Author
Allameh tabatabaei
Abstract
This paper examines the relationships between media (in particular television) and football in Iran. This paper differentiates the media representation of football from the reality of football. An attempt has been made to provide an account of mediaised narrative of football created by Iranian media and televisions. To do so, the Iranian media discourse of football has been considered and examined as part of the grand official discourse of the state and it is demonstrated how the state discourse determines the football representation in the media. To provide a theoretical and comparative ground, first I have examined what is football and how it should be socially approached? Then, the socio-historical context of football is explained and socio-political functions of football for the media are examined. Then, the theoretical challenges between football as a modern and secular sport with the Islamic Republic of Iran as a religious and tradition state are explained. Then, I have argued why despite huge political and theoretical gap and contraction between the state and football are massively broadcasting and investing on football. Then, I have described how Iranian state media represent footballers, football fans, spectators, stadiums, coaches, football clubs, and matches. At the end, some research agenda are suggested.
Keywords
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