Paper short abstract:

Based on historical research and in recent fieldwork in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, this paper will examined the way sport, namely football, became an element of national construction.

Paper long abstract:

Sport is one of the main elements of what Michael Billig called banal nationalism. After their independence, African countries used sport as an instrument to reinforce national identities, and the African lusophone countries were not exceptions to this program. In Mozambique the nationalization of sport after the independence from Portuguese rule in 1975, implied a break with the previous sport organization, dominated by the colonial state and by a large network of clubs and associations controlled by sectors of the colonial settler elite. However, this institutional rupture, which allowed the use of sport as a political tool, did not eliminate the practical and emotional affiliations Mozambicans had towards Portuguese clubs and competitions. The permanence of these affiliations until today shows that the political efforts to nationalize sport had ambiguous results.

Based on historical research and in recent fieldwork in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, this paper will examine the way sport, namely football, became an arena of national construction.