Football in Costa Rica- Kicking balls, upholding Coloniality

Abstract: Football in Costa Rica extends beyond the field, reflecting colonial legacies embedded in racialised social hierarchies. By employing decolonial critiques and social identity theory, the research interrogates the sport's dual role as a tool of exclusion and a platform for resistance. The paper explores how Costa Rica’s national identity is rooted in a myth of whiteness that excludes Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant communities, while selectively embracing them through football when it serves national pride. Subsequently, football, while often celebrated as a unifying national symbol, simultaneously perpetuates the divisions it purports to transcend. Through case studies from Costa Rica, the article explores the intersections of racism, national identity, and power within football. Drawing on historical analysis and documented instances of racism, the study shows how football operates as a site where colonial hierarchies are both reproduced and resisted. Ultimately, the paper concludes that football holds the potential to reimagine national belonging, but only if the deeper colonial legacies underpinning racial exclusion are meaningfully addressed.