Identity salience and the football self: a critical ethnographic study of women and girls in football

Abstract

ABSTRACT The focus on identity has enjoyed a certain permanency within sports studies research, and the relationship between athlete identity and sport is complex and nuanced. Ordinarily literature on girls’ and women’s football (soccer) tends to focus on gender identities rather than identities per se. The purpose of the current paper is to address this issue and examine the way in which player identities are negotiated within the game. A season-long critical ethnographic exploration undertaken across three sites (football academy, school and family homes) underpins the research design for this exploration. It was found that the football self is managed and organised differently depending on the centrality of football within the lives of the women and girls who play. The development of the Football Self Continuum examines identity shifts vis-à-vis life transitions and football commitment. Identities are viewed in both hierarchical and fluid terms dependent on whether the player has a ‘salient’ or ‘contingent’ football self. This research has useful implications for coaches, family members and National Governing Bodies with regard to understanding and therefore supporting player identity changes in relation to life transitions.