Abstract

This article considers some of the results of an oral history project conducted in Sydney, on the importance of football (soccer) in migrants’ lives. Through the analysis of 32 interviews with Italians who migrated to Australia in the postwar period, and with their children, the article aims to demonstrate the importance of football in the historical study of Italian communities abroad. The article focuses in particular on those themes that are central to the memories and reflections of the interviewees. These include the importance of their football passion, the role played by soccer in processes of adaptation and integration, the construction of complex identities through football fandom and sporting activities, and the proud awareness of the contribution of Italians to the development of football in Australia