Seiberth Klaus, Thiel Ansgar, John Jannika M
Institute of Sports Science and Kinesiology, University Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
Institute of Sports Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Jul 12;4:893019. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.893019. eCollection 2022.
Sport represents a prominent topic for public and scientific debates on national identity. Looking at Germany, public discourses on national belonging have primarily focused on national elite football and on German-born international football players with Turkish background. Representing the biggest ethnic community in Germany and being highly represented in German youth elite football, athletes with Turkish background are prime examples for the complexity and ambiguity of identity formations in modern immigration countries in general and in youth elite football in particular. Current research has particularly focused on national identity formations of (youth) elite players with migrant background. However, there is a lack of studies that address the process of national identity development in youth elite sport. For that reason, the study aimed to explore stories of national identity development from the perspective of youth football players with Turkish background in German youth elite football. By conducting 10 expert interviews and biographical mappings, we identified specific types, strands, and trajectories of national identity development. Overall, we identified three types of narratives on national identity development: "going with the nomination(s)," "reconsidering national belonging," and "adding up chances". Our findings illustrate that national identity development in youth elite sport is particularly shaped by youth elite sport and the national team question. Hence, the stories indicate that international careers not necessarily foster national identification with a nation but can also reduce feelings of national belonging sustainably.
体育是关于国家认同的公众和科学辩论中的一个突出话题。以德国为例，关于国家归属感的公众话语主要集中在国家精英足球以及具有土耳其背景的德国出生的国际足球运动员身上。具有土耳其背景的运动员代表了德国最大的族群，并且在德国青年精英足球中占比很高，他们是现代移民国家，尤其是青年精英足球中身份形成的复杂性和模糊性的典型例子。当前的研究特别关注具有移民背景的（青年）精英运动员的国家认同形成。然而，缺乏针对青年精英体育中国家认同发展过程的研究。因此，本研究旨在从德国青年精英足球中具有土耳其背景的青年足球运动员的角度探索国家认同发展的故事。通过进行10次专家访谈和传记映射，我们确定了国家认同发展的特定类型、线索和轨迹。总体而言，我们确定了关于国家认同发展的三种叙事类型：“接受提名”、“重新考虑国家归属感”和“增加机会”。我们的研究结果表明，青年精英体育中的国家认同发展尤其受到青年精英体育和国家队问题的影响。因此，这些故事表明，国际职业生涯不一定会促进对一个国家的国家认同，反而可能会持续降低国家归属感。
