International football tournaments, emotional entrainment and the reproduction of symbolic boundaries. A case study in Germany Sven Ismer*, Manuela Beyer, Carolina Solms-Baruth and Christian von Scheve Research Centre ‘Languages of Emotion’ and Department of Sociology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany Understanding the social consequences of major soccer events is important for social science researchers and policy-makers alike. On the one hand, socially integrative effects are ascribed to these events. On the other hand, they are sus- pected of increasing the devaluation of minorities and disadvantaged groups. Sociological theories in a Durkheimian tradition suggest that the emotional entrainment that goes along with football-related rituals might play a role. We thus investigated the effects of the World Cup 2010 on the derogation of minori- ties and disadvantaged groups in Germany and hypothesized that the emotional entrainment is a predictor of changes in derogation. Results of our naturalistic study show significant increases in derogative attitudes after the World Cup. Contrary to our expectations, emotional entrainment is not associated with this increase. We discuss possible alternative explanations, in particular the influence of public discourse. Introduction Major international football tournaments, such as the FIFAWorld Cup or the UEFA European Championships, have a global impact on politics and economies, and the governing bodies of the respective associations consider football as a tool for ‘mak- ing positive impacts on society and the environment’. 1 These positive impacts are frequently portrayed by national and international football associations in various campaigns and policies as promoting social inclusion and countering discrimination and the devaluation of minorities. The validity of these claims and the success of implemented policies, however, are questionable since violence, racism and homo- phobia have not at all disappeared from the football scene. In fact, various scholars have noted that major football events are ‘Janus-headed’ in their effects on social inclusion, both within and across societies. On the one hand, football events and media coverage of these events are supposed to have socially integrative effects by bringing together a diverse audience engaged and immersed in a common activity. 2 On the other hand, scholars have argued that these events have socially disintegrative effects and promote exclusion and the rejection of minorities and prejudiced groups by forcing people to confront each other in competitive and affectively laden ways. 3 This view is famously reflected in George Orwell’ s description of football as ‘war minus the shooting’ that activates the ‘com- bative instincts’ of both players and audiences. 4 *Corresponding author. Email: s.ismer@fu-berlin.de © 2015 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Soccer & Society , 2017 Vol. 18, No. 4, 554–574, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2015.1067784