Academics celebrate Leicesters Premier League victory
Academics from across the University have been celebrating Leicester City Football Club's sensational victory in the Premier League - the first time in history and making Leicester one of only six teams to win the Premier League.
Professor Clive Marsh from our Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning spoke to Australian radio station ABC about Leicester City, its fans and the diverse religious beliefs of those in the Leicester community.
John Williams from the Department of Sociology has written a number of articles on this remarkable achievement, including:
- 'Leicester City are football champions of England: I’m tearful, incredibly proud – and full of envy'
- 'Referees deserve our support - even after Leicester City's clash with West Ham'
- 'Could Leicester City's success boost Asian support for the home-town club?'
Academics from the School of Management have weighed in, authoring a collaborative article about how Claudio Ranieiri, Leicester City’s FC Manager, has outfoxed his rivals. Meanwhile, Dr Massimo Giovanardi has discussed the ‘Ranieri-effect’ in an article entitled '“VIVA RANIERI!” Italian academics and football-related identities' while Professor Stephen Wood has written an article about LCFC's victory, asking 'Is City’s triumph a microcosm of what British industry should be doing?'.
Leicester City Football Club's success has helped to re-energise Leicester and put the city back on the map, according to President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle, in his article '‘Lost City’ puts itself firmly on the map'.
In a BBC article - City of champions: How well do you know Leicester? the University of Leicester is featured in four of the nine facts about the city - the discovery of King Richard III, Attenborough Arts Centre, the discovery of DNA fingerprinting by Sir Alec Jeffreys and the National Space Centre - the brainchild of the University.
The Guardian has featured a series of inspirational stories, including a piece about Wang Song Ao Han, a 26-year-old from Inner Mongolia, who became a Foxes fan back in 2014 when he was studying at our University for a Master’s degree in media and advertising. Wang was a regular at the King Power stadium and said Monday night’s victory had left him on the verge of tears.
Ather Mirza, Director of the News Centre, has written an article about the coming together of cultures in adoration of Leicester City's success, being among the thousands of euphoric City fans outside King Power stadium on Monday night.
Our University has celebrated Leicester's victory in a number of unique ways, from a variety of activities on campus last Friday to show we're 'Backing the Blues', to achieving global media coverage for Geology students' research measuring 'Vardyquakes' caused by jovial fans raucously cheering during Leicester matches at the King Power Stadium.
Watch a video about Geology students monitoring seismic signals detected by earthquake monitoring equipment installed near the King Power Stadium below: