Football Fans, Activism and Social Change

The study of football fandom is a fast-growing area of research in the sociology of sport. The first work of its kind, this book explores football fan activism and its impact on contemporary football culture in England, Italy and the Czech Republic. Presenting a comparative study of fan activism in national and transnational contexts, it explores the characteristics of each country’s football fan culture as well as the varying and at times volatile dynamics between fans, authorities and the mass media. Its chapters address key themes and issues including: fans’ reactions to policing and security measures in football stadiums; the socio-cultural significance of symbols and rituals for fans at football games; and fans’ critical engagement with football club ownership and management. Offering original insights into the power of fan activism to influence social change, this book has wider implications for understanding social movements in other cultural and political spheres beyond Europe. Football Fans, Activism and Social Change is fascinating reading for all students, scholars and football fans with an interest in sport studies, fan culture, politics and society.

1. Wind of Change: An Introduction 2. The Football Fan Activism Complex 3.Fan Activism in National and Transnational Contexts 4. Reflexivity and Social Change 5. Fans’ Struggle Over Policing, Security Measures and Criminalization 6. Fans’ Struggle Over Socio-Cultural Aspects: Identities, Symbols and Rituals 7. Fans’ Struggle Over Governance: Mismanagement, Involvement and Ownership 8. Discussion and Conclusions

Dino Numerato is Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. He obtained his PhD from Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic) and was a Research Fellow at Loughborough University (Loughborough, UK), Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) and Sapienza University (Rome, Italy). His principal research interests include football fandom, social theory, sport governance, sport policy, mass media and sport, corruption in sport and match-fixing, and the sociology of health-care professionals. His work has also been published in Sociology, Current Sociology, Qualitative Research, Journal of Consumer Culture, Sociology of Health and Illness, Journal of Sport and Social Issues and International Review for the Sociology of Sport.