Football and the politics of place: Football Club Barcelona and Catalonia, 1975--2005.

Although Football Club Barcelona has been closely tied to Barcelona and Catalonia throughout its history, the narrative of that relationship has varied. Those narratives provide different understandings of how FC Barcelona is implicated in the social construction of Barcelona and Catalonia as places. The relationship between club and place is dynamic and constantly renegotiated. Not only does the club change, but the political and social context in which FC Barcelona relates to these places also changes. This paper examines the place/identity/club nexus from 1975 to 2005 to illustrate how the club is mobilized to advance different ideas about Barcelona and Catalonia as places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]