“Muslims are Leaving Football, They Think ‘What is the Point?’”: A Qualitative Study on Islamophobia in Grassroots Football in England and Wales

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This article explores Muslim players’ experiences of Islamophobia at grassroots football. It employs critical race theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework to interpret Islamophobia as a form of anti-Muslim racism in football. The article considers the complexities of intersectionality in terms of race, religion, gender, and the “space” where Islamophobia is manifested, both online and offline. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 40 British Muslim footballers, findings show that Islamophobia in football is intersectional, yet it is normalized and understood as “part of the game.” Participants’ race coupled with religion was also a key trigger for the hate that they received both online and offline. It will be concluded that grassroots football could be understood as a “racial project” whereby Muslims are stigmatized, oppressed and excluded. To this end, grassroots football becomes a mirror of Islamophobia in wider society.