engleski

Romani football on the border between social mobility and transcultural processes

Southeast Europe is home to numerous Romani communities, each distinctive in their own way, depending on the country of origin and time of immigration (during the 20th century), language, customs, religion etc., which delineate such comminities and demonstrate the heterogeneity of their heritage. The Romani are also the most marginalised community. Following up on ethnological field research, this paper discusses the role of football in social mobility and transcultural processes. Special attention has been dedicated to football camps through which the Romani of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia are integrated into the mainstream society. Research has shown that the Romani youth who exhibit a serious commitment towards football and wish to become professional footballers are required to attend school regularly, adopt a healthy lifestyle and socially acceptable behaviour, which results in (easier) economic and social integration and social mobility. This paper relies on the ethnographic of individuals to analyse different experiences of adaptation/movement/migrations and transcultural processes in the context of the Romani players’ matches with other Romani teams in their own countries and abroad (Southeast Europe) and the official matches (i.e. matches organised by national football associations according to the football rules). This paper also discusses the importance and role of culture and heritage when it comes to transnational activities and the cohesion of Romani communities which persist despite national borders, both within the European Union and beyond. The research has also shown that social mobility and integration into the mainstream society, apart from temporary migrations to a place where a player’s football club is located, often results in permanent migration/moving out of the Romani settlements and subsequent loss of the Romani identity, as well as numerous transcultural processes.

Roma ; football ; border ; social mobility ; transcultural processes

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