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Racism, Racialization, and Xenophobia

African Footballers in the Eyes of Fans and Media

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African Footballers in Sweden
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Abstract

This chapter studies how the Swedish media’s coverage of African (and other black) footballers has been and continues to be racialized in many instances. Furthermore, it looks at the editorial positions that the Swedish national press has taken in regard to the practice of importing foreign footballers. This chapter specifically investigates how the sports pages in Dagens Nyheter (independent Liberal), Aftonbladet (independent Social Democratic), and Svenska Dagbladet (independent Conservative) have all respectively dealt with this subject. (These papers have been selected not only because they represent three different political perspectives but also because they are three of the country’s most well-known and widely distributed dailies.)

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Notes

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© 2015 Carl-Gustaf Scott

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Scott, CG. (2015). Racism, Racialization, and Xenophobia. In: African Footballers in Sweden. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137535092_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137535092_8

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-55311-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53509-2

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