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National identity and sport – the case of World Handball Championship – Croatia 2009

National identity and sport have multiple relations. In Croatia this relation is even more emphasized because of the war (1991 – 1995) and due to the fact that Croatia has been formally accepted as independent state in 1991. Since then, Croatian sportsmen have been important actors of international sport success, as well as of international recognition of Croatia. Sport was so important, amongst other reasons, because of the fact that politicians have very often tried to instrumentalize sport achievements for their own interest. Beside the classical „ Us“ feeling of affiliation, and the thesis describing sportsmen as the best ambassadors of Croatia worldwide, the sport events were also the stage of expression of nationalism in the way where patriotism shows its uglier faces: ethnocentrism, xenophobia and chauvinism. Observing the relations between national identity and sport at multiple levels, this work takes recently held World Handball Championship as a case study which analyzes general questions of sport and national identity relations, on the examples of spectators gathering and behaviour of supporters, and furthermore, the isolated particular cases, like the case of removal of the national flags of all countries participating in competition in Zadar, which was fully covered and widely reported by Croatian media houses. In addition, we analyzed the examples of highlighted perception of supporting Croatian national team, which points to the creation of stereotypes and other discourses about the „ temperamental south“ and „ cold north“ within the state of Croatia.

national identity; nationalism; handball; Croatia

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