ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the general arguments that guide my analysis of corruption, clientelism, and violence in Argentinian football. In recent years, the changing character of Argentinian political culture has influenced the ways in which groups of football fans organize themselves around political and economic goals. Argentinian football clubs have always had strong ties to municipal, provincial, and national politics. Contrary to what happens in Western European countries, the spread of violence in Argentinian football is encouraged by politicians and club officials through illicit political and economic arrangements that benefit all parties involved. Thus, football is used by different actors for personal interests that often have little to do with the sport itself. The section titled “Football for All” serves as an example of the prominent place that football occupies not only in the minds of millions of Argentinians but also in national politics, where it is sometimes used as a tool for propaganda. After introducing the main arguments, I describe the methodological approaches that inform my study, with an emphasis on grounded theory as well as interpretive and inductive approaches that rely on both emic and etic perspectives. I then briefly explain what this book is not about, before presenting the questions that this book seeks to address. This is followed by chapter outlines.
