Sociology of Sport in Croatia

SAŽETAK Sociologija sporta, kao jedna od mlađih posebnih sociologija, u svijetu se snažnije razvija od 60-ih godina 20. stoljeća. U Hrvatskoj u tom razdoblju (također i ranije) djeluje Miro Mihovilović kojega zbog opsega i sadržaja njegovih radova možemo smatrati osnivačem discipline u našem kontekstu. U drugoj fazi razvoja značajni su radovi Kreše Petrovića i Ankice Hošek-Momirović, koji disciplinu u nastajanju čvršće vežu uz kineziologiju. Uoči treće faze razvoja postoji određeni nesklad između teorijskih radova (gdje među najdublje i najprofiliranije, sistematične radove spada autorski doprinos Srđana Vrcana) i empirijskih istraživanja koja smjeraju na aplikativnost. Pojava nogometnog huliganizma i sociološka istraživanja toga fenomena, koja kreću od kraja osamdesetih i početka devedesetih, označavaju treću fazu razvoja naše sociologije sporta, koja sada ujedinjuje teorijski i empirijski dio, ravnopravno se služeći kvantitativnim i kvalitativnim dijelom istraživačke metodologije. U trećoj fazi razvoja inspirativnim se pokazalo nasljeđe sociologije (sub)kultura mladih, u pokušaju razumijevanja novih aktera stadionskog rituala, koji su početkom osamdesetih izgradili specifični subkulturni stil. U nedostatku sustavnog istraživanja posljednjih petnaestak godina, za potrebe ovoga rada ostvareni su kontakti s utjecajnim akterima nogometnog huliganizma, kako bi se neke teze (poput Lalićeve tipologije navijača iz prijašnjeg razdoblja) testirale u današnjim uvjetima. Sociologija sporta, pod uvjetom da sociolozi nastave istraživanja, ima dobru i raznoliku perspektivu iz više razloga – zbog značenja koji sport ima u svakodnevnom životu velikog broja ljudi u Hrvatskoj, zbog potrebe objašnjenja velikih rezultata tako male zemlje, kao i niza drugih aspekata sporta kao društvenog fenomena.Sociology of sport, one of the more recent sociology disciplines, started developing in the world in the sixties. In Croatia at that time (and earlier) there was Miro Mihovilović whose work, its volume and content made him the founder of the discipline in this country. In the next phase of development, Krešo Petrović and Ankica Hošek-Momirović in their remarkable work linked up the new discipline more closely with kinesiology. Before the third stage of development there was a certain discrepancy between theoretical work (among which Srđan Vrcan’s contribution was the most thorough, systematic and clear-cut) and empirical research directed at applicability. Football hooliganism and sociological research of the phenomenon in the late eighties and early nineties marked the third stage of development, which united theoretical and empirical part equally using quantitative and qualitative research methodology. At this stage of development, sociology of youth (sub)cultures proved very inspiring in trying to understand new agents of stadium rituals, who created a specific subcultural style in the early eighties. Since there has been no systematic research into the subject in the last fifteen years, contacts have been made with some influential agents of football hooliganism for the purpose of this paper, in order to test some theses in present day conditions (such as Lalić’s different types of football supporters from earlier time). Prospects are good and diverse for sociology of sport if sociologists continue their research, because sport plays an important role in everyday life of a large number of people in Croatia. It is also necessary to explain excellent sport results of a small country such as Croatia, as well as a number of other aspects of sport as a social phenomenon

Five Flags, Four Countries, One Citizenship – and whose are the Medals?

Streljačica Jasna Šekarić sportašica je koja je u iznimno dugoj sportskoj karijeri nastupala pod pet različitih zastava, za četiri različite države, ne mijenjajući pritom državljanstvo. Rad analizira utjecaj društveno-političkih okolnosti na percepciju njenog sportskog uspjeha te oblikovanje nacionalnog identiteta od kraja osamdesetih godina prošloga stoljeća do današnjih dana. Kao teorijski okvir korištena je dihotomija građanskog i etničkog nacionalizma Anthonyja D. Smitha (1991.). Zanimalo nas je kako se mijenja određeni tip nacionalizma u četirima proučavanim razdobljima (četiri države za koje je Šekarić nastupala). Pretpostavili smo da društveno-političke okolnosti mogu značajno utjecati na percepciju određenog sportskog uspjeha. S obzirom na velika previranja i promjene u društvu, tijekom proučavanih razdoblja izmjenjivali su se etnički i građanski nacionalizam, ovisno o zbivanjima u širem društvu. U svrhu prikupljanja podataka za dokazivanje postavljenih hipoteza provedeno je kvalitativno istraživanje metodom studije slučaja. Za analizu slučaja korištena su tri polustrukturirana intervjua sa sportskim akterima te analiza diskursa (novinskih članaka i članaka iz časopisa, članaka s interneta te raznih dokumenata). Analiza slučaja potvrdila je postavljenu hipotezu i pokazala je kako su promatrane društveno-političke okolnosti utjecale na percepciju sportskog uspjeha Jasne Šekarić. Isto tako pokazalo se kako u četirima proučavanim razdobljima nije moguće prepoznati jednoznačna obilježja etničkog odnosno građanskog tipa nacionalizma.Pistol shooter Jasna Šekarić is an athlete who has, in her exceptionally long sports career, competed under five different flags and for four different countries without ever changing her citizenship. The goal of this scientific research was to analyse the influence of sociopolitical circumstances on the perception of her sport success and the shaping of national identity during four periods (four countries for which Jasna Šekarić performed). We used Anthony D. Smith’s dichotomy of civic and ethnic nationalism as a theoretical framework. We assumed that socio-political circumstances could significantly influence the perception of a specific sport success, given the fact that the four observed periods witnessed huge social turbulence and ethnic and civic nationalism. In order to collect the necessary data to confirm the research hypothesis, the case study qualitative method was implemented. For the analysis of the case study, various methods were used – three semi-structured interviews with sports people involved and a discourse analysis (newspaper, magazine and online articles, different documents). The case study analysis confirmed the expected results. It was shown that socio-political circumstances indeed affected the perception of Jasna Šekarić’s sport success. Also, the results showed that in the four studied periods it was not possible to unambiguously identify characteristics of ethnic or civic nationalism

"Beautiful, and you play football?": Gender (in)equality and football/ futsal (Summary)

Sport kao društveni fenomen usko je povezan s društvom u cjelini. Nogomet je tradicionalno muški sport u kojem su žene, ne samo u Hrvatskoj, diskriminirane na nekoliko razina. Rodna neravnopravnost u hrvatskom društvu odražava se i na položaj žena u nogometu, a dominantni obrasci patrijarhalne kulture u velikoj mjeri utječu na širenje rodnih stereotipa te seksualizaciju nogometašica. Jedan od ciljeva ovog istraživanja bio je dobiti uvid, iz perspektive žena, u niz društveno vrlo osjetljivih tema, o različitim oblicima neravnopravnosti, diskriminacije i seksizma kojima su žene izložene u nogometu. Zanimalo nas je također kako akterice najviše razine nogometa/futsala u hrvatskom društvu vide vlastiti položaj, probleme s kojima se susreću te kako su njihova iskustva povezana s različitim agensima socijalizacije, obitelji, grupom vršnjaka, kolega, prijatelja, obrazovnim sustavom, medijima te političkim i ekonomskim strukturama u hrvatskom sportu i društvu. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo devet polustrukturiranih intervjua s igračicama te tri s informatoricama. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na postupni izlazak hrvatskoga ženskog nogometa iz svijeta anonimnosti kao i na male pomake od tradicionalnosti prema modernim shvaćanjima ženskog nogometa i futsala u hrvatskom društvu.Sport as a social phenomenon is closely related to society per se. Football is a traditionally considered as men\u27s sport in which women, not only in Croatia, are discriminated on several levels. Gender inequality in Croatian society is also reflected in the position of women in football, and the dominant patterns of patriarchal culture have a great influence on spreading of gender stereotypes and the sexualization of female football players. One of the aims of this research was to gain insight from a women’s perspective into a wide range of socially very sensitive topics, addressing different forms of inequality, discrimination and sexism to which women are exposed in football. We were also interested in how the highest-level female football / futsal players see their own position in Croatian society, the problems they face and how their experiences are related to various socialization agents, family, peers, colleagues, friends, education system, media and political and economic structures in Croatian sport and society. We have conducted nine semi-structured interviews with female players and three with informants. The results of the research indicate some progress and a gradual exit of Croatian women\u27s football from the world of anonymity, as well as some progress from traditional to modern understandings of women\u27s football and futsal in Croatian society

Benefits of active life in student experiences during COVID-19 pandemic time

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to extreme global consequences. In this paper, changes in the basic segments of students\u27 everyday life and their subjective perception are investigated. The research was conducted in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. The application of the mixed method was performed to provide breadth and depth of understanding of students\u27 responses to lifestyle changes. The research was conducted in two phases: a quantitative, using an online survey (N = 1,053), from April 15th to April 28th 2020, and a qualitative, using semi-structured interviews (N = 30), from June 10th to July 27th 2020. Students showed similar responses to the measures, but it turned out that the response in that population was different when their gender and study program were taken into account. The results suggest that students of study programs that are not “health-related” were more sensitive to change in habits than students of “health-related” study programs, but generally changes are visible in sleep patterns (going to bed late and waking up 60 to 80 min earlier). At the same time, the time spent in front of screens increased, from M = 4.49 (SD = 2.72) hours to M= 8.27 (SD = 3.44) hours during Covid-19, not only due to the transition to e-learning, but also due to a “stay at home” measure. Furthermore, students were less physically active, there was a decrease in exercise by 20 min (SD = 86.52) and a decrease in walking (M = 54 min, SD = 103.62) per day, and what is positive is that they were able to maintain the recommended amount of physical activity. The research contributes to the understanding of social consequences of extraordinary measures in students as young, healthy and highly educated social actors, as well as deeper insight into everyday strategies they undertake to counter or adapt to the new situation