Team and Nation: How Sports Games Affect National Identification

• In Event: From the Origins to the Changes and Consequences of Nationalism

Abstract

How does a national team’s victory affect citizens’ identification, and attitudes and behaviors towards out-groups, foreign and domestic? Recent research reveals that national sports team wins lead to greater national identification and increased trust between ethnic groups. While an enhanced affinity for the nation might help reduce out-group animosity, it is likely limited to nationally-bounded out-groups. It is an open question what type of nationalism (inclusive or exclusionary) is activated and how this increased identification might influence attitudes toward non-nationals. We test this idea with a natural experiment coupled with a survey experiment conducted using an online panel around the 2019 Africa Cup football team match between two neighbors and rivals in East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. We examine how a national sports victory changes types of identification (national, pan-African, East African, ethnic) and how this affects attitudes toward different out-groups that extend beyond national borders including, citizens from the country of the rival team, immigrants, and refugees. We also analyze the effects of a national team loss on these same outcomes.

Authors

• Yang-Yang Zhou, University of British Columbia

• Leah R Rosenzweig, Stanford University