Participation, Inclusion and Social Responsibility in Global Sports (Harvard 2018)

Weatherhead Initiative on Global History, Harvard University
Supported by Simmons College, Boston, MA
Sponsored by Olympiacos F.C.

May 31–June 2, 2018

As the international community focuses on the 2018 World Cup in Russia, we are proud to host a conference on Participation, Inclusion, and Social Responsibility in Global Sports. The third conference in the series on Soccer and Globalization‒a collaboration between Olympiacos FC, the Weatherhead Initiative on Global History at Harvard University, and Simmons College‒will pick up on themes first explored in our first two conferences, “Soccer as a Global Phenomenon” (Cambridge, MA 2016) and “Reinforcing, Crossing, and Transcending Borders: Soccer in a Globalized World” (Piraeus, Greece 2017).

Focusing on participation and inclusion in global sports from a historical and modern-day perspective, we look to better understand how and why certain types of people are allowed to participate and others are not. We will expand beyond soccer/football into a cross-section of sports and focus on what is being done to address these inequalities.

The conference is organized around four sessions on topics such as race, gender, immigration, and social responsibility in global sports. Each session consists of a panel of leading scholars on sports as it affects economics, history, social structures, and the fabric of global life. The panels will be followed by a Roundtable discussion on the same topic, featuring former football stars like Lilian Thuram, Christian Karembeu, and Emilio Butragueño, as well as representatives from an international roster of teams and clubs, including the Boston Red Sox Foundation, FC Barcelona, UEFA, and the Seattle Sounders Foundation. Nonprofits like the Right to Dream Academy as well as writers and filmmakers will also have a voice at the table. This unique format creates a dialogue between different stakeholders who are rarely in direct conversation.

All over the world, people define themselves by their relationship to sports, whether as a participant or a fan. Expats remain loyal to their country of origin’s team and organize complex societies around viewing games together. LGBTQ athletes assert their identity by organizing a soccer league in Turkey. By focusing on how teams and clubs can support inclusion, we hope to unleash the true power of global sports.

Principal Conveners

Sven Beckert, Laird Bell Proessor of History, Harvard University
Stephen Ortega, Visiting Scholar, Harvard University and Associate Professor of History, Simmons College

Additional Conveners

Yağmur Nuhrat, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Bilgi University
Daren Graves, Associate Professor of Education, Simmons College
Richard Giulianotti, Professor of Sociology, Loughborough University
Darragh McGee, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath

Initiator of Conference Series: Cemal Kafadar, Vehbi Koç Professor of Turkish Studies,
Harvard University

Program

May 31st | Film Screening

12:30 PM The Workers Cup
CGIS South, S020, 1730 Cambridge Street

Inside the labor camps of Qatar, African and Asian migrant workers building the facilities of the 2022 World Cup compete in a football tournament of their own: The Workers Cup.

The film screening will be following by a round table discussion, hosted by Simmons Dean Leanne Doherty with Director Adam Sobel.

Panelists: Adam Sobel, Director of The Workers Cup
Lilian Thuram, Activist, Former French National Team Player
David Conn, Journalist, the Guardian

Dinner for conference presenters and invited guests only
Keynote Speaker Josep Maria Bartomeu, President FC Barcelona

June 1st

Session 1: Finding a Voice: Race in Sports

9:00 AM Panel

Arthur: McEnroe and Ashe
Grant Farred, Professor of Africana Studies and English, Cornell University
Race Riders: Activist Athletes and the Politics of Responsibility
Lori Martin, Associate Professor of Sociology, Louisiana State University
Sons of Bitches and Incredible Patriots: Race, Sports and Politics in Trump's America
Ben Carrington, Associate Professor of Sociology and Journalism in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
Discussant: Daren Graves, Associate Professor of Education, Simmons College

10:30 AM Roundtable Discussion

Lilian Thuram, Activist, Former French National Team Player
Marty Blatt, Professor of Practice in Public History, Northeastern University
Patrick Gasser, Football Social Responsibility Manager, UEFA Champions League
Facilitator: Roberto Saba, Fellow, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA

11:30 AM: Emilio Butragueño, Director of Institutional Relations, Real Madrid, The Real Madrid Foundation

12:00 PM: Lunch for conference presenters and invited guests only

Sports for Development as a Driving Force to Prevent Bullying
Maria Valles, Director General, FC Barcelona Foundation

Session 2: Gender: Inclusion and Exclusion

1:30 PM Panel

Girls in the Field: Identity Negotiations and Gender Performances
Itır Erhart, Associate Professor of Media and Communications Systems, Istanbul Bilgi University
Gender and Fandom: Prospects for Change
Tamar Rapoport, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Humboldt University of Berlin
A Survey of Policies Governing Inclusion and Participation of Transgender Athletes
Erin Buzuvis, Professor of Law, Western New England University
Discussant: Yağmur Nuhrat, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Istanbul Bilgi University

3:00 PM Roundtable Discussion

Samantha Harvey, Professor of English, Boise State University, Olympic Pentathlete
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, Chief Counsel and Foundation Board Member, Seattle Sounders, Former Soccer Player, Puget Sound University
Leanne Doherty, Dean, Simmons College, Sports Scholar, Former Player and Captain, Clark University Women's Basketball Team
Susie DeLellis Petruccelli, Producer, Warrior Women, Former Harvard Soccer Player
Kely Nascimento-DeLuca, Founder Warrior Women Project
Facilitator: Mou Banerjee, Assistant Professor of History, Clemson University

4:15 PM Book Talk | Sebastian Abbot, The Away Game: The Epic Search for Soccer's Next Superstars

Dinner: Keynote Speaker II, David Conn, Guardian Journalist
"In an Age of Big Money and Celebrity, Can Professional Sport Become Leaders in Promoting Participation and Inclusion?" (dinner by invitation only)

June 2nd

Session 3: Immigration and Child Welfare

9:00 AM Panel

Chasing the Elusive Dream: Aspiring Sports Migrants and the Politics of Hope in the Global South
Niko Besnier, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, University of Amsterdam
Rethinking the Production of Dominican Baseball Players: Migration versus Odyssey
Alan Klein, Professor of Sociology-Anthropology, Northeastern University
What Follows After Participation in the Global Sports Industry? Multiple Case-Studies of Transnational Athletes' After-Career Trajectories
Sine Agergaard, Associate Professor, PhD, Section of Sports Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
Discussant: Darragh McGee, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath

10:30 AM Roundtable Discussion

Christian Karembeu, Strategic Advisor, Olympiacos FC, Former French National Team Player
Joe Mulberry, Director of Recruitment, The Right to Dream Academy, FC Nordsjælland
Sebasian Abbot, Author, The Away Game: The Epic Search for Soccer's Next Superstars
Adam Sobel, Film Director, The Workers Cup
Facilitator: Darragh McGee, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, Unviersity of Bath

12:00 PM Lunch Talk

"Local Communities and the Olympics"
Andrew Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics, Smith College

Session 4: Sports and Social Responsibility

1:30 PM Panel

Social Responsibility in Sports After the Beijing Olympics
Susan Brownell, Professor of Anthropology, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Social Responsibility Through Sport: A Case Study of Zambia
Hikabwa Chipande, Lecturer in African History, University of Zambia
Social Responsibility in Sport and Development Inside Out
Martha Saavedra, Associate Director, Center for African Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Discussant: Richard Giulianotti, Professor of Sociology, Loughborough University

3:00 PM Roundtable Discussion

Javier Sobrino, Strategic Planning and Innovation Director, FC Barcelona
Rebekah Salwasser, Executive Director, Boston Red Sox Foundation
Oliver Dudfield, Head of the Sport for Development and Peace Office, Commonwealth Secretariat, London
Maya Mendoza Exstrom, Chief Counsel and Board Member, Seattle Sounders Foundation
Randall Nicholas Clive, Chairman, Nottingham Forrest
Patrick Gasser, Football Social Responsibility Manager, UEFA
Joe Mulberry, Director of Recruitment, The Right to Dream Academy, FC Nordsjælland
Facilitator: Stephen Ortega, Associate Professor of History, Simmons College, Visiting Scholar Harvard University

Wrap-up: Looking to to the Future