National and gender identity perceptions among female football players in Israel

This article attempts to expose the practices that form gender identity among female football players in the Israeli context, with a focus on the relation between gender and nationalism. This exposure will concentrate on the processes shaping gender identity from the beginning of the female football player's career as a professional athlete, and on the significance female football players attribute to their occupation in a field of sports that is perceived as masculine. In this context, the encounter of women in (and on) the field will be examined in terms of how it is conducted and experienced. Moreover, the article also analyses the ways in which women organize bases of power and rewards in the face of the sports establishments and organizations in Israel and within of the private sector.