Football, Nationalism and Xenophobia in Mexico: Debates in the Press about Foreign and Naturalized Players, 1943-1945

Abstract

Through a discussion that took place in the press, the article analyses the circumstances that made possible the promulgation of a presidential decree, in force between 1945 and 2005, which restricted the participation of foreign and naturalized players in the Mexican professional football. By considering soccer as a “public arenaâ€, we see the debate about this restriction directed at foreign players as a clash between different conceptions of belonging to the national community. In professional sports, like soccer, this kind of controversy becomes relevant because the visibility of the other is greater than in other public spaces, and thus this policy acquires the traits of defensive xenophobia.