The Rules of Football: Inside-out Perspectives
The Rules of Football: Inside-out Perspectives

Summary/Abstract: Abstract. This paper analyzes the rules of the game of football as a social field. The analysis is based on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of field and the related rules of social play. Methodologically, the study relies on the interpretation of first-hand experiences and observations of the text’s coauthor, a former professional football player who played in seven national leagues and for two different national teams. The paper addresses the following research questions: First, what events and clusters of relationships in the career of a professional footballer can be seen as moments in which the rules of the game materialize; what are the characteristics of these events and constellations; and how are the rules encoded in them? Second, what are the characteristics of the rules that are expressed in these events? Finally, what segments of the rules and events are different, the same, or similar in different national social and historical contexts? By analyzing events, constellations, and practices such as initiation rituals, “clans”, and the everyday habits of football players, the paper offers the combined insights of academics and practitioners into the rules that a player must respect and also provides a set of starting points for further research on this largely unexamined subject.

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