Soldiers, sashes and shamrocks: football and social identity in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article demonstrates the nexus between social identity and football in the context of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Drawing on theories of social identity, it highlights the manner in which supporting particular football clubs in these nations operates alongside other social processes to constitute individuals’ social identities. This article argues that in many cases, one’s affiliation with a particular club represents the combination of number of specific social, political and religious attributes and that football remains one of the few public arenas in which the exhibition and articulation of these sentiments is permitted.