Alcohol and National-league Soccer Players: A Fiji Islands Oral History, 1975-2015

Volume 7, Issue 6, December 2023     |     PP. 425-447      |     PDF (258 K)    |     Pub. Date: October 30, 2023
DOI: 10.54647/sociology841206    61 Downloads     169674 Views  

Author(s)

Kieran Edmond James, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, United Kingdom

Abstract
The subject of this article is the role of alcohol in elite amateur soccer in the Fiji Islands covering the period 1975-2015. Based on interviews with six ex-Premier League players from the 1980s, and participant-observation as a friend and confidante of one ex-star (Henry Dyer), we conclude that alcohol was used as a comforter, bonding mechanism/social lubricant, form of currency, recreational drug, tool of tribute, tool of rebellion, and source of temptation. Alcohol-related events reveal the wealth disparity and income-inequality between the Fiji Indian businessmen, who manage, control and sponsor the sport, and the mostly very poor players (both Indigenous and Fiji Indian) who require payment and organization from powerful (sometimes remote) others in order to be able to go on overseas playing trips. The players resent this inequality, and find ways to assert their independence, but in a way which also maximizes the enjoyment factor and creates long-lasting memories, which can be later recalled at will as the years go by.

Keywords
alcohol; Fiji Islands; Fiji soccer; Fiji Indians; race and class; sociology of soccer; sociology of sport

Cite this paper
Kieran Edmond James, Alcohol and National-league Soccer Players: A Fiji Islands Oral History, 1975-2015 , SCIREA Journal of Sociology. Volume 7, Issue 6, December 2023 | PP. 425-447. 10.54647/sociology841206

References

[ 1 ] Abusah, P.Y. (1991). The drug scene in Fiji. Fiji Medical Journal, 17(3), 21-25.
[ 2 ] Adinkrah, M. (1995). Crime, deviance and delinquency in Fiji. Suva: Fiji Council of Social Services.
[ 3 ] Adinkrah, M. (1996). Violent encounters: A study of homicide patterns in Fiji society. Suva: Fiji Council of Social Services.
[ 4 ] Adinkrah, M. (2003). Homicide-suicides in Fiji: Offense patterns, situational factors, and socio-cultural contexts. Suicide and Life-threatening Behaviour, 33(1), 65-73.
[ 5 ] Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J.G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook for theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO/Greenwood.
[ 6 ] Brown, J.L. (2012). Authentic voices: Oral history and the art of creative eavesdropping. Bowling Green, KY: Jennie Brown.
[ 7 ] Casswell, S. (1986). Alcohol in Oceania. Alcohol Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
[ 8 ] Charon, J.M. (1995). Symbolic interactionism: An introduction, an interpretation, an integration. 5th edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
[ 9 ] Cowman, K. (2016). Collective biography. In S. Gunn & L. Faire (Eds.), Research methods for history, 2nd edition (pp. 85-103). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
[ 10 ] Curry, T.J. (1993). A little pain never hurt anyone: Athletic career socialization and the normalization of sports injury. Symbolic Interaction, 16(3), 273-290.
[ 11 ] Delaney, T., & Madigan, T. (2015). The sociology of sports: An introduction, 2nd edition. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.
[ 12 ] Denzin, N. (1989). Interpretive interactionism. London: Sage.
[ 13 ] Gounder, R. (2006). Kava consumption and its health effects. Journal of Community Health and Clinical Medicine for the Pacific, 13(3), 131-135.
[ 14 ] Heilman, S.C. (1976). Synagogue life: A study in symbolic interaction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[ 15 ] Hynes, S. (1998). The soldier’s tale: Bearing witness to modern warfare. London: Pimlico.
[ 16 ] James, K., & Nadan, Y. (2020). Race, ethnicity, and class issues in Fiji soccer 1980-2015. Soccer & Society, 21(7), 741-761.
[ 17 ] Jones, E.C.F. (2009). Fijian masculinity and alcohol use: An ethnographic study of male drinkers living in Qauia settlement [Unpublished Master of Arts thesis]. Univ. S.Pac.
[ 18 ] Kearney, M.H., Murphy, S., & Rosenblaum, M. (1993). At least I feel guilty: Emotions and reflexivity in pregnant drug users’ accounts. Unpublished paper presented at the American Sociological Association 88th Annual Meeting.
[ 19 ] Kippax, D.E. (1986). The genesis of alcohol-related problems in Fiji. In D.E. Kippax, & M.J. Oldmeadow (Eds.), Alcohol-related problems in Fiji. Suva: Fiji School of Medicine.
[ 20 ] Marx, K.H., & Engels, F. (1994) [1848]. The Communist Manifesto. In L.H. Simon (Ed.), Karl Marx selected writings (pp. 157-186). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing.
[ 21 ] Monsell-Davis, M. (1986). It’s a man’s game: Identity, social role, social change and delinquency in Suva. In C. Griffin, & M. Monsell-Davis (Eds,), Fijians in town. Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies, the University of the South Pacific.
[ 22 ] Moulds, R.F.W., & Malani, J. (2003). Kava: Herbal panacea or liver poison? Medical Journal of Australia, 178, 451-453.
[ 23 ] Naiveli, B. (1986). Alcohol and crime. Suva: Royal Fiji Police.
[ 24 ] Pigliasco, G.C. (2010). We branded ourselves long ago: Intangible cultural property and commodification of Fijian firewalking. Oceania, 80, 161-181.
[ 25 ] Plange, N.K. (1991). Alcoholism and crime among urban youth in Fiji. Suva: University of the South Pacific.
[ 26 ] Prasad, M. (2008).Celebrating 70 years of football, 1938-2008. Suva: Fiji Football Association.
[ 27 ] Prasad, M. (2013). The history of Fiji Football Association 1938-2013. Suva: Fiji Football Association.
[ 28 ] Presterudstuen, G.H. (2020). Performing masculinity: Body, self and identity in modern Fiji. Abingdon: Routledge.
[ 29 ] Puamau, E.S., Roberts, G., Schmich, L., & Power, R. (2011). Drug and alcohol use in Fiji: A review. Pacific Health Dialog, 17(1), 165-171.
[ 30 ] Ratinisiva, M. (1991). Drug trafficking, prevention and control in Fiji. Fiji Medical Journal, 17(3), 5-12.
[ 31 ] Ravuvu, A.D. (1987). The Fijian ethos. Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific.
[ 32 ] Rokosawa, M. (1986). Alcohol problems in Fiji. In D.E. Kippax, & M.J. Oldmeadow (Eds.), Alcohol-related problems in Fiji. Suva: Fiji School of Medicine.
[ 33 ] Schmid, T.J., & Jones, R.S. (1991). Suspended identity: Identity transformation in a maximum security prison. Symbolic Interaction, 14(4), 415-432.
[ 34 ] Shibutani, T. (1955). Reference groups as perspectives. American Journal of Sociology, 60(6), 562-569.
[ 35 ] Thomson, A. (2016). Life stories and historical analysis. In S. Gunn, & L. Faire (Eds.), Research methods for history (2nd edition). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
[ 36 ] Tomlinson, M. (2004a). Perpetual lament: Kava-drinking, Christianity and sensations of historical decline in Fiji. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 10(3), 653-673.
[ 37 ] Tomlinson, M. (2004b). Ritual, risk, and danger: Chain prayers in Fiji. American Anthropologist, 106(1), 6-16.
[ 38 ] Toren, C. (1994). The drinker as chief or rebel: Kava and alcohol in Fiji. In M. McDonald (Ed.), Gender, drink and drugs (pp. 153-174). Oxford: Berg.
[ 39 ] Urban, G. (1996). Metaphysical community: The interplay of the senses and the intellect. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
[ 40 ] Vakaoti, P. (2018). Street-frequenting young people in Fiji: Theory and practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
[ 41 ] Wallace, R. & Wolf, A. (1986). Contemporary sociological theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
[ 42 ] World Health Organization (WHO). (2004). WHO global status report on alcohol: Fiji. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/en/fiji.pdf
[ 43 ] Yow, V. (2016). ‘Do I like them too much?’ Effects of the oral history interview on the interviewer and vice-versa. Oral History Review, 24(1), 55-79.