Negotiating Breton Celtic identity on and off the pitch: contemporary football in Brittany

In recent decades there has been a revival in Celtic cultural identity in Brittany and sport has been one of the spaces in which this has developed. After three periods of cultural revival and renovation in the twentieth century, the early twenty-first century has seen deeper identification with, and pride in, Celtic cultural forms and symbolism, including the widespread adoption of the region’s gwenn ha du flag. Football is the most popular sport in the region and its professional clubs and their fans have contributed to the most recent Breton cultural revival by adopting and adapting Celtic symbolism and the flag into their kits and match-day spectacles. Stade Rennais FC were, for much of the twentieth century, the standard bearers of Breton Celtic identity and were seen to represent the whole region. However, En Avant Guingamp, Stade Brestois 29 and FC Lorient have also to come to represent different aspects of Breton culture and identity during this period of transformation. Furthermore, the clubs have become symbols of the financial revival of Brittany with their owners and sponsors, figures central to the reinvigorated economy, investing in football as a means of promoting the region and its identity.