The pitch itself was no man's land
” Siege, Željezničar Sarajevo Football Club and the Grbavica Stadium
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11047809 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Mills (0000-0003-3392-8457, University of East Anglia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 877-903 |
| Publication date | 2016-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nationalities Papers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00905992.2016.1219899 |
| OpenAlex | W2362826323 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 18 |
Inspired by microhistory, this essay explores the wartime plight of a football stadium and the multi-ethnic club that called it home as a means of understanding Bosnia and Herzegovina's descent into conflict, the siege of Sarajevo, and the impact upon civilians. Like the suburb of the same name, Grbavica became part of the frontline during the siege. Deprived of its home, FK Željezničar continued to function, while players, staff, and supporters longed for a return to the shattered ground. At a local level, the organization offers a means of visualizing the development of the Grbavica suburb, from its socialist foundations to its post-Dayton reintegration. In this way, the life of the stadium and those who frequent it map onto the history of Yugoslavia, its dissolution, and the independent republic that emerged in its wake. Moreover, the wartime partition of the stadium, the club, and its supporters’ group – all of which were claimed by actors on both sides of the frontline – were representative of political developments in a state where the ethnic balance was forcibly reengineered. This reconstruction of Grbavica's war harnesses original photographic evidence, oral history, maps, contemporary journalism, and the transcripts of the Hague Tribunal
Ancient history · Football · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Siege · Sociology · Stadium · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · Cultural Identity and Heritage · History · Law · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts
Bosnia
The Serbs
Bosnia Remade
Football, Nationality and the State
Sarajevo Under Siege
People and things in the ethnography of borders
Football’s positive influence on integration in diverse societies
Playing Away from Home
Putting Site Back into Trauma Studies
Changing the Rules of the Game
Velež Mostar Football Club and the Demise of ‘Brotherhood and Unity’ in Yugoslavia, 1922–2009
The Serb Flight from Sarajevo
Shared Traditions
Commemorating a Disputed Past
Microhistory
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |