Author Archives: Martin Jesper Larsson

Faculty member of the Department of Anthropology at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, specializing on cultural aspects of business, and the cultural and political entanglements of infrastructure and new technologies. PhD in Soc Anthropology from the University of Manchester
Screenshot from a video of the Supercoach App

Can We Make Space for Technique?: Politics and Play in Digital Coaching

In Sweden, youth soccer is expected to be fun –but in a specific way. Rooted in the 19th-century idealization of amateurism over professionalism, fun in Swedish youth soccer has come to emphasize spontaneity, inclusion, and teamwork (Bachner, 2023). Over time, these amateur ideals have been woven into a broader political agenda in which youth sport is understood as a vehicle for public health, social integration and the cultivation of social capital (Doherty et al., 2013; Ekholm, 2018). (read more...)