Abstract
This chapter positions the 2019 World Cup as an entry point to examine the social-historical and media landscapes that structure gender norms around women’s football in (some) Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. The 2019 FIFA World Cup had wide-reaching implications on women’s sport and brought unprecedented visibility to issues and stories surrounding the teams in the tournament. In order to fully understand “what we learned,” we must also examine contexts where national teams play, but did not qualify for the tournament, including Central and Eastern Europe. In this chapter, the author analyzes media coverage with a focus on European public service media and situates the analysis within the multidisciplinary study of sport media to illustrate the ways in which perspectives from the CEE region advance scholarship on women’s sport.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antunovic, D. (2019). “Turned into the Women’s Journal”: Representation of sportswomen in Hungary’s sports magazine. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 54(1), 63–85.
Antunovic, D., & Whiteside, E. (2018). Feminist sports media studies: State of the field. In D. Harp, J. Loke, & I. Bachmann (Eds.), Feminist approaches to media theory and research (pp. 111–130). Palgrave Macmillan.
Bartoluci, S., & Doupona, M. (2020). He’s ours, not yours! Reinterpreting national identity in a post-socialist context. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 55(4), 490–506.
Bartoluci, S., & Draženović, L. (2017). Pet zastava, četri države, jedno državljanstvo – čije su medalje? Sociologija i prostor, 55, 208(2), 223–238.
“Bombagóllal jelentkezett játékra Marozsán Dzsenifer – videó.” (2019, June 25). M4Sport.hu. https://m4sport.hu/kulfoldi-foci/cikk/2019/06/25/bombagollal-jelentkezett-jatekra-marozsan-dzsenifer-video/
Bruce, T. (2016). New rules of new times: Sportswomen and media representation in the third wave. Sex Roles, 74(7), 361–376.
Cooky, C., & Antunovic, D. (2020). “This isn’t just about us”: Articulations of feminism in media narratives of athlete activism. Communication & Sport, 8(4–5), 692–711.
“Countries.” (n.d.). European Union. https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries_en#joining-the-eu
Dénes, A. (2020, April 30). Ma ötven éves a magyar női futball?. Noifutball.com. http://noifutball.com/ma-otven-eves-a-magyar-noi-futball/
“Desetogodišnjica ŽFK Jerina.” (2009, August 13). B92. https://www.b92.net/sport/fudbal/vesti.php?yyyy=2009&mm=08&dd=13&nav_id=376225
Dixon, E. (2019, December 6). EBU secures broad Women’s Euro 2021 rights deal. SportsPro. https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ebu-uefa-womens-euro-2021-multi-territory-rights-deal
Dóczi, T. (2011). Gold fever(?): Sport and national identity—The Hungarian case. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 47(2), 165–182.
“EBU members deliver huge European audiences for FIFA Women’s World Cup.” (2019, July 12). European Broadcasting Union. https://www.ebu.ch/news/2019/07/ebu-members-deliver-huge-european-audiences-for-fifa-womens-world-cup
“Eurovision Sport delivers record broadcast proposition across Europe for FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.” (2019, June 6). European Broadcasting Union. https://www.ebu.ch/news/2019/06/eurovision-sport-delivers-record-broadcast-proposition-across-europe-for-fifa-womens-world-cup-france-2019
Földesi, G. S. (2015). Assessing the sociology of sport: On world inequalities and unequal development. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(4–5), 442–447.
“Franciaország és Anglia is a legjobb nyolc között a női labdarúgó-vb-n.” (2019, June 23). M4Sport.hu. https://m4sport.hu/kulfoldi-foci/cikk/2019/06/23/franciaorszag-es-anglia-is-a-legjobb-nyolc-kozott-a-noi-labdarugo-vb-n/
Gál, A. (2016). Gender issues in Hungarian sport media on occasion of the Olympic Games in Rio. In G. Kosiewicy & A. Sterbeny (Eds.), Sport and social sciences with reflection on practice (pp. 313–324). AWF-ISSSS.
Grgić, S. (2018). Kratka povijest ženskog nogometa u Hrvatskoj/Jugoslaviji u međuratnom razdoblju. Časopis za suvremenu povijest, 50(3), 557–580.
Hafez, S. (2019, June 29). Women’s World Cup Quarter Final. BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48777151
Hargreaves, J. (1994). Sporting females: Critical issues in the history and sociology of women’s sports. Routledge.
Harrison, J., & Woods, L. M. (2001). Defining European public service broadcasting. European Journal of Communication, 16(5), 477–504.
Hayashi, K., Curran, J., Kwak, S., Esser, F., Hallin, D. C., & Lee, C.-C. (2016). Pride and prejudice: A five-nation comparative study of television news coverage of the Olympics. Journalism Studies, 17(8), 935–951.
“Hogyan probálta meg összehozni az alső magyar focicsapatot egy szegedi polgárlány.” (2019, May 19). Kisalfold.hu. https://www.kisalfold.hu/helyi-ertek/regenyujsag/hogyan-probalta-meg-osszehozni-az-elso-magyar-focic-sapatot-egy-szegedi-polgarlany-6243318/
Horky, T., & Nieland, J.-U. (2013). International Sports Press Survey 2011: Results and outlook. https://www.playthegame.org/fileadmin/image/PTG2011/Presentation/PTG_Nieland-Horky_ISPS_2011_3.10.2011_final.pdf
Hughson, J., & Skillen, F. (2014). Football in Southeastern Europe: From ethnic homogenization to reconciliation. Routledge.
“IOC awards all TV and multiplatform broadcast rights in Europe to discovery and Eurosport for 2018–2024 Olympic Games.” (2015, June 29). Olympic.org. https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-awards-all-tv-and-multiplatform-broadcast-rights-in-europe-to-discovery-and-eurosport-for-2018-2024-olympic-games
Jakubowska, H. (2015). Are women still the ‘other sex’: Gender and sport in the mass media. Sport in Society, 18(2), 168–185.
Jakubowska, H., & Ličen, S. (2019). The role of newspapers in the formation of gendered national identity: Polish coverage of women’s and men’s basketball championships. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 54(3), 302–324.
“Könnyekig hatódott Marozsán Dzsenifer a budapesti BL-döntő után.” (2019, May 18). M4Sport.hu. https://m4sport.hu/kulfoldi-foci/cikk/2019/05/18/konnyekig-hatodott-marozsan-dzsenifer-a-budapesti-bl-donto-utan/
Kotnik, V. (2008). Sport, landscape, and the national identity: Representations of an idealized vision of nationhood in Slovenian skiing telecasts. Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Europe, 7(2), 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsae.2007.7.2.19
Ličen, S., & Bejek, B. (2019). Pogostnost in vsebina poročanja o športu žensk v časopisih Delo in Slovenske Novice leta 2015. Družboslovne Razprave, XXXV(92), 7–33.
Ličen, S., & Billings, A. C. (2013). Affirming nationality in transnational circumstances: Slovenian coverage of continental franchise sports competitions. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 48(6), 751–757.
Lünich, M., Starke, C., Marcinkowski, F., & Dosenovic, P. (2019). Double crisis: Sport mega events and the future of public service broadcasting. Communication & Sport, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519859208
“Marozsán Dzsenifer játszhat a vb-negyeddöntőben.” (2019, June 23). M4Sport.hu. https://m4sport.hu/kulfoldi-foci/cikk/2019/06/23/marozsan-dzsenifer-jatszhat-a-vb-negyeddontoben/
Meltz, M. (1999). Hand it over: Eurovision, exclusive EU sports broadcasting rights, and the article 85(3) exemption. Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, 23(1), 105–120.
Mills, R. (2018). Sport, nationalism and the state. Bloomsbury.
Molnar, G., & Whigham, S. (2019). Radical right populist politics in Hungary: Reinventing the Magyars through sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport [Online first]. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690219891656
“Najstariji ženski fudbalski klub u Srbiji organizuje međunarodni turnir povodom 50 godina postojanja.” (2019, July 19). Telegraf. https://www.telegraf.rs/sport/fudbal/3083826-najstariji-zenski-fudbalski-klub-u-srbiji-organizuje-medjunarodni-turnir-povodom-50-godina-postojanja
Organista, N., Mazur, Z., & Dóczi, T. (2020). “Our ladies” versus “our dominations”: Gender differences and nationalist discourse in the Polish Olympic coverage. Physical Culture and Sport Studies and Research, 87(1), 9–23.
Organista, N., Mazur, Z., & Lenartowicz, M. (2019). “I can’t stand women’s sports”: The perception of women’s sports by Polish sports journalists. Communication & Sport [Online first]. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519876886
“Pola veka ženskog fudbala u Subotici.” (2020, May 20). RTS. https://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/57/srbija-danas/3960492/pola-veka-zenskog-fudbala-u-subotici.html
Połonska, E., & Beckett, C. (2019). Introduction. In E. Połonska & C. Beckett (Eds.), Public service broadcasting and media systems in troubled European democracies (pp. 1–22). Palgrave Macmillan.
Rohdewald, S. (2011). Yugoslavian sport and the challenges of its recent historiography. Journal of Sport History, 38(3), 387–395.
Slepičková, I. (2015). Assessing the sociology of sport: On sociological understandings and local sport policy. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 5(4–5), 601–605.
Stojiljković, N., Rannjelović, N., Živković, D., Prišl, D., & Stanišić, I. (2019). Analysis of reporting on male and female athletes in Serbian media during the Olympic Games in London 2012. Facta Universitatis. Series: Physical Education and Sport, 17(3), 491–505. https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPES190908043S
“Sweden upset Germany to reach World Cup semis.” (2019, June 29). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-ger-swe-report/sweden-upset-germany-to-reach-world-cup-semis-idUSKCN1TU0V8
Thorogod, J., & Harding, J. (2019, June 29). Women’s World Cup: Germany knocked out after losing to Sweden. DW. https://www.dw.com/en/womens-world-cup-germany-knocked-out-after-losing-to-sweden/a-49412696
Vaczi, M. (2019). The American Dream in postsocialist Hungary: Melodrama, reflexibility, and transference in elite swimming. Communication & Sport, 7(6), 771–778.
Valenti, M., Scelles, N., & Morrow, S. (2018). Women’s football studies: An integrative review. Sport, Business and Management, 8(5), 511–528.
Valenti, M., Scelles, N., & Morrow, S. (2020). Determinants of stadium attendance in elite women’s football: Evidence from the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Sport Management Review, 23(3), 509–520.
Vujović, M., Mitrović, M., & Obradović, N. (2017). Women and Olympic Games: Media coverage. Teme, XLI(4), 1113–1137. https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME1704113V
Williams, J. (2011). Women’s football, Europe and professionalization 1971–2011. UEFA.com. Research Grant Programme. https://uefaacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/05/20110622_Williams-Jean_Final-Report.pdf
“Women’s football across national associations 2016/17.” (2017). UEFA. https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/OfficialDocument/uefaorg/Women’sfootball/02/43/13/56/2431356_DOWNLOAD.pdf
“Women’s ranking.” (2019, March 29). FIFA.com. https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/women/rank/ranking_20190329/#UEFA
“Ženski nogomet.” (n.d.). Nogometni Leksikon. Leksikografski Zavod Miroslav Krleža. http://nogomet.lzmk.hr/clanak.aspx?id=2704
Zwicker, S. (2011). Sport in the Czech and Slovak Republics and the former Czechoslovakia and the challenge of its historiography. Journal of Sport History, 38(2), 373–385.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Antunovic, D. (2021). Beyond the World Cup: Women’s Football in Central-Eastern Europe. In: Yanity, M., Sarver Coombs, D. (eds) 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75401-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75401-3_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-75400-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-75401-3
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)