The Same Old Story? Englishness, the Tabloid Press and the 2002 Football World Cup

Abstract

This paper examines representations of English identity in the popular press through a review of the tabloids' coverage of the 2002 Football World Cup. Utilizing a qualitative discourse analysis approach, the paper assesses the content, style and tone of reports of the England team during the tournament and places these within the context of contemporaneous news and current affairs. It is argued that much of the coverage of England's matches was flavoured with the kind of military metaphors and xenophobic cliche;aa evident in previous reporting of football tournaments. The coincidence of England's progress in the World Cup with the Golden Jubilee celebrations afforded the opportunity for the tabloids to declare that a ‘new kind of national confidence and patriotism’ had been born. However, whilst a new, more inclusive Englishness was evolving amongst England supporters, this was not reflected in associated tabloid coverage, where a narrower and more nostalgic Englishness was commonly observed.

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