C1208744 bound names removed

Cultural Politics of Sport:The Case of FC Barcelona

STUDENT NAME: Matthew Friday

STUDENT NUMBER: C1208744

MODULE CODE: ML0387

MODULE TITLE: BA Dissertation (Single Honours – in English)

WORD COUNT: 9,998

PLAGIARISM STATEMENT: I declare that the work submitted is entirely my

own.

Table of ContentsAcknowledgements..................................................................................................................3

Abstract....................................................................................................................................4

List of Abbreviations.................................................................................................................5

Introduction............................................................................................................................. 6

Literature Review.....................................................................................................................9

Methodology..........................................................................................................................14

Brief history of Catalan Politics and Language since the 18th century, and the connections with FC Barcelona...................................................................................................................16

Questionnaire and Interview Results.....................................................................................24

Discussion of Results..............................................................................................................27

Conclusions............................................................................................................................ 32

Bibliography........................................................................................................................... 35

Appendix A: Questionnaire Results........................................................................................38

2

AcknowledgementsI would like to express my very great appreciation to Dr Montserrat Lunati for her very

helpful guidance throughout this study. Her willingness to dedicate so much time to critique

my work and to suggest how it could be further improved was very valuable. My thanks are

also extended to Dr Andrew Dowling for his assistance in the selection of both the research

topic and the research question.

I would like to thank all of the supporters of FC Barcelona and the members of the official FC

Barcelona supporters groups that gave their time to contribute to my research by either

answering the questionnaire or partaking in the interviews.

Finally, I would like to thank my parents and my sister for their encouragement and support

during this project.

AbstractThis dissertation examines the relationships between sport, politics and national identity,

using the example of FC Barcelona and Catalonia. Since the formation of the club in 1899, FC

Barcelona has become one of Catalonia’s most prominent institutions. With the use of both

qualitative and quantitative research, via interviews with members of official FC Barcelona

supporters groups and a questionnaire sent out to FC Barcelona supporters, this dissertation

investigates how the club has become a key symbol of the national identity of Catalonia. The

results show that the principal factor in the relationship between the club and Catalan

identity was the repression that the region suffered at the hands of the dictatorships of

Primo de Rivera and Franco during the twentieth century, and how FC Barcelona gave the

Catalan population a place where they could openly celebrate their repressed sense of

national identity.

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List of AbbreviationsCEDA: Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas

FCB: Futbol Club Barcelona

RCD Espanyol: Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol

UEFA: Union of European Football Associations

IntroductionOn 06 June 2015, FC Barcelona (FCB) faced off against Juventus in the UEFA

Champions League final, a match considered the biggest in club football. This one match

was watched by an estimated 400 million viewers in over two-hundred countries across the

globe, with over 180 million people watching live. During this match there were seventy-six

million related Facebook interactions, and over two million visits to the UEFA website on the

day of the game (UEFA, 2015). The Catalan side won the entertaining match by three goals

to one thanks to goals from superstar strikers Luis Suárez and Neymar1. During the match, a

number of FCB2 fans waved estelades3 with the aim of promoting Catalonia’s pro-

independence stance in the region’s ongoing quest for secession from Spain. This was

therefore seen by the hundreds of millions of people who watched the match and by those

who discussed the match on social media, regardless of nationality. From this, it can be

argued that FCB is a significant representative of the Catalan nationalist movement. It is

clear that the link between FCB and the region of Catalonia is very strong and many

residents in the region identify themselves with both FCB and Catalonia.

The research question that this dissertation intends to answer is “How has FC

Barcelona become a symbol of Catalan identity?” It aims to show the many different factors

that can affect the relationship between sport and identity and apply them to the specific

relationship between FCB and Catalonia. The literature review in the following chapter

explores what some academics have previously written about these topics and highlights

any gaps in the research that will then become the focus of the research within this

dissertation. Millions of people all over the world love sport, and many people view sport as

a pleasant distraction from “real-world” issues such as politics and the economy, and many

others view it as unimportant. This dissertation aims to show just how important a sports

club, as well as sport itself, can be in the formation of a national identity, which is something

that connects millions of people from a nation as a collective entity that is presented to rest

of the world.

1 Commonly known as Neymar. Full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior.2 FC Barcelona is referred to as FCB and as Barça throughout this dissertation.3 The name of the flag that promotes Catalan independence in plural form. The estelada is the singular term.

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There are a number of factors that have contributed to the strong political and

cultural relationship between FC Barcelona and Catalan identity, and many of these are

featured in multiple literary articles concerning these issues. One example of such a factor is

the repression caused by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship in the early 20th century, when

Catalonia suffered vastly as a result of the regime which banned nationalistic symbols such

as the Catalan language and the Catalan national flag. This has been argued by some

academics as a factor in the strengthening of the Catalan nationalist movement due to the

repressive measures causing an increase in the importance of the aforementioned symbols.

Francisco Franco’s thirty-six year dictatorship later in the 20th century also heavily repressed

many outlets of nationalism in Catalonia, which left many people turning to FCB as one of

their only avenues of which they could both protest against the dictatorial regime and

display their national identity. A further explanation to FCB’s strong association with Catalan

identity could be the club’s on and off pitch rivalries with Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol.

These two clubs have been viewed by many Catalans as the representation of the centralist

government both in Madrid (Real Madrid) and within Catalonia itself (RCD Espanyol). This

has been acknowledged by various scholars as contributing to the recognition of FCB as the

symbol of Catalonia. Furthermore, some academics have highlighted the importance that

the media can have on the formation of Catalan identity. Catalan newspapers have been

found to have portrayed FCB as a representative of Catalan nationalism, whilst portraying

close rivals Real Madrid as a symbol of centralism. Meanwhile FCB’s own media has been

pro-Catalonia whilst being negative toward Spain, referring to the rest of Spain as the

“Spanish state”, thus highlighting the difference between Spaniards born in Catalonia and

those born elsewhere in Spain.

Theoretical Framework

As this dissertation examines how FCB can influence feeling of identity in Catalonia,

it is important to examine a theoretical concept that is linked to this idea. Henri Tajfel’s

“Social Identity Theory” (1979) is an examination of the process in which we identify

ourselves as members of certain groups. “Social identity” is a person’s sense of who they are

based on their group membership(s) and Tajfel hypothesised that these group memberships

carried an important source of pride and self-esteem. In order to increase these feelings of

pride and self-esteem, we enhance the status of the group to which we belong. An example

of this would be declaring that the nation you live in is the best nation in the world. We can

also achieve the same outcome by doing the opposite and discriminating against groups

that we don’t belong to. This means that we can divide many different features into various

social groups, groups that we are part of (in-groups) and groups that we are not part of (out-

groups). This process is called “social categorisation” and it is the first of three mental

processes that we undergo according to this theory.

The second of these processes is called “social identification”. This is when we adopt

the identity of the groups that we categorised ourselves with in the previous process. This

identification with a group carries an emotional significance and self-esteem becomes

bound up with group membership. With the help of this research, we can hopefully identify

what are perceived to be the norms for an FCB fan that lives in or is from Catalonia.

The final of the three processes is called “social comparison”. In this process we

compare our in-groups with our out-groups (the groups to which we belong and those to

which we do not belong) in order to maintain our self-esteem. Tajfel states that when two

groups identify each other as rivals, they are then forced to compete in order for their

members to maintain their self-esteem, so competition between groups is not only a result

of competing for resources but also due to competing identities. The central hypothesis of

this theory is that members of an in-group try to find negative aspects to an out-group in

order to enhance their self-image. This theory is discussed and applied to FCB later in this

dissertation.

The rest of this dissertation is structured as follows: The literature on this subject will

be summarised, followed by a discussion of the chosen methodology. This is followed by a

brief history of Catalan politics and language, and of FC Barcelona. Then the results from the

research that was undertaken for this dissertation are then set out, with a subsequent

discussion of these results, and a final chapter draws the conclusions from this dissertation.

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Literature ReviewThis dissertation requires a review of the literature surrounding the relationship

between FC Barcelona and Catalan identity. After researching multiple sources it is apparent

that scholars have isolated a number of themes concerning this relationship which are

covered in this review. These themes include the repression during the Primo de Rivera and

Franco regimes; the portrayal of FCB in the media; and the rivalries with Real Madrid and

RCD Espanyol. The analysis of these different themes is essential in order to understand the

various factors that have caused FCB to be such a prominent symbol in Catalonia, as well as

to understand the different approaches that various academics have taken to try and

answer this question.

Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship

In September 1923, the Spanish military, led by its Captain General Miguel Primo de

Rivera, embarked on a coup and seized control of the Spanish government. Primo de Rivera

became the leader of Spain and his dictatorial reign lasted until his resignation in January

1930: He died two months later. His leadership resulted in repression against the

nationalistic states of Catalonia and the Basque Country, and the use of the Catalan

language was banned, as well as the Catalan flag4 (Shobe, 2008, p. 336). This repression is

argued by Shobe (2008) as potentially strengthening the Catalanist movement as it

increased the significance of the national symbols. This viewpoint is supported by Goig

(2008) who added that FCB’s symbolism grew during Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship as a

result of the banning of the national symbols. This is explained by Goig as being due to Barça

replacing the Catalan flag with the flag of FCB at public demonstrations. Goig believes that

this created “a symbolic fusion between the two flags”. Claret and Subirana (2015, pp. 75-

88) studied whistling by fans in Barça’s stadiums5 as a form of political protest on three

occasions, the first of which occurred in 1925, during Primo de Rivera’s reign. The authors’

main study centres around an incident during Franco’s regime in 1970, but an antecedent is

noted from June 1925, when the British Royal Navy’s band was invited to play during half

4 The Catalan flag is known as la senyera.5 The references to FCB’s stadium in this review refer to two different stadiums. The Camp de Les Corts was FCB’s stadium from 1922 up until 1957, and the Camp Nou was used from 1957 until the present day.

time of an FCB match. The band began to play the Spanish national anthem6 and the crowd

began to whistle and shout in order to drown out the music. The band decided to play God

Save The King instead and the whistling immediately stopped and the crowd began to

applaud, demonstrating the clear political significance of this protest. FCB was met with

sanctions by the dictatorship but the authors’ maintain that these merely strengthened

FCB’s link with Catalan nationalism.

The Franco regime

After Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship ended, Spain entered the Second Republic

before the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939,

General Francisco Franco assumed dictatorial control of Spain until his death in 1975. Franco

was focused on the promotion of Spanish nationalism and thus intended on eradicating all

regional rivalries, except in football where he felt it was a healthy way for the masses to

express themselves and distract them from protesting (Barceló et al., 2014, p. 4). However,

Barceló et al (2014, p. 4) argue that this did not work in the case of FCB, because Catalonia

had no regional government or political parties or even the right to use their official

language of Catalan, so FCB matches became the only place where people could express

their cultural pride. This was supported by their study, in which they interviewed two groups

of Barça fans of different ages, and the elder group who were of adult age during the Franco

regime stated that FCB was a means of expressing themselves against the dictatorship. The

validity of this study could have been improved by interviewing more people, as only ten

fans were consulted (five fans for each age group). The notion of FCB becoming a venue of

political protest against Francoism is echoed by Claret and Subirana (2015, pp. 75-88) whose

own study of whistling as a form of political protest in Barça’s stadiums, which is mentioned

in the previous section, is also valid in this situation as the incident of whistling repeated

itself in 1970 in the latter years of Franco’s reign. Towards the end of Franco’s dictatorship,

FCB promoted a campaign for the use of Catalan in schools and the Catalan flag returned to

the club’s stadium, highlighting that Barça’s directors appeared to take politics into their

own hands and to use FCB to challenge the regime (Shobe, 2008, p. 341). FCB’s role as a

symbol of Catalonia increased throughout Franco’s dictatorship, and this role is summed up

by Guibernau (2000, p. 1003) who affirmed that FCB was “portrayed as a representative of

6 The Spanish national anthem is known as la Marcha Real.

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the Catalan nation, and exemplified resistance against the dictatorship”. Whilst Goig (2008,

p. 65) acknowledged that during the forty years of the Franco regime, Barça reclaimed their

symbolic meaning and became one of Catalonia’s driving forces of political and cultural

expression.

Rivalries

While there was heavily repression by the governments of Primo de Rivera and

Franco during their respective periods of dictatorship, FCB and Catalonia also faced tough

opposition to their cultural and political identity in the form of rivalries with two other

Spanish football clubs: Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol. It has been claimed that FCB

represented a resistance against the force of centralism which many people believed was

symbolized by Real Madrid (Eaude, 2008, p. 254). This political division led to matches

between the two teams becoming, as Goig (2008, p. 65) states, “a performance of

Catalanism”. Johnson (2011, p. 153) emphasises this by pointing out that the results of

matches played between the two sides would often be decided in favour of Real Madrid due

to political interference, further proving the fragmented political relationship between the

two clubs and their respective cities. There was a strong feeling among FCB fans that Real

Madrid was the beneficiary of politically influenced refereeing. However, Goig (2008, p. 60)

argues that Real Madrid was not favoured by referees and that the club did not dominate

the agenda of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Duke and Crolley (1996, p. 36) support

this statement as they declared that there was little evidence to suggest that Real Madrid

encouraged association between the club and the regime, in other words Real Madrid could

be seen to have been mere pawns in the political games of the dictatorship. This would

suggest that while Real Madrid was disliked by FCB and its fans, it was not the club itself

that was the problem.

RCD Espanyol was formed in 1900 in Barcelona and became FCB’s main city and

regional rival. The Catalan spelling of “Espanyol” in the club’s name was originally spelt as

“Español” (the Castilian Spanish spelling), which caused provocation amongst some FCB

supporters because this embodied Spain, as opposed to Barcelona or Catalonia (Shobe,

2008, p. 335). Barcelo et al (2014, p. 9) believed that this meant that their rivalry became a

rivalry between Spanish Catalonia - represented by Espanyol - and Catalan Catalonia -

represented by FCB. If Real Madrid was indeed the representative of the Spanish

government in Spain, then Espanyol would be a depiction of the Spanish government within

Catalonia itself (Duke & Crolley, 1996, p. 28). Goig (2008, p. 59) supports this by adding that

FCB versus Espanyol signifies Catalanism versus centralism. Johnson (2011, p. 152) indicates

that this contributed to FCB becoming the symbol of the Catalan nation. Despite this, Duke

and Crolley (1996, p. 45) believe that it would be too simplistic to say that Espanyol

supported the centralist forces.

Portrayal of FCB in the media

Nowadays, the media plays a pivotal role in modern society, and is relied upon for

millions of people across the globe, whether it is for following major news stories or for

watching a sports event or any number of different reasons. The media can be very

persuasive, and it is what most people consult in order to form opinions on many different

subjects. It can be argued that the Spanish and Catalan media have played a role over the

years in forming opinions regarding FCB and the Catalan national identity. The media in

general can be very effective in reinforcing national identity (Rodríguez Ortega, 2015, p. 10),

and Duke and Crolley (1996, p. 34) support this by stating that the Spanish media have

televised matches at times of political sensitivity in order to distract the public from the

political issues. García (2012, p. 7) focuses on FCB’s own media and asserts that Barça’s

communication was often pro-Catalonia and thus negative about Spain. Furthermore, García

(2012, p. 7) highlights the use of the term “Spanish state” by Barça which he believes is to

create a sense of difference between those born in Catalonia and those who were born in or

live in the rest of Spain. In addition, García mentions that FCB made a public statement

declaring their support for Catalan national teams, further strengthening the bond between

FCB and Catalan identity. As a further example, Avui was, and it is now, a well known

Catalan nationalist newspaper during the latter years of the 20th century, and Quiroga (2013,

p. 132) points out that the newspaper portrayed FCB as a representative of Catalan

nationalism, whilst portraying rivals Real Madrid as the “quintessence of centralism and

authoritarianism” which further created a divide between Catalan identity and Spanish

identity, and placing Barça firmly on the Catalan side.

The literature review has outlined the major themes that link FCB with Catalan

identity. Having taken into account the literature discussed above it is clear that there has

been a lot of focus on the political and sporting rivalries that FCB has with Real Madrid and

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RCD Espanyol, and on the links between FCB and the repression of Catalonia during the

Primo de Rivera and Franco dictatorships. However the majority of research to date has

focused on FCB’s historical links with Catalan identity, this therefore is one of the gaps in the

research so far. Considering the region’s current struggle for independence from the rest of

Spain, it will be useful to investigate the connection between FCB and the desire for Catalan

independence in order to assess whether or not it has had a noticeable impact on the

formation of Catalan identity. With this in mind it is important to research this point, as well

as the other themes discussed previously, in order to see which theme is considered the

most crucial to the understanding of FCB’s role as a symbol of Catalonia.

MethodologyBibliographical research was undertaken in order to gather information that is

displayed in the literature review, whilst the data collection that forms part of this

dissertation was undertaken via two research methods, namely questionnaires and

interviews.

Bibliographical research was used in order to compile a review of the literature on

the subject of this dissertation, as well as to research and reference information contained

in the following chapters. The majority of the source literature that was used for the

literature review was journals that were obtained via Cardiff University’s LibrarySearch

online. A time-efficient benefit of this method was that it allowed the viewing of multiple

journals that were relevant to my dissertation with just one search. The majority of the

sources that were used for other sections of this dissertation were from books that were

also obtained on the LibrarySearch tool, or from the websites of newspapers and media or

sporting organisations.

The first means of gathering data was with the use of a questionnaire. This method

was used in order to collect a larger number of responses from supporters of FCB. As this is

a form of quantitative data collection, this research method gives me an easier way of

assessing any important trends concerning the different opinions from different types of

supporters. The questionnaire consisted of a total of eight questions (see Appendix A) that

asked the respondents for their information regarding their location (where they were born,

where they currently live and whether or not they had ever lived in Catalonia), their support

for FCB (how long they had supported the club and why they started supporting the club)

and for their opinions on the importance of various factors concerning FCB as a symbol of

Catalan identity. The results from this survey will allow us to see if there is any correlation

between the nationalities of the respondents (e.g. Catalan or non-Catalan) and their

opinions regarding the key reasons on FCB and Catalan identity.

The second form of research used was the interview method, which was used with

the aim of collecting some more detailed responses from members of official FCB

supporters groups (known as penyes). Whilst the questionnaire data gave me some

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important quantitative data, this method would allow me to gain qualitative data which is

important when discussing an emotive topic such as this as it allows the interviewees to

explain their feelings in greater detail. The interviewees were asked for their opinion on the

research question, “What has caused FC Barcelona to become a key symbol of Catalan

identity?” The respondents were generally either the President or the Secretary of their

respective penya, so it can be assumed that the respondents are all very firm supporters of

FCB. Therefore the responses from these interviews are significant.

One weakness of the questionnaire section of the research is that the data was

sought online via supporters’ forums and message boards. While this was a useful method

of obtaining multiple results in one place, it was also going to be potentially biased in favour

of younger supporters. Of the 48 questionnaire respondents, 38 (79.2%) had supported FCB

for fewer than 20 years at the time of completion of the questionnaire. While this is not

always the case, it is more likely that a user of an online message board is under the age of

thirty than over the age of fifty. To put this potential issue into context for this research, the

death of Franco was in 1975 so anyone under the age of forty was not alive during the

Franco regime, and this may mean that the younger supporters do not feel as strongly about

the effects of the Franco dictatorship on FCB than some supporters over the age of forty or

fifty who would have had a first-hand view on the impact of Francoism on FCB7.

However it can be argued that as some of the interview respondents were over forty

years of age, it offsets the lack of older questionnaire respondents. The majority of the

interviewees were also based in Catalonia which would offset the fact that very few

respondents to the questionnaire were from Catalonia.

7 A survey of FCB supporters outside Barça’s Camp Nou stadium was an initial idea of mine, although time and financial constraints made this plan unviable. This would have enabled a greater number of respondents to be interviewed, as well as reaching those who do not participate in online supporters’ forums.

Brief history of Catalan Politics and Language since the 18th century, and the connections with FC Barcelona

This chapter focuses on the history of both politics and language in Catalonia, which

are two very important characteristics of Catalan identity, as well as their connections to FC

Barcelona. An awareness of the historical context of these aspects is critical to the

understanding of this dissertation as it highlights the foundations of FCB’s relationship with

Catalan society. This chapter will provide an insight into the political history of both

Catalonia and FCB, as well as the history of the Catalan language since the end of the War of

the Spanish Succession in 1714.

The 18 th and 19 th centuries in Catalonia

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought with the crown of Aragon (Aragon,

Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands) and their English allies against Castile,

supported by the French. The side of the Catalans ultimately lost the war and two years

after the war had ended, the Nueva Planta Decrees came into force which banned the use

of the Catalan language as the new political structure in Castile was set on embracing a

monolingual society (Strubell, 2011, p. 126). It was not until the early 19th century when a

literary movement known as the Renaixença began to revive the use of the Catalan

language, initially in poetry. Written Catalan was used more often, with its outlets including

the media with Catalan daily periodical La Veu de Catalunya appearing from 1900 onwards

(Strubell, 2011, p. 128).

Later in the nineteenth century, a revolution known as the Gloriosa resulted in the

exile of Isabel II and a six-year period known as the Democratic Sexennium began in 1868,

which proclaimed freedom of expression, association, and universal male suffrage (Peyrou,

2007). This was followed by the crowning of Alfonso XII which marked the beginning of the

restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. A new political system was developed in Spain which

led to the major political groups, the Conservatives and the Liberals, agreeing to alternate in

16

power. This was known as the turno pacífico8. However, Catalonia played a leading role in

protests against this system, and Barcelona was known as La Rosa de Foc9 during the 1880s

and 1890s due to multiple atrocities that afflicted the city during this time (Segura i Mas &

Barbé i Pou, 2011, p. 74).

It was around this time when Futbol Club Barcelona was founded by Joan Gamper.

Gamper, a Swiss businessman, moved to Barcelona in 1898 for professional reasons and was

one of twelve men, a mix of Catalans and foreigners, living in Barcelona at the time who

decided to set up the Catalan club on 29 November 1899. Gamper’s aim was to create an

organisation that everyone could be a part of, irrespective of nationality and origin, and his

founding values on which the club is built are of democracy, universality and Catalan

identity. Since 1899, the club had used the city’s coat of arms. However in 1910 the new,

and current, coat of arms was established. It is a representation of the club’s identity that

features the St. George’s cross as well as the Senyera, the Catalan flag. The club’s blue and

claret colours also feature.

Such was the new-found popularity of Catalan, the language necessitated

standardisation as it had been out of circulation for so long, and in 1901 a Majorcan priest

and linguist by the name of Antoni-Maria Alcover requested contributions towards what

8 The peaceful rotation in power.9 The Rose of Fire.

became the new Diccionari general de la Llengua Catalana10, which was finalised decades

later (Strubell, 2011, p. 129). The main author of this dictionary was Pompeu Fabra i Poch, a

Catalan grammarian who also published his Gramàtica de la llengua catalana11 in 1912.

The 20 th century in Catalonia

The twentieth century began with the formation of the Lliga Regionalista12 in 1901,

which became the first political party which was primarily Catalanist, conservative, reformist

and bourgeois. The party became so successful that the state-wide Liberal and Conservative

parties disappeared from Catalan politics (Segura i Mas & Barbé i Pou, 2011, p. 76).

However, social inequality and destitution in Catalonia led to extreme disharmony, and in

July 1909 the situation culminated in what is now known as the Setmana Tràgica13 when

outrage over the Spanish state’s involvement in another foreign affair, this time in North

Africa, led to rioting in Barcelona, resulting in over 75 fatalities. This disaster enabled the

Lliga to remain in power for the majority of the time up until Primo de Rivera’s military coup

in 1923.

The military coup of General Miguel Primo de Rivera in September 1923 led to

Spain’s first of two military dictatorships of the twentieth century. Primo de Rivera’s

ideology stemmed from the model of a unitary and uniform country inspired by traditional

Spanish values (Segura i Mas & Barbé i Pou, 2011, p. 78). This meant that Catalonia faced

severe repression of any symbols of nationalism or regionalism. This provoked the opposite

reaction and new, more radically regionalist, groups were set up in Catalonia. Primo de

Rivera resigned in 1929 after his dictatorship went into crisis, which paved the way for the

formation of the Spanish Second Republic in 1931 and the signing of the new Spanish

Constitution in the same year, which resulted in Catalonia becoming an autonomous region.

However, on 30 July 1930, Barça’s founder Joan Gamper committed suicide aged 52

due to personal problems. After Gamper, the club entered a period that became

increasingly politicised. Barça’s new club statutes, which were approved in May 1932,

10 Dictionary of the Catalan Language.11 Grammar of the Catalan language.12 Regionalist League.13 Tragic Week.

18

redefined the organisation as a “cultural and sporting association”14, which epitomised the

club’s intention on political, social and cultural reform.

As a result of the new statute of autonomy, Catalan became a co-official language

alongside Castilian, and the Generalitat15 was now responsible for law and order, public

works, and the administration of civil justice (McRoberts, 2001, p. 34). The use of Catalan

increased during the Second Republic, with the number of books published in Catalonia

nearly trebling between 1930 and 1936 (from 308 to 865), whilst Catalan-language media

also experienced a surge in prominence as the number of Catalan-language newspapers

grew from 10 in 1927 to 25 in 1933 (McRoberts, 2001, p. 35). In 1934, conflict arose

between landowners in Catalonia and the Generalitat over a new law giving tenant farmers

the right to the acquisition of farmland, which led to the landowners appealing to the

Spanish government to remove the law. The government bowed to pressure from the

rightist group CEDA and the law was struck down, further polarising the farmers and the

landowners (McRoberts, 2001, p. 36). CEDA members then joined a new Spanish

government which was made up of left and right-wing forces that were against Catalan

nationalism. Eventually this led to the suspension of the Catalan statute of autonomy and

closure of the Catalan parliament (McRoberts, 2001, p. 36).

Two years later, in 1936, a leftist coalition came to power in Spain. The Catalan

statute of autonomy was restored and there was relative peace for a few months. This did

not last long, and in July 1936 the Spanish Civil War began. Tragedy struck on 06 August

1936, just under three weeks after the onset of the Spanish Civil War, when FCB president

Josep Sunyol was shot dead by Francoist forces. Sunyol had become the new president of

FCB in July 1935, and he supported political ideals based on Catalan nationalism and used

the motto “Sport and Citizenship” to emphasise the link between sport and society. Sunyol

had been travelling to meet Republican troops near Madrid as part of his political activities

when the car in which Sunyol and his colleagues were travelling entered a zone controlled

by Franco’s troops. Sunyol and his colleagues were identified, arrested, and then shot. Barça

was once again without a president.

14 http://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/history15 The local name for the Government of Catalonia.

The Spanish Civil War was the result of multiple factors. The Catholic Church had

seen its influence diminish as a result of anticlerical policies, and the armed forces lost their

power to the civil authorities. Elsewhere landowners in the south and centre of Spain felt

threatened by agrarian reform and the peasant movement. However, one of the main

objectives of the officers who instigated the Spanish Civil War was to overthrow self-

government in Catalonia (McRoberts, 2001, p. 38). The Generalitat suffered a continual

reduction of its power throughout the war, and an increasingly defenceless Catalonia

became the subject of bombing raids, whilst the region was also without basic food and

hydroelectric power, which created an unbearable living situation for the population

(McRoberts, 2001, pp. 38-39). On 23 December 1938, General Francisco Franco’s troops

began to advance, and finally on 05 February 1939 they entered Barcelona, whilst a mass of

soldiers and civilians, as well as the Generalitat, retreated into France. (McRoberts, 2001, p.

39).

The effects of the Franco regime

The Civil War ended in victory for the Nationalists, a falangist group led by General

Franco, on 01 April 1939. After its representation on the side of the defeated Republicans

during the Civil War, Catalan nationalism suffered immensely at the hands of Spanish

Nationalism, with Catalans being denounced as disloyal betrayers of Spain (Dowling, 2013,

p. 38). Once again, Catalonia experienced heavy repression of all things that made the

region appear different to the rest of Spain. The Spanish language (i.e. Castilian) became the

only official language within Spain and the Franco dictatorship declared that public use of

other languages was either banned or frowned upon. In addition, Franco forbade the use of

non-Castilian names for new-born children. After the civil war, FCB experienced social,

economic and sporting hardships. The new regime distrusted the club, as it was viewed as a

supporter of the Republicans and of Catalan nationalism. FCB’s Les Corts grounds reopened

for a match on 29 June 1939, in which speeches were given that declared that FCB would no

longer harbour anti-Spanish sentiment and would instead become a Spanish icon under the

new regime. Furthermore the club was forced to change its name to the Spanish Club de

Fútbol Barcelona, and all semblances of Catalanity were to be removed. However once

again this repression of all things Catalan did not affect the support for Catalan nationalism,

and if anything it increased the significance of Catalan culture despite the intention of the

20

Franco regime to repress it (Shobe, 2008). FCB reached its 50th anniversary in 1949, which

was met with the club’s recognition that it had recovered from the Civil War by reinstating

the stripes of the Catalan flag to its coat of arms as a symbol of its determination to recover

its identity, despite the fact that the current regime had forced the club to remove the

stripes from its coat of arms.

As Franco’s dictatorship continued into its latter years, there was a resurgence of

nationalist sentiment in Catalonia. The region had become much more developed and by

the early 1970s, the Catalanism movement seeking political and cultural recognition of the

region became much more prominent and its aims were much more accepted than at any

previous time (Dowling, 2013, p. 98). As Franco’s health deteriorated in the years before his

death, the directors at FCB promoted a campaign which supported the use of the Catalan

language in schools and flew the Catalan flag in its stadium (Shobe, 2008) which emphasised

the political power that Catalonia and its institutions had regained during the latter stages of

Francoism. The influence of FCB president Agustí Montal Costa (whose election slogan was

“Barça is more than a club”), who vociferously defended the restoration of Catalanism,

enabled Barcelona to begin to recover its symbols, including the club’s name that had been

changed to sound more Spanish after the Civil War. In 1972, the Catalan language was once

again used at the club’s Camp Nou stadium and the club newsletter began to use Catalan. A

year later the club reinstated its original name: Futbol Club Barcelona.

After Franco’s death in November 1975, Spain began the transition to democracy.

The key result of this transition from a Catalan perspective was the region regaining its self-

government. (Dowling, 2013, p. 110). This saw the reformation of the Generalitat, which

had been abolished after the defeat in the Civil War. The use of Catalan increased

significantly following the death of Franco and under the terms of the new Spanish

Constitution – written in 1978 – Catalan became a co-official language in Catalonia, Valencia

and the Balearic Islands (Strubell, 2011, p. 131). Policies promoting the language focused on

public audio-visual media (e.g. TV and radio stations, namely TV3 and Catalunya Radio), the

education system, and the official use of the language by regional authorities (Strubell,

2011, pp. 131-132). On 06 May 1978, the first FCB elections after the transition to

democracy were held. Josep Lluís Núñez was elected, with the campaign “Let’s open up

Barça”. Núñez was insistent on his aim to make the club more accessible to its members,

and the need to straighten out the club’s financial situation.

Catalonia in the 21 st century

In the twenty-first century Barça has become one of the world’s most recognisable

media brands, with over 9 million Twitter followers (with the club’s official Twitter account

available in three languages – Catalan, English and Spanish) and 31 million “likes” on

Facebook. (BBC News, 22 May 2012). As well as being one of the world’s most well-known

brands, it is also an internationally recognised symbol of Catalonia. Barça retains a strong

influence in the local community in Catalonia and this combined with the club’s history of

political defiance as well as the continued success of the football team shows that FCB

certainly is “more than a club.”

According to the Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya, as of 2003 over 2.7 million

people aged 15 or over declared that Catalan was their main language, a figure equivalent

to marginally over 50% of the total population aged 15 or over in the region, while 97.4% of

the population in Catalonia are able to understand the language (Strubell, 2011, p. 133).

Strubell (2011, p. 137) states that the future of Catalan depends on either the willingness of

Spain to accept Catalonia’s multilinguistic nature, or independence from the rest of Spain.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Catalonia has shifted closer than ever towards the

idea of independence from the rest of Spain, and this rapid acceleration towards this new

political aim is partly due to the economic and political power that Catalonia now possesses

(Dowling, 2013, p. 151). On La Diada16 in 2013, around 1.6 million people formed a human

chain on the streets of Catalonia in support of independence from Spain. There have been

numerous non-official referendums on the subject, the most recent occurring on 9th

November 2014 with 80% of the turnout voting for an independent Catalonia17. Voters were

asked two questions; whether they wanted Catalonia to be a state; and whether they

wanted that state to be independent; and 80.72% of 2,236,806 voters answered yes to both

questions (BBC News, 10 November 2014). These referendums are non-binding due to the

Spanish government in Madrid’s refusal to permit a legally binding referendum owing to its

wish for a united Spain. Article 2 of the Spanish Constitution, signed in 1978 after the

16 Catalonia’s national day, which is the 11th September.17 Referendum results can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29982960

22

transition to democracy, refers to the “indissoluble unity of Spain” and that it can never be

broken up, so the Constitution must be changed in order to allow Catalonia to become

independent.

FCB itself hasn’t made public any specific support for independence, although some

former members of the club have come out and given their individual support. These

include former president Joan Laporta, former player and manager Pep Guardiola and

current player Gerard Piqué. Many of Barça’s supporters are behind the campaign for

independence. Seventeen minutes and fourteen seconds into every match at the club’s

Camp Nou stadium, many supporters shout for “independència”, in relation to the region’s

defeat in the 1714 War of the Spanish Succession and the subsequent loss of its autonomy.

The signs are there that the region is ready and willing to secede from Spain and take its

unique language and culture with it, but the question is whether it will ever become a

reality.

Questionnaire and Interview ResultsThis chapter is split into two sections. The first section will present the results obtained from

the interview section of the research, and the second section will present the results

obtained from the questionnaire. Each section will offer a brief analysis of the results,

before a more thorough discussion of results in the following chapter.

Interview Results

The research question was “How has FC Barcelona become a key symbol of Catalan

identity?” This involved analysing the responses of a number of official FCB supporters

groups (penyes) for their opinions on this subject to determine whether there was a

common viewpoint of what aspect has been most important. The interview method was

chosen in order to allow respondents to give their opinions without restricting the length of

their responses. The interviewees were asked an opening question, which was “What has

caused FC Barcelona to become a key symbol of Catalan identity?” The initial analysis of the

responses was that the repression from the Franco (and to a lesser extent the Primo de

Rivera) regime has been the most important factor in FCB becoming a key symbol of Catalan

identity. The transcripts of these interviews (see Appendix B) show that the majority of

respondents highlighted this reason as either the most important factor, or indeed the only

factor, in their response.

Those who responded to the first question above were asked a second question based on

their individual responses to the first question. While not all of the penyes replied to the

second question, those who did reply further contributed to the answering of the research

question. The second question generally asked the respondents for their opinions regarding

an issue that had not been mentioned in their first response. Two respondents replied to a

question regarding FCB’s links with the struggle for Catalan independence, and one replied

regarding the role that the club’s rivalry with RCD Espanyol.

Some respondents replied in great detail whilst others gave a more concise response, and

whilst the more detailed responses allow for greater analysis, all responses can be

considered as important to the overall objective of answering the research question. The

responses can be considered to be reliable because all of the respondents were members

24

(often the President or the Secretary) of their respective penyes, and the majority of whom

were based in Catalonia so they will be knowledgeable on the history of FCB as well as its

impact on Catalan society.

Questionnaire Results

As well as interviewing members of FCB’s official penyes for their opinions on the research

questions of this dissertation, a larger number of FCB supporters gave their opinions by

means of completing a survey featuring questions that were related to the main research

questions. The questionnaire method was chosen in order to analyse the responses of a

greater number of FCB supporters than would have been possible by other means such as

the interview method. A total of forty-eight respondents were asked multiple questions

about their own personal experience as a Barça supporter, and these questions can be

found in Appendix A.

Rivalrie

s with

Real M

adrid

and RCD Es

panyo

l

Repres

sion fro

m dictatorsh

ips

Outlet o

f pro

test a

gainst g

overnmen

ts

Promotion by C

atalan

med

ia

Connections t

o Catalan

indep

enden

ce012345 4 4.3 3.93 3.52 3.69

Aver

age

scor

e

Figure 1: Graph to show the average importance (1 being not at all; 5 being extremely) of various factors concerning FCB's role as a key symbol of Catalan identity.

The questionnaire consisted of eight questions, and question seven (Figure 1) asked

respondents to rank on a scale of one (not at all important) to five (extremely important),

the importance of five different factors regarding FCB’s role as a key symbol of Catalan

identity. The initial analysis of the results from this question was that the repression from

previous dictatorships was the reason that was considered most important to FCB’s role as a

key symbol of Catalan identity. Question eight (Figure 2) asked respondents for their

opinions on whether their vote in any elections or referendums could be influenced by the

opinions of members of the FCB hierarchy. The initial analysis of these results was that the

supporters are less likely to be influenced by the political opinions of FCB members.

Yes No Maybe I don't know0

5

10

15

20

25

10

20

108

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents

Figure 2: Graph to show whether or not FCB supporters’ votes in elections and/or referendums would be influenced by the political opinions of members of the FCB hierarchy.

This questionnaire was sent via an internet hyperlink to a number of different FCB

supporters’ forums online in order for the survey to reach multiple supporters in one place.

While this was very useful, it was not possible to be certain that every respondent was a

true FCB supporter, as anyone who was browsing one of the forums could have viewed the

survey and completed it, regardless of whether or not they were an FCB supporter.

However, it is safe to assume that the majority, if not all, of the respondents were indeed

FCB supporters. The results from the questionnaire allow a quantitative analysis of the

supporters’ opinions, which complements the qualitative results gained from the interviews.

26

Discussion of ResultsThe main research question of this dissertation was “How has FC Barcelona become a key

symbol of Catalan identity?” In order to answer this question, a questionnaire of FCB

supporters and interviews with members of official penyes took place to collect different

opinions on this question.

The responses from the interviews showed that the repression suffered by both FCB and

Catalonia at the hands of the dictatorships of Franco and of Primo de Rivera was the most

important factor concerning FCB’s role as a key symbol of Catalan identity. For example one

respondent stated the following: “During the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Franco,

Catalonia suffered repression that caused many people to use football to express the ideas

that they could not express in their day-to-day life.” The same respondent continued by

stating that “Going to the Camp Nou helped people to release tension and shout “Visca

Barça” to express their anger at unjust oppression by the Spanish regime.” This idea of

supporters using the stadium as a place of protest was mentioned in some other responses

as well. One other respondent stated that “the constant political, social and cultural

humiliation of Catalonia by the Spanish state” was the key factor and that “the repression of

Catalan culture from the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Francisco Franco meant that

Barça will live on as a vindication and as a way to display the Catalan people.”

The results from the questionnaire support this statement, as the results from question

seven of the questionnaire show that the repression from the dictatorships received the

highest average score of the five factors, as on a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 5

(extremely important) dictatorial repression scored 4.3 out of 5, compared to the second

highest scoring factor, the club’s rivalries with Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol, which scored

4 out of 5. 25 respondents chose “extremely important’”, the highest available option, when

ranking this factor. This is compared to 19 people who selected the same option when

ranking the importance of the club’s rivalries. If we understood these results as a microcosm

of the overall fan base, then it can be said that 54.3% of the FCB fan base believe that the

repression from the aforementioned dictatorships is “extremely important” to the

recognition of the club as a symbol of Catalan identity, compared to 42.2% who believe that

the club’s rivalries with Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol are “extremely important”. It is

worth noting that not all of the respondents ranked all five factors, but this is highly unlikely

to have impacted the overall ranking of the five different factors. We can also see that the

majority of respondents who have lived in Catalonia gave an average of 4.63 out of 5 for the

repression from dictatorships, which is higher than the overall average of 4.3 out of 5, which

suggests that this factor is more important to those who are Catalan.

The interviews were also used to discover how significant FCB’s role in the struggle for

independence was in the opinions of the supporters. As highlighted in the literature review,

this factor is something which has received little focus in published works to date from

academics in this field, yet the topic of Catalan independence has been a polemic issue in

Catalonia and indeed the rest of Spain in recent years. Some interviewees referred to

Barça’s connections to Catalan independence in response to the first interview question.

One respondent alluded to the customary waving of the estelada (the pro-Catalan

independence flag) at FCB matches and the chants of “independència” from the FCB fans on

seventeen minutes and fourteen seconds into every match, in reference to the year that

Catalonia lost the War of the Spanish Succession and consequently its autonomy. The same

respondent mentioned their role as a member of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes del FC

Barcelona18 and that the group had appealed to UEFA over the sanctions19 that FCB received

from the European football governing body over the waving of estelades during a UEFA

Champions League match in September 2015. The respondent said in their interview that

the decision to sanction the club “infringed upon the freedom of expression of the fans of

FC Barcelona” in reference to those supporters who had demonstrated their support for

Catalan independence.

The questionnaire results also assisted in answering the question of how important FCB’s

connections to Catalan independence are with regards to their role as a symbol of Catalonia.

As mentioned previously, the results from question seven of the questionnaire (Figure 1)

showed that the repression from the Franco and Primo de Rivera dictatorships was

considered the most important of the five factors that were ranked by supporters. The 18 World Confederation of FC Barcelona Penyes.19 FCB received a fine of €40,000 for the presence of Catalan independence flags during a UEFA Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen of Germany on 29 September 2015. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/detail/article/press-release-on-the-appeal-against-the-uefa-fine-for-the-presence-of-catalan-independence-flags

28

club’s connections to the struggle for Catalan independence received an average score of

3.69 out of 5, ranking it fourth of the five factors included in the question. 13 respondents

selected ‘extremely important’, in comparison to 25 who selected the same option for the

repression from the dictatorships and 19 who gave the same ranking for the club’s rivalries

with Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol. Therefore these results show that while the club’s

connections to Catalan independence are not a major reason for the club’s role as a symbol

of Catalonia, it certainly has significance to many supporters. If we again took these results

as a microcosm of the overall fan base, then it can be said that 29% of the FCB fan base

believe that FCB’s connection to independence is “extremely important” to the recognition

of the club as a symbol of Catalan identity. We can also see once again that the majority of

respondents who have lived in Catalonia gave an average of 4.25 out of 5 for the club’s

connections to Catalan independence, which is again higher than the overall average of 3.69

out of 5, which again shows that this factor is more important to those who are Catalan,

although this is not a very surprising result.

While a considerable amount of the research results shows that the link between Barça and

Catalan independence is an important factor in the recognition of Barça as a symbol of

Catalonia, the results from question eight of the questionnaire appear to contradict this

hypothesis. Question eight asked the respondents whether the opinions of members of the

FCB hierarchy on the subject could affect their vote in any elections or referendums. Of the

48 who answered this question, just 10 said that their vote could be swayed, this equates to

20.83% of those who took the survey. 20 respondents (41.67%) said that their vote would

not be affected, and the remaining 18 respondents (37.5%) were unsure. These results

question the perceived impact of FCB’s role in Catalan independence on the Catalan

population. Although the majority of the respondents were not from Catalonia, the results

indicate that the respondents that had lived in Catalonia follow this trend, as just 2 out of 8

(25%) that had lived in Catalonia in their life said that their vote could be influenced by the

opinions of members of FCB.

Application of Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework that is presented in the introduction of this dissertation focuses

on Henri Tajfel’s “Social Identity Theory” (1979) and states how it could be applied to

Catalonia and FCB. Tajfel’s hypothesis was that our group memberships carried an

important source of pride and self-esteem. In the context of this dissertation our groups are

FCB and Catalonia and our members are the supporters of FCB and the Catalan population.

As stated in the introduction, there are three mental processes that form this theory. The

first is “social categorisation” which is the division of multiple features into in-groups and

out-groups. The results show that the respondents’ in-groups are both FCB and Catalonia,

making the out-groups Real Madrid (and/or RCD Espanyol) as rivals of FCB, and the rest of

Spain as it has been the historic opposition to Catalonia with regards to its political freedom.

The second mental process is “social identification”, when the FCB supporters assume the

identity of what they believe an FCB supporter to be, and act in the way that they believe

FCB fans act in order to conform to the group’s norms. From our results we can establish

some of these “norms” of FCB supporters. The responses from question six show that FCB

supporters value the on-pitch success of FCB as a very important aspect as it scored an

average score of 4.29 out of 5. While the club’s promotion of Catalonia internationally (3.76

out of 5) and its activity in the community (3.75 out of 5) are almost equally important.

Tajfel also stated that the identification of the groups carries and emotional significance,

which certainly applies in this situation. The responses from the interviews shows the

supporters’ emotional bonds between themselves and both FCB and Catalonia, as many

respondents spoke of how they personally identify with FCB and Catalonia.

The third and final mental process is “social comparison”, when the FCB supporters

compare their in-groups with their out-groups. Here the supporters can compare FCB with

rivals such as Real Madrid. This is evidenced in the results as some interviewees state that

Real Madrid was the “team of the regime” in reference to the fact that General Franco

showed a preference to the Madrid club. One respondent portrayed FCB as “the symbol

representing the fight for freedom” and compared this to Real Madrid, stating that Real

Madrid could have been considered a small club until Franco gained power in Spain. This

proves Tajfel’s hypothesis as he hypothesised that group members will try to find negative

30

aspects of their rival groups, which is demonstrated in the above comments about Real

Madrid.

It is certainly evident that the results of this research have given credence to Tajfel’s “Social

Identity Theory”. Tajfel’s initial hypothesis was that the group memberships, in this case FCB

and Catalonia, carried an important source of pride and self-esteem, and the data obtained

from the interviews and the questionnaire have supported this hypothesis. The respondents

demonstrated a strong emotional bond to FCB and many displayed a sense of pride in

relation to FCB’s historical resistance to centralist repression in Spain in their responses.

Some respondents emphasised that this was why FCB is regarded as “more than a club”.

In summary, the results from the interviews and the questionnaires have shown that FCB’s

position as a venue to protest the repressive measures of the dictatorial regimes of

twentieth century Spain is widely considered the most important factor regarding FCB’s role

within the national identity if Catalonia. Furthermore, the club’s historic rivalry with Real

Madrid can be considered a significant secondary factor, whilst the club’s connection to the

current struggle for Catalan independence has also influenced the concept of Catalan

identity for some. The results obtained from this research offer a reliable insight into the

average supporter’s opinions on FCB’s role in Catalan identity, but these conclusions could

be boosted by further research on the subject. One such idea for further research on this

topic is to focus on one single theme, such as FCB’s role within Catalan independence, in

order to gather more information on this issue.

ConclusionsThis dissertation attempted to answer the question of “How has FC Barcelona

become a symbol of Catalan identity?” and the key themes that academics have previously

identified as factors contributing to this issue were discussed in the form of a structured

literature review. A chapter summarising the history of Catalonia and its language since the

18th century and their connections to FCB was included in order to demonstrate how FCB

became an element of cohesion around national identity feelings in Catalonia. Then, the

research was conducted via interviews with members of FCB penyes and a questionnaire for

FCB supporters to complete. The results from the research were then presented with a

subsequent discussion of the results and explanation of what they meant in terms of helping

to answer the initial research question.

The results obtained from the interview section of the research showed that the

respondents believed that the principal factor that has contributed to FCB’s role as a key

symbol of Catalan identity was the impact that the repressive measures placed upon

Catalonia during the Franco and Primo de Rivera dictatorships, and subsequently the role

that FCB played in allowing the Catalan population a place to protest against the

aforementioned dictatorships. The questionnaire results largely supported the affirmation

that the repression of Catalonia and its identity was the leading factor concerning FCB’s role

as a symbol of Catalonia. These results also proved that the struggle for Catalan

independence and FCB’s involvement in this debate is also an important reason for many

supporters’ identification with Catalonia. Some questionnaire respondents rated the club’s

involvement in this issue as an important factor, although less important than other factors.

Therefore there are two main conclusions that can be drawn from this research. The

first of which is that the main factor contributing to FCB becoming a key symbol of Catalan

identity is the repression of FCB and Catalonia from the Franco and Primo de Rivera

dictatorships. It is certainly not the only contributing factor, as the club’s rivalry with Real

Madrid also featured strongly in the results, but the results have shown that it is the primary

factor in the majority of supporters’ opinions about how FCB has influenced Catalan

identity.

32

The second conclusion that can be made is that the club’s connection to the struggle

for Catalan independence, while it is not of major importance, has certainly been a

significant factor in the recognition of FCB as a key symbol of Catalan identity in the opinion

of some supporters. The results have shown that it was of less significance than other

matters that were examined in the research, as the club was ranked below the club’s

rivalries with other clubs in terms of the significance to Catalan identity. However its

importance was still rated very highly by supporters, as shown in the questionnaire results,

and some interviewees also showed in their replies that this issue is very significant to some

sections of the FCB support.

Furthermore, this dissertation tested Henri Tajfel’s “Social Identity Theory” to see

whether it can be applied to the case of FC Barcelona and Catalonia. Its significance to this

study is that Tajfel’s theory focused on how individuals identify themselves with certain

groups, and this dissertation has considered how FCB supporters identify themselves with

Barça, and how they identify Barça with Catalonia. As discussed in the previous chapter, the

three mental processes of Tajfel’s theory have been successfully applied to this case study

with the use of the results obtained from the interviews and the questionnaire.

The results are important for researchers of this topic because this dissertation has

added an extra factor into the discussion surrounding FCB’s role as a symbol of Catalonia.

Prior to this investigation there was little work that had considered the influence of the

Catalan independence debate as the majority of earlier research had focused on analysing

aspects that occurred in the twentieth century. Therefore a useful suggestion for further

research into this topic would be to run an investigation that is specifically targeted at

examining how and why FCB’s link with Catalan independence is connected to Catalan

identity.

This dissertation has explored FCB’s role as a key figure of Catalan identity. It has

proved that FCB is undoubtedly a major social institution in Catalonia, and an internationally

recognisable brand with a fan base that similarly extends across the planet. It has also

demonstrated that the club’s engagement within an issue as significant as Catalan

independence is one that some supporters believe is testament to the club’s stature within

Catalonia. Above all, this dissertation has shown that the club’s role as a stage for political

protest during the times when Catalonia and its national symbols were heavily repressed by

Primo de Rivera and by Francoism is why FCB is more than a club.

34

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Appendix A: Questionnaire ResultsQuestion 1: Where were you born? (Answered: 48; Skipped: 0)

No. of responses PercentageCatalonia 5 10.42%Rest of Spain 5 10.42%Abroad 38 79.17%Prefer not to say 0 0%

Question 2: Where do you currently live? (Answered: 48; Skipped: 0)

No. of responses PercentageCatalonia 4 8.33%Rest of Spain 4 8.33%Abroad 40 83.33%Prefer not to say 0 0%

38

Catalonia Rest of Spain Abroad Prefer not to say0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

5 5

38

0

Place of birth

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents

Question 3: Have you ever lived in Catalonia?

(Answered: 46; Skipped: 2)

No. of responses PercentageYes 8 17.39%No 38 82.61%

Question 4: For how long have you supported FC Barcelona? (Answered: 48; Skipped: 0)

No. of responses PercentageLess than 10 years 11 22.92%10-20 years 27 56.25%20-30 years 4 8.33%30-40 years 5 10.42%Over 40 years 1 2.08%

Catalonia Rest of Spain Abroad Prefer not to say0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

4 4

40

Current place of residence

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents

Yes No0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

8

38

Has ever lived in Catalonia

Num

ber o

f res

pone

nts

Question 5: How did you become a supporter of FC Barcelona? (Answered: 41; Skipped: 7*)

No. of responses PercentageLocal team 5 8.47%Family members 13 22.03%Club’s success 13 22.03%Club’s history 19 32.2%Other 9 15.25%

Those who selected ‘other’ gave different reasons that were not featured in the original list of options. These included: fell in love with the club during a visit to the Camp Nou; watching famous FCB players Ronaldinho and Johan Cruyff; love for the colours, the land and the team.

*NB: For this question, respondents were permitted to select more than one answer.

Local team Family members

Club's success Club's history Other02468

101214161820

5

13 13

19

9

How did you become a supporter of FC Barcelona?

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents

40

Less than 10 years

10-20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years More than 40 years

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

11

27

4 5

1

Length of time supporting FC Barcelona

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents

Question 6: Rate the following aspects on their importance to you. (Answered: 48; Skipped: 0)

Not at all important

Not very important

Somewhat important

Very important

Extremely important

Total

On-pitch success of FCB

1 1 5 17 24 48

Political alignment of FCB

3 4 17 14 9 47

Promotion of Catalonia internationally by FCB

1 2 17 16 12 48

FCB’s activity in the Catalan community

1 4 12 17 12 46

On-pitch su

ccess

Political

align

ment

Promotion of C

atalonia

Community ac

tivity

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

54.29

3.473.75 3.76

Aver

age

scor

e

NB: The higher the number, the greater the importance that aspect was deemed to have.

Question 7: Rate the following factors on their significance to you in the recognition of FC Barcelona as a symbol of Catalan identity. (Answered: 48; Skipped: 0)

Not at all important

Not very important

Somewhat important

Very important

Extremely important

Total

Rivalries with Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol

3 1 8 14 19 45

Repression from Primo de Rivera and Franco dictatorships

0 1 9 11 25 46

Role as an outlet of protest against previous governments

2 2 11 14 18 47

Promotion of FCB by the Catalan media

1 5 20 12 10 48

FCB’s connections to the struggle for independence

4 2 12 17 13 48

Rivalrie

s with

RM and RCD

Repres

sion fro

m dictato

rships

Outlet o

f pro

test a

gainst g

overnmen

ts

Promotion by C

atalan

med

ia

Connections t

o Catalan

indep

enden

ce0

1

2

3

4

54 4.3 3.93

3.52 3.69

Aver

age

scor

e

NB: The higher the number, the greater the significance that factor was deemed to have.

Question 8: Do you think that your vote in any elections/referendums could be influenced by the opinions of any members of the FC Barcelona hierarchy (e.g. FCB president/vice-president etc.)? (Answered: 48; Skipped: 0)

No. of responses PercentageYes 10 20.83%No 20 41.67%Maybe 10 20.83%I don’t know 8 16.67%

42

Yes No Maybe I don't know0

5

10

15

20

25

10

20

108

Num

ber o

f res

pond

ents