Papers by Dr Mahfoud Amara
The governance of professional soccer: Five case studies – Algeria, China, England, France and Japan
European Journal of Sport Science, 2005
... The governance of professional soccer: Five case studies Algeria, China, England, France an... more ... The governance of professional soccer: Five case studies Algeria, China, England, France and Japan. ... The five examples include the oldest professional football system, that of England, and a second contrasting European system, France, together with three relatively recently ...
review of my book by Phil Dine IJSH, Volume 30, Issue 8, 2013
Des commentaires en arabe... ou en tigrinya ? Fan de football recherche diffusion télévisée gratuite
ARAB YOUTH Leisure, Culture, and Politics Throughout the Arab world, young people have been at th... more ARAB YOUTH Leisure, Culture, and Politics Throughout the Arab world, young people have been at the head of the revolutionary process set in motion ever since the Tunisian uprising in December 2010. Youth who were once ignored or denigrated now embody a positive point of reference for both local and international imaginations. This collective work, whose contributors are for the most part young researchers from both sides of the Mediterranean, offers an original analysis centered on the leisure, free time, and cultural practices of a generation too often stereotyped. Rather than taking a strictly political or social approach, this study takes a step back from current events and normative approaches, allowing for a full understanding of the richness of the movements that are deeply changing Arab societies. Political scientists Laurent Bonnefoy and Myriam Catusse are specialists in the Arab world. Researchers at CNRS, they work respectively at the Centre d'études et de recherches i...
Mahfoud Amara and Mouloud Houaoura describe the role of football clubs, stadia and fans in Algeri... more Mahfoud Amara and Mouloud Houaoura describe the role of football clubs, stadia and fans in Algeria’s history, and the relationship between fan violence and political change
Amara, M (2014) Sport and Political Leaders in the Arab World, Histoire@Politique, 23(May-August),
International Centre of Sport Security, Aug 1, 2014
Abderrahim Rharib and Mahfoud Amara examine the activities
of passionately fanatical football su... more Abderrahim Rharib and Mahfoud Amara examine the activities
of passionately fanatical football supporters groups and report on a
survey of fans’ opinions on violence in the country's sports stadia. The development of ultras – groups of
supporters, mostly of football teams, renowned
for their fanatical support and elaborate
displays – is an increasingly prominent
phenomenon in the world of Moroccan sport. But while
their antics are often fundamentally harmless – if
arresting in their flamboyance – the tendency of some
ultras to violent acts poses a threat to security, both
inside and outside the country's stadia.
L’mpact social du sport dans le monde arabe; Impacto social del deporte en el mundo árabe
Afkar / Ideas 41 , Mar 1, 2014
"Le sport peut être utile pour montrer comment lenationalisme et l'ethnicité s’expriment en temps... more "Le sport peut être utile pour montrer comment lenationalisme et l'ethnicité s’expriment en temps de crise,lors de transitions politiques et de victoires sportives.
Les impacts sociaux du sport dans le monde arabe peuvent être analysés sous trois aspects : les formes d'intervention de l'État dans le sport, le sport et les pratiques socioculturelles et la commercialisation du sport. Comme toute autre partie du monde et en dépit de son origine coloniale, le sport fait partie intégrante de la vie quotidienne des arabes, de Gaza à Casablanca. Bien avant même l'indépendance, il était utilisé, de façon symbolique, comme instrument de résistance à la présence coloniale française ou britannique et défendait la cause arabe sur la scène internationale.
El deporte puede servir para analizar cómonacionalismo y etnicidad se expresan en tiemposde crisis, transiciones políticas y victorias deportivas.
Los impactos sociales del deporte en el mundo árabe pueden analizarse en relación con tres aspectos: las diferentes formas de intervención estatal en el deporte; el deporte y las prácticas socioculturales y la comercialización del deporte. Como en cualquier otra parte del mundo, y a pesar de su origen colonial, el deporte se ha integrado en la vida cotidiana de los árabes, desde Gaza hasta Casablanca. Incluso antes de la independencia, era usado simbólicamente como un sinónimo de resistencia frente a la presencia colonial francesa o británica y defendía la causa árabe en la arena internacional.
"
Sang-Yeol Bang, and Mahfoud Amara, (2014) The Study of Discourse on Change in South Korean Football: Between Tradition and Modernity, from Colonial to Post-Colonial
The International Journal of the History of Sport, 31(1), pp.1-19, Feb 5, 2014
This study seeks to understand the discourse on/and legitimisation of ‘change’ in Korean football... more This study seeks to understand the discourse on/and legitimisation of ‘change’ in Korean football. The paper asks the following questions: how has the South Korean post-colonial project for development and nation-state building shaped the discourse on
football development in South Korea? How this change has been defined, diffused, imposed, debated and/or resisted in South Korean football? To respond to these questions, the paper examines the debates on modernity and modernisation in Korean
society and in football. To this end, we trace some of the ways that colonial and postcolonial discourses have been appropriated in relation to South Korea’s construction of ‘self’ and ‘otherness’, and in defining meanings about change – in the sense of reform,
modernisation, rationalisation and professionalisation – of South Korean football
The Pillars of Qatar’s International Sport Strategy
E-International Relations, Nov 29, 2013
Qatar has invested in its international brand by hosting major sporting events, developing elite ... more Qatar has invested in its international brand by hosting major sporting events, developing elite programs and engaging in ‘sport diplomacy’. The result has been a mix of successes and challenges
Henry, IP, Al Tauqi, M, Amara, M, Lee, PC (2005) A Typology of Approaches to Comparative Analysis of Sports Policy
Journal of Sport Management
This article provides a four-fold typology of comparative sports policy studies: Type 1, Seeking ... more This article provides a four-fold typology of comparative sports policy studies: Type 1, Seeking Similarities, is a nomothetic approach seeking law-like generalization; Type 2 is Describing Difference, an ideographic approach seeking to capture the specificity of policy systems; Type 3, Theorizing the Transnational, goes beyond the nation-state as the unit of analysis to fuse global and local levels of explanation; and Type 4, Defining Discourse, seeks to analyze ways in which policy discourse defines the reality of the policy problems it seeks to address. The authors underline the ontological and epistemological assumptions of such approaches that are often only implicit, and they employ selected examples to illustrate the contribution to knowledge of the different approaches.
Sport, Muslim Identities and Cultures in the UK, an Emerging Policy Issue: Case Studies of Leicester and Birmingham
European Sport Management Quarterly, Volume 10, Issue 4, 2010, pages 419- 443
An understanding of diversity and its implications for policy is critical to those charged with d... more An understanding of diversity and its implications for policy is critical to those charged with delivering sporting services in culturally plural societies. This paper reports a research project which aimed to examine how, on the one hand, Muslims in two specific local contexts in the UK (Leicester in the East Midlands; Birmingham in the West Midlands) make sense of the relationship between their religious (Islamic) identities and sporting interests and, on the other, how local policy makers perceived and responded to the sporting needs of these Muslim communities. According to the 2001 census, Leicester and Birmingham represent, respectively, one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Britain and the domicile for one-third of the Muslim population in Britain. Interviews were undertaken with representatives of Muslim organizations, governmental and quasi-governmental sporting organizations, in both cities. Critical Discourse Analysis of interviewees’ responses reveal pluralistic views on a range of issues such as: the “(un)suitability” of the environment/space provided for, or accessed by, Muslims to practise sport; funding; gender equity; equity and social inclusion agenda versus cultural and religious diversities; and a resistance (on the part of policy makers) to target provision at faith groups.
The aim of this paper is to reveal how misconceptions—or using the concept of Arkoun, “the crisis... more The aim of this paper is to reveal how misconceptions—or using the concept of Arkoun, “the crisis of meanings”—about the role and position of Islam in Europe is impacting on the discourse on sport, Islam, and immigration. France is selected as a case study for this paper as it is in this country where the debate on religion in general and Islam in particular seem to be more contentious in relation to the questions of integration of Muslim communities to secular (French republican) values. Recent sources of tensions include the ban of the Burqa in the public space; the debate on national identity instigated by the former French president Nicholas Sarkozy, which became centred around the question of Islam and Muslims in France; the provocative cartoons about Prophet Mohamed in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo; opposition against the provision of halal meal in France’s fast-food chain Quick; and resistance toward Qatar’s plan to invest in deprived suburbs of France, to name just a few. The other context which this paper examines in relation to the question of sport, Islam, and identity-making of Muslims in Europe is the phenomenon of “reverse migration” or the re-connection of athletes of Muslim background in Europe, or so-called Muslim neo-Europeans, with their (parents’) country of origin. The paper argues that sport is another highly politicised space to judge the level of “integration” of Muslim athletes in European societies, and the degree of “religiosity” in their (parents’) country of origin.
Soccer, post-colonial and post-conflict discourses in Algeria: Algérie-France, 6 Octobre 2001,“ce n'était pas un simple match de foot”
This paper reports an analysis of press articles of selected Algerian francophone newspapers, whi... more This paper reports an analysis of press articles of selected Algerian francophone newspapers, which were published before, during and after a ‘friendly’ soccer game between the French and Algerian national teams on 6 October 2001, in the Stade de France in Paris. The paper seeks to identify how the ‘identity’ and sense of belonging of French-Algerians, known also as Beurs, Maghrebins, les émigrés de France, or Français-plus was located, negotiated in the Algerian journalistic discourse. It considers the manner in which concepts such as ‘culture’, ‘locality’ ‘nationhood’ and ‘citizenship’ were mobilized to define or situate the identity of Algerian immigrants (or those of Algerian origin) in comparison with that of Algerian (local-national) identity. The ‘friendly’ soccer game between the two national teams become a symbolic space, another occasion, for remembering the French-Algerian colonial past. Moreover, it represented an opportunity to reposition Algeria in the international (sporting) arena, and more importantly, to reassert social ties between Algerians, as part of the post-conflict process for national reconciliation. This was the product of more than ten years of generalised violence, which has been termed the ‘second war’ (also la guerre sans images) of Algeria, after the first war for independence against French colonialism. Full text available in the following link: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/7654
Garcia, B and Amara, M (2013) Media perceptions of Arab investment in European football clubs: The case of Málaga and Paris Saint-Germain,
Transnational network formation through sports related regional development projects in the Arabian Peninsula
International Journal of Sport Policy, 2010
The exploration of the phenomenon of regional development through sports related projects in the ... more The exploration of the phenomenon of regional development through sports related projects in the Arabian Peninsula shows ways in which urban regeneration investment projects affect the regional economy as well as the reverse injection of local capital into global markets. These are traced in the selected three case studies: the Doha 2006 Asian Games, the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Manchester United Football Academy in Dubai. The following major themes arise from the analysis: a) the profusion of risky and bold mega-sports projects that are linked to major urban developments; b) the extensive use of the intangible values and images (goodwill, fair play, and well-being) of sport, that people generally hold, for brand awareness and sales growth purposes; c) the glocalisation of the activity of the various agents (and their business interests) who engage with sport and finally; d) the central role of the royal families, both as political and a business elite, in facilitating the networking between international sport organisations and global and local business interests.2006a)b)c)d) 2006F1a) b) c) d)La investigación del desarrollo regional en la Península Arábiga a través de proyectos relacionados con el deporte pone de relevancia una doble dinámica : la inversión en proyectos de regeneración urbana puede contribuir a la economía regional, pero al mismo tiempo también puede generarse una inyección de capital local hacia mercados globales. Estas dinámicas son estudiadas en tres casos : Los Juegos Asiáticos de Doha en 2006, la construcción del circuito de Fórmula 1 de Bahrein y la escuela de fútbol del Manchester united en Dubai. Las principales conclusiones de este análisis son : a) se detecta una profusión de mega proyectos deportivos de alto riesgo económico en conjunto con grandes acciones de regeneración urbana ; b) se hace un uso extensivo de valores intangibles asociados al deporte (p. ej. juego limpio, buena voluntad, integración) con el objetivo de aumentar las ventas relacionadas con los acontecimientos deportivos ; c) hay un fenómeno de glocalización en las actividades de los distintos agentes relacionados con el deporte (y sus intereses comerciales) ; d) las familias reales, en su papel como líderes políticos y comerciales, desarrollan un papel esencial para facilitar las relaciones entre las organizaciones deportivas locales y los intereses económicos locales.
Football, the new battlefield of business in Algeria: Djezzy and Nedjma …RANA MĀK YA AL-KHDRA
The Journal of North African Studies, 2011
1The recent crisis between Algeria and Egypt over the qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World... more 1The recent crisis between Algeria and Egypt over the qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup has brought to the surface new challenge to the ideology of Arab unity. This event has had a direct impact on the business of Mobile Telecom in the Algerian market. The paper provides a useful lens through which one can identify the shift in the business and politics of football in the current transition phase of Algeria towards a market economy. It also looks at the role of identity politics in the Algerian economy through the analysis of Algerian media accounts of sport marketing strategies and business competitions of two of Algeria's private mobile phone operators, Djezzy (a subsidy of the Egyptian company Orascom) and Nedjma (a subsidy of the Qatari-Kuwaiti company al-Watania). Both companies have dominated the sponsorship of sport clubs and national sport organisations in Algeria. The paper reveals some of the risks and opportunities of associating corporate branding strategies with nationalist sentiments surrounding sport in general and football in particular as well as the instable business and political networking around private investments in the Arab world.
Football Sub-Culture and Youth Politics in Algeria
Mediterranean Politics, 2012
This paper addresses two connected issues: first, the state's engagement with football in differe... more This paper addresses two connected issues: first, the state's engagement with football in different phases of Algeria's transitions since 1980s (e.g. the end of state's socialist ideology, multipartism and an era of political violence); second, football chanting among young football fans in Algiers – submerged in brutal conflict during the 1990s' – who have found in the internet in general, and social networks (YouTube, Facebook and Dailymotion) in particular, a new medium: (a) to reframe their identity, in opposition to both the institutionalized discourse on youth and political legitimacy, and the imposed realities of geo-politics that constrain their mobility; (b) to express their malaise with the socio-economic conditions; and (c) to construct their future in an ‘imagined elsewhere’.
2006 Qatar Asian Games: A ‘Modernization’ Project from Above
Sport in Society, 2005
This paper focuses on the 15th Asian Games, which will be staged in Doha. Qatar is the first Arab... more This paper focuses on the 15th Asian Games, which will be staged in Doha. Qatar is the first Arab Middle Eastern country to host the Asian Games, which will be the biggest ever organized, with 45 countries and 40 sports represented. The paper examines the political discourse around the games, and more specifically explores how state leaders, politicians, sports personalities and journalists are discussing the significance and impact of the staging of the Asian Games on the region in general and on Qatari society in particular. Discussing the importance that sport as a phenomenon is assuming in this region assists in highlighting some of the major issues that these societies are facing today. Sport in its multiple forms is becoming a tool for leaders in the Gulf to reposition their countries on the world map.
When the Arab World was Mobilised around the FIFA 2006 World Cup
The Journal of North African Studies, 2007
... and lay preachers like Amr Khaledstudents, professionals, revolutionaries, and intellectuals... more ... and lay preachers like Amr Khaledstudents, professionals, revolutionaries, and intellectuals. The important point to make here, however, is that these channels are all competing for the advertising market, valued according to industry estimates at $300 million (Battah, 20066 ...
Veiled Women Athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Media Accounts
International Journal of The History of Sport, 2012
The aim of this paper is to explore and to compare different international media accounts about t... more The aim of this paper is to explore and to compare different international media accounts about the presence of veiled athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In other words, to uncover whether the discourse of clash of cultures or that of cross-cultural dialogue has shaped their position about Islam, Muslim identities, Muslim women and the Muslim world in general. Furthermore, from the perspective of media in the Arab and the Muslim world, the purpose of theanalysis is to explore their responses to international media, and to investigate their positions in relation to the host nation (China), Asian culture and the Olympics.
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Papers by Dr Mahfoud Amara
of passionately fanatical football supporters groups and report on a
survey of fans’ opinions on violence in the country's sports stadia. The development of ultras – groups of
supporters, mostly of football teams, renowned
for their fanatical support and elaborate
displays – is an increasingly prominent
phenomenon in the world of Moroccan sport. But while
their antics are often fundamentally harmless – if
arresting in their flamboyance – the tendency of some
ultras to violent acts poses a threat to security, both
inside and outside the country's stadia.
Les impacts sociaux du sport dans le monde arabe peuvent être analysés sous trois aspects : les formes d'intervention de l'État dans le sport, le sport et les pratiques socioculturelles et la commercialisation du sport. Comme toute autre partie du monde et en dépit de son origine coloniale, le sport fait partie intégrante de la vie quotidienne des arabes, de Gaza à Casablanca. Bien avant même l'indépendance, il était utilisé, de façon symbolique, comme instrument de résistance à la présence coloniale française ou britannique et défendait la cause arabe sur la scène internationale.
El deporte puede servir para analizar cómonacionalismo y etnicidad se expresan en tiemposde crisis, transiciones políticas y victorias deportivas.
Los impactos sociales del deporte en el mundo árabe pueden analizarse en relación con tres aspectos: las diferentes formas de intervención estatal en el deporte; el deporte y las prácticas socioculturales y la comercialización del deporte. Como en cualquier otra parte del mundo, y a pesar de su origen colonial, el deporte se ha integrado en la vida cotidiana de los árabes, desde Gaza hasta Casablanca. Incluso antes de la independencia, era usado simbólicamente como un sinónimo de resistencia frente a la presencia colonial francesa o británica y defendía la causa árabe en la arena internacional.
"
football development in South Korea? How this change has been defined, diffused, imposed, debated and/or resisted in South Korean football? To respond to these questions, the paper examines the debates on modernity and modernisation in Korean
society and in football. To this end, we trace some of the ways that colonial and postcolonial discourses have been appropriated in relation to South Korea’s construction of ‘self’ and ‘otherness’, and in defining meanings about change – in the sense of reform,
modernisation, rationalisation and professionalisation – of South Korean football