Football and Culture 足球文化

Football and Culture: A Glimpse of the United Kingdom 陈耀光化学与化学工程学院11级A班11320024 Directory

I．Preface (1)

II．Abstract (1)

III．Gentility culture (2)

IV．National identity (3)

V．Insular attitude (4)

VI．Class nature (5)

VII．Conclusion (6)

VIII. References (6)

I．Preface

Culture is an atmosphere，subtly influencing people and what happens in it; Culture is a spirit, the people and what happen embodying it in a concrete way. Football is a worldwide sport with long history. On October 26th, 1863, some relative people had a discussion and then agreed to set up the Football Association. Besides, it also developed and adopted a more unified football competition rules in the meeting, which is the prototype of the modern football competition rules. It stands for the birth of modern football [1]. Football is also considered to be the first game on the earth. It possesses the largest amount of players and fans. It is estimated that about 250 million people regularly play football while hundreds of millions of people watch the sports match on TV. Besides, it stands for the development of sports in one country. Maybe someone think there is nothing between football and culture. However, football is closely related to the culture. From football in Britain, we may understand it easily.

II．Abstract

Football is originated in England and British have created a unique soccer style

well known over the world in the special cultural background. Influenced by the British culture, football in Britain possess many distinctive features，such as unique national identity，gentility，conservativeness and class nature. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland`s loose political feature allows the British football become a way of national identity to British nations; British social strata,s worship to the etiquette of high society makes British soccer have a strong gentility brand; Islanders lifestyle forms that English soccer with conservative orientation，and to a some extent，hinders the development of English soccer; From the beginning of modern soccer in Britain，which happened in the middle of the 19th century，soccer became the leisure way of British working class，and become an implementation means of social control．

David Beckham, the ambassador of England 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid, when in an interview on December 3, 2009, said: "Football permeates our culture, being present in our DNA from our birth into this world. Football will be with us forever." From what Beckham said, we can feel the close relationship between football and the British culture. Sports Culture is a subculture, and is closely related to social culture. British football is rooted in the origin and development of a wide range of British social background, reflecting the British cultural characteristics. In the passage, I will introduce the British culture reflected by its football from the gentleman culture, national identity, island mentality and class consciousness and other aspects . III．Gentility culture

Gentility is the outward manifestation of the British national culture. Gentility comes into being in the process of all British classes keeping up with the upper class, based on the noble spirit and mixed by certain values from all classes. Gentility culture dates back to the chivalry in the Middle Ages [2]. In that time, young men especially those nobility who could afford to the cost, was trained strictly from childhood. Only through the rigorous process could they become a knight, who should step forward when needed, fight for morality and justice and encourage people to fight tenaciously until the end. Over 200 years of the crusades links closely with the chivalry. The British army waved the red flags with The Golden Lion to boost morale and King Richard 1st of England because of its brave and fierce and won the title of “the Lionheart” because of his bravery. Besides, Lion in Western culture has become the symbol of courage, loyalty and nobleness.

the badge of the English Football Association is ”Three Lions”, standing for