Humour and Bonding in Team Sports

Team bonding is a central issue in team sports receiving continuous attention both in the media and scientific world. The book "Humour and Bonding in Team Sports" provides an innovative approach to capturing and analysing team cohesion by focusing on a professional football team’s humour practices. Rare insights into the ways the footballers use humour illustrate the dynamic bonding processes among members of the team. Especially in the competitive and high-stakes environment of professional team sports, how team members use language to manage bonding among themselves is of interest not only to players, coaches, and managers, but the sporting world at large. Interactions between team members in the locker room, on the substitutes’ bench, on the team bus, or in the gym, as well as observations and interviews show the multi-layered and often ambiguous ways in which team cohesion is negotiated. Findings show that group membership management and identity construction play an important role in the negotiation processes in and through humour. By looking at humour, the book ultimately helps to better understand the often discussed and socially important phenomenon.