Dear England: A critical discourse analysis of how sports stars and politicians battle for legitimacy in debates around athlete activism

This article looks at how high-profile individual and collective actors within the worlds of sport and politics seek to advance their views on significant social issues. It focuses on the public debate around the anti-racist actions taken by the England men's football team at Euro 2020 and uses a form of critical discourse analysis to look at how the England manager and players, on one side, and members of the UK Government, on the other, sought to gain and maintain legitimacy for their opposing positions. It also seeks to understand legitimacy as a relational process, by looking at how members of the public and national newspapers responded. Drawing on Strittmatter et al.'s framework of legitimacy, the article examines the subjects, sources, strategies, bases and scenarios of each side's efforts. The article seeks to contribute to a more detailed understanding of political discourse and legitimacy in the context of sport, as well as offering some critical reflections on the nexus of sport and politics.