wider, political turn and reflect attitudes towards developments in modern football. The main problem, as perceived by supporters, is the growing number of artificial pitches. In spite of strong critical voices, green plastic carpets keep being rolled out around Sweden. Thus, grass has become a point of pride, protest and almost ideological fight against an elusive enemy of traditional football, as artificial... (More)
- This chapter explores moral and ethical discussions that emerged in Sweden when the number of artificial grass pitches rose substantially. Based on research in the Swedish top-tier football league, named Allsvenskan, I shall present conflicting discourses that appear whenever grass is considered. The grass discussions often take a wider, political turn and reflect attitudes towards developments in modern football. The main problem, as perceived by supporters, is the growing number of artificial pitches. In spite of strong critical voices, green plastic carpets keep being rolled out around Sweden. Thus, grass has become a point of pride, protest and almost ideological fight against an elusive enemy of traditional football, as artificial pitches are seen by many as harmful for Swedish football. While tracing the grass discussions, I shall focus on the broader social meanings ascribed to grass and conflicts revolving around it. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/04dfe3e8-3d1d-45ab-95f1-f4336f9e758c
- author
- Herd, Katarzyna LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-07
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- The Political Football Stadium : Identity Discourses and Power Struggles - Identity Discourses and Power Struggles
- series title
- Football Research in an Enlarged Europe (FREE)
- editor
- Alpan, Başak ; Sonntag, Albrecht and Herd, Katarzyna
- pages
- 151 - 170
- publisher
- Springer Nature
- ISBN
- 978-3-031-29144-9
- 978-3-031-29143-2
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-031-29144-9_8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 04dfe3e8-3d1d-45ab-95f1-f4336f9e758c
- date added to LUP
- 2023-07-21 11:23:34
- date last changed
- 2023-07-25 02:15:58
@inbook{04dfe3e8-3d1d-45ab-95f1-f4336f9e758c, abstract = {{This chapter explores moral and ethical discussions that emerged in Sweden when the number of artificial grass pitches rose substantially. Based on research in the Swedish top-tier football league, named Allsvenskan, I shall present conflicting discourses that appear whenever grass is considered. The grass discussions often take a wider, political turn and reflect attitudes towards developments in modern football. The main problem, as perceived by supporters, is the growing number of artificial pitches. In spite of strong critical voices, green plastic carpets keep being rolled out around Sweden. Thus, grass has become a point of pride, protest and almost ideological fight against an elusive enemy of traditional football, as artificial pitches are seen by many as harmful for Swedish football. While tracing the grass discussions, I shall focus on the broader social meanings ascribed to grass and conflicts revolving around it.}}, author = {{Herd, Katarzyna}}, booktitle = {{The Political Football Stadium : Identity Discourses and Power Struggles}}, editor = {{Alpan, Başak and Sonntag, Albrecht and Herd, Katarzyna}}, isbn = {{978-3-031-29144-9}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{151--170}}, publisher = {{Springer Nature}}, series = {{Football Research in an Enlarged Europe (FREE)}}, title = {{Pitch Fever : Swedish Football and the Politics of Grass}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29144-9_8}}, doi = {{10.1007/978-3-031-29144-9_8}}, year = {{2023}}, }