Champions of Community: Football and Somali-Welsh Identity

Description

First arriving in Cardiff one-hundred-fifty years ago and comprising the single largest current ethnic minority community in the city, little has been written of the Somali sport experience. This presentation seeks to rectify that oversight through a history of Tiger Bay FC, a club founded entirely by first and second generation Somali immigrants. As such, it examines the history of the club and the lengthy history of the Somali and presence and experiences in Cardiff. Several scholars have addressed, broadly, the recreation pursuits of the Somali diaspora (Spaaj & Broerse, 2018; Kabir, 2014, and Rock, 2023), yet a detailed investigation into the personal and emotional histories of the sporting legacy of the Somali diaspora in Wales has gone unclaimed.

As of submission, the club currently sits second the Premier Division league table within the Cardiff Combination Football League (the seventh tier of the Welsh FA), a mere three points shy of the defending champions. Beyond the push for promotion, this presentation highlights the community-focused nature of the club. With a starting eleven comprised of neighborhood players from Morrocco, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen alongside its Somali founders, Tiger Bay FC embodies Cardiff’s long-standing history of transcultural exchange.

Period	Aug 2024
Event title	British Society for Sport History
Event type	Conference
Location	Chichester, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International