Sports are a disappointingly neglected and often ignored field of cultural studies, and what is most regrettable about this omission is the ability of sports to act as a microcosm of the societal condition. With the linguistic, political and regional divides that exist in Spain, a study of the identities that manage to unite and link people to a particular symbol of any kind is both warranted and justified. The Spanish setting, more so than any other, transforms the effect of giving your support to a club into a social and political statement rather than simply a preference or a matter of geographical convenience. Under Franco, Spanish football was more than a well recognised power in sporting terms, but the game also provided a vehicle for national sentiments, not only from Franco's own point of view, but from the other nations within Spain also.
