Football pitches, gyms, and sports halls are places for communal living and dialogue, where physical exercise not only strengthens the body but also relationships.

Even today, news reports on the numerous cases of racism, among which that of Balotelli is the most well-known, demonstrate how these meeting places can become environments of discrimination and/or cultural claim.

The challenge of the latest dossier of Africa e Mediterraneo “Sport and Immigration” carried out as part of the Bologna cares! campaign, is to move beyond stereotypes, clichés, and to explore socio-cultural practises which dictate the everyday reality of migrants, paying particular attention to the social bonds which are created and regenerated during moments of free time devoted to sporting activities. Several papers critically analyse the sporting events which are open to cultural diversity, and which are becoming more and more common in a country, Italy, where for decades foreign athletes or descendants of foreigners have been banned from sport. On the other hand, today’s football scene, one of the most thriving industries on the planet, still sees cases of minimisation and trivialisation during unfortunately recurrent episodes of discrimination and racism.

• Giovanna Russo,
“Editoriale. La posta in gioco: sport e attività fisica risorse per una ‘società delle culture’”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 1-3

• Raymond Siebetcheu,
“La cittadinanza sportiva in Italia: mito o realtà?”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp.8-12

• Gianmaria Bottoni, Giuseppe Masullo, Emiliana Mangone,“Beyond Intolerance through Sports”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 13-17

• Giovanna Russo, e W. Gasparini (Intervista a), “Sport et immigration. Changements sociaux et pratiques d’intégration en Europe”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 18-22

• Roberto Pedretti,
“Stelle nere, calcio bianco. Calcio, capitale e razzismo nell’Italia contemporanea”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 23-27

• Giorgio Caccamo,
“Calcio e identità. I Black Italians tra interdizione razziale e integrazione”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 28-33

• Luca Bifulco e Adele Del Guercio, “Il calcio come strumento di integrazione: il caso dell’Afro-Napoli United”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 34-40

• Jérôme Berthoud, “Entre contraintes et soutiens: l’implication de la famille dans les parcours de footballeurs camerounais”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 41-45

• Sandra Agyei Kyeremeh,
“Sportive nere in maglia azzurra. Un approccio intersezionale allo sport italiano”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 46-50

• Vittorio Martone, “Nella rete dei Mondiali”, in «Africa e Mediterraneo», vol. 25, n. 84, 2016, pp. 51-54