Off the Ball: Ethnicity, Commercialism and Australian Football, 1974-2004
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Open Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
HonoursAuthor/s
Gorman, JospehAbstract
Despite its seemingly marginal role in Australian sport, football (soccer) contributed significantly to public debates regarding multiculturalism and imagined Australian national identity. This thesis explores the relationship between the ongoing de-ethnicisation of Australian football and the game’s rapid commercialisation. I contend that the introduction of a new professional competition in 2004 rounded out decades of attempts by football administrators to downplay the ethnic image of the game in order to sell the game to a ‘mainstream’ audience.Despite its seemingly marginal role in Australian sport, football (soccer) contributed significantly to public debates regarding multiculturalism and imagined Australian national identity. This thesis explores the relationship between the ongoing de-ethnicisation of Australian football and the game’s rapid commercialisation. I contend that the introduction of a new professional competition in 2004 rounded out decades of attempts by football administrators to downplay the ethnic image of the game in order to sell the game to a ‘mainstream’ audience.
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Date
2012-11-01Licence
OtherRights statement
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of HumanitiesDepartment, Discipline or Centre
Department of HistoryShare