tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/football-fans-34191/articlesFootball fans – La Conversation2024-01-30T16:53:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221142024-01-30T16:53:08Z2024-01-30T16:53:08ZHow Jürgen Klopp reconnected Liverpool FC with Shankly’s socialist soul<p>In his first press conference after arriving at Anfield in 2015, Jürgen Klopp <a href="https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1224366407757987840?lang=en">stated</a>: “It’s not so important what people think when you come in. It’s much more important what people think when you leave.” </p>
<p>After nine years, his words resonate through the hearts of Liverpool FC fans. On January 26, Klopp <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/jurgen-klopp-announces-decision-step-down-liverpool-manager-end-season">announced</a> that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.</p>
<p>Klopp has given Liverpool fans many memories to cherish. In 2019, his side staged a miraculous comeback against Barcelona on the way to lifting the Champion’s League trophy in Madrid. The following year, he ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a Premier League title.</p>
<p>Klopp inherited a Liverpool squad without any promising potential and a board that lacked vision and desire. Between 2010 and 2015, Liverpool had won just a single trophy – the League Cup in 2012. </p>
<p>However, Klopp delivered his first elite European trophy within three years of being appointed. From that point onward, he’s gone on to win all major trophies, guide Liverpool to four major European finals, and lose out on two Premier League titles by a single point. </p>
<p>Klopp will leave a legacy similar to that of Liverpool’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly. Between 1959 and 1974, Shankly transformed the club from second-division obscurity to three-time English champions and winners of the Uefa cup (Europe’s second-rank club competition). </p>
<p>Shankly endeared himself to fans of Liverpool FC, a club with deep working-class roots, by embracing the ethos of socialism (where individuals work together as a collective) as a fundamental principle for team success. Klopp’s persona as a man of the people – through his style, attitude and background – also strongly resonates with Liverpool’s socialist roots and blue collar community.</p>
<p>For instance, Klopp insists that every Liverpool player must <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-anfield-sign-norwich-jordan-18924539">earn the right</a> to touch the famous “This is Anfield” sign by winning silverware. The iconic Anfield sign was first hung up on the wall of the player’s tunnel by Shankly to remind opponents of the spirit of Anfield.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jürgen Klopp announcing he will leave Liverpool FC at the end of the season.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Socialist Spirit</h2>
<p>Klopp has never sought to create a hierarchy between himself, the players and the fans. Early on in his tenure, he referred to himself as “<a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/238155-the-normal-one">the normal one</a>” and has, on several occasions, been spotted sharing a drink with local people in the pub. In his press conferences, Klopp has often said that the team drew <a href="https://www.football365.com/news/klopp-on-cl-inspiration-we-do-it-for-carol-and-caroline">inspiration</a> from the staff at the club’s training ground.</p>
<p>Since his appointment, Klopp has also recognised the power of Liverpool fans, referring to them as the 12th man responsible for supplying energy to the squad. As Anfield reverberates today with the chant “I am so glad that Jurgen is a red”, the echoes of such intense emotions are a reminder for loyal Liverpool supporters of a legacy still sung about around half a century later.</p>
<p>Klopp has brought the same fiery socialist spirit back to Liverpool that Shankly managed to harness in the 1960s. Two managers separated by generations but bound as Merseyside icons who understood that success stems from people.</p>
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<h2>Engaging with the fans</h2>
<p>Like Shankly before him, Klopp has resurrected Liverpool by understanding what the club’s fans craved more than silverware – someone who embodies the club’s working-class soul. A leader to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with through good times and bad. </p>
<p>From Klopp’s iconic fist pumps after victories, to his <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11635563/Humiliated-Jurgen-Klopp-apologises-Liverpools-travelling-fans-Brighton-defeat.html">meaningful apologies</a> to fans during times of crisis, show his authentic relationship with the club and the fanbase. He celebrates goals in nerve-wracking victories by running up and down the sideline (once <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37638431/when-goal-celebrations-go-bad-liverpool-boss-jurgen-klopp-pulls-hamstring">pulling his hamstring</a> in the process). And he openly <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11635563/Humiliated-Jurgen-Klopp-apologises-Liverpools-travelling-fans-Brighton-defeat.html">asked supporters for forgiveness</a> after a humbling 3–0 defeat by Brighton in 2023. </p>
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<p>Klopp’s outgoing authenticity has also resonated powerfully with Liverpool supporters around the world. He actively embraces fan media like “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theredmentv">The Redmen TV</a>” YouTube channel, and makes an effort to appear in person for interviews and podcasts. He even once wrote a letter to a young fan reassuring him over his feelings of personal anxiety.</p>
<h2>Revolutionary vision</h2>
<p>When Shankly was appointed in 1959, he was frustrated with Liverpool’s training regime and facilities. Previously, players had become accustomed to running on the street as part of their training routine. However, Shankly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy/2018/dec/01/liverpool-boot-room-throw-in-jurgen-klopp-bill-shankly">revamped the training regime</a>, introducing sessions on the training ground where players could run and practice while wearing appropriate football boots.</p>
<p>In a similar way to Shankly, Klopp has helped the club evolve. He insisted on building modern training facilities where the youth academy could be integrated with the first team, and played a part in the development of the club’s new training ground.</p>
<p>Liverpool’s managing director Andy Hughes <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/12134609/liverpool-boss-jurgen-klopp-delighted-with-new-kirkby-training-ground">praised</a> the combined efforts of Klopp, sporting director Michael Edwards and academy director Alex Inglethorpe for their “instrumental role” in creating the new facility. </p>
<p>Klopp’s legacy at Anfield, in the Premier League and in modern football, is beyond doubt. As was the case for Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley, the next Liverpool manager certainly has big boots to fill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronnie is an avid Liverpool FC fan and has carried out research into transforming management practices in English football.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wasim Ahmed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool with a remarkably similar legacy to the club’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly.Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Digital and Data Science, AudenciaWasim Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2161242023-11-08T17:02:39Z2023-11-08T17:02:39ZFootball fans fighting food poverty: how a ‘lifesaving’ mobile pantry scheme spread across the country<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557423/original/file-20231103-19-7o2tvl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C126%2C1441%2C1839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Volunteers load up a van with food for the next 'mobile pantry'.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/SFoodbanks">@SFoodbanks</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s 9am in December on Tiber Square, a community space at the centre of one of Liverpool’s most diverse postcodes. The temperature is -5°C. Braving the cold, a small crowd is forming, sharing jokes amid anxious glances at the square’s frozen floor. Their concern is warranted. Given the icy surface, it is unlikely the community food pantry will be going ahead as normal.</p>
<p>Anticipation builds as the mobile pantry arrives, a purple van embossed with the logo of Fans Supporting Foodbanks (FSF) – a red and blue hand clasped to indicate the unity of rival Everton (blue) and Liverpool (red) fans – alongside slogans, including: “Hunger doesn’t wear club colours.”</p>
<p>Out jumps a woman called Cherise to give orders to the volunteers, indiscernible from the crowd in their coats and gloves. “We are just giving out halal chicken, cakes and milk today”, she announces as an orderly queue forms to the side of the square away from the ice. There is no pantry today, but those in attendance will not go hungry.</p>
<p>The regular food pantries are a bit like mobile food banks – mini-markets which set up in various locations across the city. These are areas which could be classified as “<a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/social-sciences/news/12-million-living-uk-food-deserts-studys-shows">food deserts</a>” where cheap, healthy food options are scarce. The mobility of the vans allows FSF to access needy and isolated people within these areas. Patrons pay a fee of £3.50 for which they get a shopping basket and can choose ten ambient (long shelf-life) items. They also receive a bag of mixed vegetables and a bag of selected meat, providing a total shop worth about £25.</p>
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<p><strong><em>This article is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>Combined with music streaming from the van, along with other community activities such as book and clothes exchanges, health screenings and cooking classes, the model serves to remove the stigma around food bank usage and helps people reconnect with their community.</p>
<p>As one of the users tells us when asked how they would describe their pantry: “(It’s) friendly; supportive. (People are) always asking where I’ve been when I’ve not been down for a couple of weeks.”</p>
<p>Beginning with a single wheelie bin for donations, the FSF movement has inspired an expanded network of similar organisations across the UK. Now, there are around 20 other fan-led groups regularly collecting in support of food banks or pantries from Kilmarnock to Southampton. While in Belfast stronger partisan lines are being crossed with fans uniting across the sectarian divide to fight hunger in both communities.</p>
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<img alt="Volunteers hand out food at a mobile pantry for people in need" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557120/original/file-20231101-23-r70htz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The pop-up market style pantry gets going in Liverpool’s Tiber Square.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jack Sugden</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>But the contradiction between the economic wealth of the Premier League clubs and local levels of poverty is not lost on the organisers. As Everton fan and FSF co-founder, Robbie Daniels, pointed out to us: </p>
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<p>There’s a massive disparity and the clubs may have thought they were doing enough through their own charities, but we’ve shown them fans collecting for other fans of the club who are starving, and they have started to listen and get involved.</p>
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<h2>Hungry Britain</h2>
<p>Within the past decade, food bank usage has become commonplace in Britain with food poverty moving from the exception to the norm. Between 2014 and 2015, for the first time, <a href="https://www.trusselltrust.org/2015/04/22/foodbank-use-tops-one-million-for-first-time-says-trussell-trust/#:%7E:text=What%20the%20figures%20show,an%20increase%20of%2019%20percent./">over a million people</a> received an emergency food parcel from a charitable food distribution centre. Between April 2022 and March 2023 this number had risen to just under <a href="https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/end-year-stats/">3 million</a>, with around a third going to children. </p>
<p>Elsewhere in football, it was a campaign launched by Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford that helped <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54670212">spark a national conversation</a> about the need to provide free school meals during the COVID pandemic to children from households on universal credit.</p>
<p>The north-west of England has been badly hit by high levels of food insecurity, and – along with Wales and the north-east – has the highest levels of accesses to <a href="https://www.trusselltrust.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/2023-The-Trussell-Trust-Hunger-in-the-UK-report-web-updated-10Aug23.pdf">emergency food services in the UK</a>. These areas, along with households across the UK, continue to feel the economic pinch driven by over a decade of <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00061-4/fulltext">government austerity</a> measures brought in by David Cameron’s coalition government in May 2010. </p>
<p>This pinch was exacerbated by the pandemic, higher utility bills and cuts to welfare in the form of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/26/universal-credit-cut-will-lead-to-more-uk-children-in-care-study">reduced universal credit</a> payments to the nation’s poorest. Compounding this situation even further is the highest level of inflation in over 40 years deepening the cost-of-living crisis. This rise means the average basket of food from a supermarket <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/news/food-prices-tracking-july-update">has increased by around 12%</a> in the 12 months leading up to July, with some staples increasing by up to 34%. </p>
<p>In addition, by October 2022 annual energy bills trebled to more than £3,500 in 18 months. By April 2023 this rose to £6,600 and by spring 2024 a typical family will potentially face bills which are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/05/a-crisis-is-coming-for-uk-energy-prices-and-this-is-what-has-to-be-done">500% greater than pre-pandemic prices</a>, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cost-of-living-crisis-cant-wait-for-the-next-election-three-key-issues-the-uk-government-needs-to-tackle-now-215379">six in ten families</a> on the lowest income living in “fuel poverty”. </p>
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<p>The fact is British household earnings are failing to keep pace with household costs at a time when state support is at its most inaccessible. In 2023, in certain parts of the UK, just having a healthy meal and staving off the cold poses a serious challenge. As one pantry user told us: “I take my last medication at seven, then read in bed as it’s warmer.” </p>
<h2>Joy and heartbreak</h2>
<p>Within this series of grim realities, the FSF network operates to support its local communities. Since April 2021 our small team of researchers from the Sport Business Scool at LJMU, which included <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-business-and-law/liverpool-business-school/clay-gransden">Clay Gransden</a> and <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-business-and-law/liverpool-business-school/matthew-hindmarsh">Matthew Hindmarsh</a>, has spent time with the network, volunteering at pantries, and interviewing other volunteers to understand their roles. We have also been surveying 176 food pantry users to measure the impact of the movement. Many of the people we spoke to experienced a great deal of joy from supporting others, but there was no escaping a pervading feeling of sadness caused by the impact of food poverty.</p>
<p>We volunteered at each location for between two and six months before carrying out the surveys. We did this to build trust as we believe: the more trust, the more honest the answers. We collected responses and short stories about the realities people were living and the role of the FSF service in their lives.</p>
<p>The majority of pantry users were aged over 40 with 39% over 65. While a quarter were in full-time employment, and 73% were either retired or unemployed. Asked how important the service was to them out of ten (with ten being the most important), over 80% selected eight or above, the most common answer being ten. But, overall, the results we gathered were heartbreaking. Take Paul for example. Paul was in his early 40s and was using the pantry for the first time when we spoke to him. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have got depression, anxiety and I really have nothing … I didn’t eat yesterday and have £5 in my account that I’ve been given … but then I’ve seen this … this is great it’s what I need to feel better … I am going to come next week to see if I can volunteer. </p>
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<p>Our survey was an attempt at capturing people’s experience and one of the hardest questions was, “how do you feel when you are here?”. To assist a list of emotions was offered such as anger, fear, embarrassment, joy, acceptance, and sadness. Somewhat surprisingly the most common answer was joy (36%), followed by acceptance (33%).</p>
<p>As one pantry user offered: “Everyone is in the same boat and [the pantry] creates a neighbourhood feel … [There’s] no stigma in coming to use the pantry.” Due to the environment, many respondents said initial feelings, such as embarrassment, had been replaced by joy and acceptance as they moved to regular attendance. As another user told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s eye-opening. A year ago, it was lifesaving. It was hard to go to initially but it has helped me keep my head above water. I’m really grateful for the service. Been part of allowing me to get back on track. </p>
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<p>Our surveys also underlined how some 63% of respondents had been frequenting the pantries for over a year. This indicated how important the pantries have become in the medium to long-term survival of the communities they serve. </p>
<h2>‘Football supporters as a force for good’</h2>
<p>FSF first emerged in 2015 from the two Liverpool boroughs of Walton and Anfield in recognition of the growing issue of food poverty. These areas are synonymous with both football and deprivation, playing host to two of the Premier League’s closest rivals, Everton and Liverpool respectively, along with two of the UK’s most deprived communities. </p>
<p>In recognition of the growing food poverty crisis, an unlikely alliance between two grassroots supporter groups – The Blue Union (Everton) and The Spirit of Shankly (Liverpool) was formed. Since then, the organisation has grown in both size and importance. </p>
<p>The monolithic stadiums of Goodison Park and Anfield, the respective homes of Everton and Liverpool, sit 896 metres from each other across Stanley Park nestled within rows of terraced housing like two spaceships from another world.</p>
<p>Standing to the side of the mobile pantry van as patrons wound their way around the pop-up market set up on cold and windy day in late February, its driver is co-founder Daniels, who works full time for the charity, a rare staff member the organisation desperately needs but struggles to afford. </p>
<p>Daniels is a former taxi driver in his 50s. Short, with greying hair, what he lacks in stature he makes up for in personality as he hands out bags of fresh meat with a smile and a line or two of banter alongside his wife Linda. Daniels talked passionately about the movement: “We got into this because things are bad right … and we need to change the perceptions around who football fans really are.” </p>
<p>With both groups of fans, there is a sense of pride in acting without corporate support as they have stood in solidarity against several issues over the years, such as the fight for truth around the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-47697569">Hillsborough disaster</a> and the <a href="https://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2014/02/footballticketprices/">“twenty is plenty” campaign</a> (a battle against overpriced away tickets). Sitting in the van as the Wednesday pantry was winding down, Daniels said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is a movement, it’s fan activism, we’ve all protested together against our own clubs … trying to get the price of away tickets down with fans from Newcastle, Manchester and that … it’s showing football supporters as a force for good; look how it’s spreading.</p>
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<p>This spread is seen as vital considering the compounding crises faced by communities. Merseyside is host to areas of the UK hardest hit by the rises in the cost-of-living, a region consistently left behind by a central government which has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2022/feb/02/levelling-up-funding-inequality-exposed-by-guardian-research">faced accusations</a> of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwqQvrqunp8">favouring wealthier Conservative areas</a> in the south-east when it comes to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64321755">allocating funding</a>. </p>
<p>It is within this context that FSF, and its army of over 60 volunteers, has sought to stave off some of the worst affects of food poverty by building a service which in the words of another co-founder, Dave Kelly, “helps people up, not just out”.</p>
<p>FSF has met this aim through a successful programme of grassroots fundraising and activism which supports the successful application of the “food pantry model”. A model that champions a community atmosphere and a market format which can make the experience more positive for users. After finishing his stint handing out numbered tickets to patrons so that they wouldn’t need to queue, a man in his 60s nodded his head to the sounds of ELO and added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is a much better way of doing it … I have worked at food banks and places, this pantry and the difference is incredible.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>FSF was born partly out of disaffection with the way regular food banks were run via a system of referrals that can present a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6951-6">barrier to some</a>. This is because local health and social care providers tend to hold the keys to many food banks and ask probing questions or set limits on attendance (for example, three times in six months). So the fans decided to go it alone, establishing the first FSF pantry in April 2019. From then, due to the efforts of the fan organisation, grassroots activism and other community groups, funding and resources have been raised to start and maintain other pantries across the city.</p>
<p>There are currently six pantries run by FSF in deprived areas of the city, plus a Sunday breakfast club in Birkenhead. Each pantry serves between 80 and 150 people, but this figure is rising as the economic crisis affects the financial stability of more households. </p>
<p>Together, FSF pantries serve between 6-700 people per week with a basket of food, meat, vegetables and other essential items. This figure rises in winter due to higher energy bills. At the lower end, FSF provides for around 33,400 people per year, and has so far served an estimated 90,000 people in 2023 - an increase from 75,000 over the previous 12 months. Most pantry users are regulars and in the surveys talked about how the service affected their lives. One user wrote: “It’s very helpful. The opportunity to get support with food, particularly with the increases in costs of everything. £3.50 to get food is lifesaving.”</p>
<p>“Lifesaving” or “lifeline” were common terms used when describing the pantries, indicating how close many people are to destitution when faced with the price of living in the UK today. And the format of the pantry as a social space reduces stigma, as one anonymous user described:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You don’t feel embarrassed, even people who work have to rely on the food pantry. There will always be someone to chat to if you are struggling. You will never ever be judged.</p>
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<h2>Hunger doesn’t wear club colours</h2>
<p>The establishment of FSF is one part of the changing face of football fandom. In the UK, fans have come a long way since the 1970 and 80s when fighting between rival supporters on the terraces and in the streets surrounding the grounds was commonplace. Fan culture during this era was also a far cry from social and racial tolerance and could be a vessel for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2013.777524?casa_token=YX8Q3fugEuEAAAAA%3AZwp5Oa73U_VvpEIPhpzLf5tAlRKTKidtUG71uws5fpZKzPJYZeDeEoENxdRE0r0vd9J4TK09nUZc">the opposite</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A logo for Fans Supporting Foodbanks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557146/original/file-20231101-27-3ptgup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The FSF logo emblazoned across its vans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jack Sugden</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, in 1989 the Hillsborough disaster would send shockwaves through Liverpool and the wider football community, reverberating across the country and sowing the seeds for the sense of unity and solidarity we see in evidence with FSF today. Ian Byrne MP is the former head of the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ group and co-founder of FSF. He was there on the day of the disaster which was caused by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-47697569">poor event management and policing</a> and which lead to the deaths of 97 fans. But the truth of what happened at Hillsborough would not come to light for decades. As Byrne pointed out while we chatted over mugs of tea in his sparse constituency office: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hillsborough changed everything … your political awareness goes off the scale and you see injustices everywhere … you start contemplating the power of football.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While not as ferocious as other football rivalries, this fandom divides families and the city, with Merseyside council bins being coloured purple, a blend of red and blue to avoid disagreement.</p>
<p>The Hillsborough disaster brought the fans together in collective mourning and has remained an example of solidarity with both clubs showing signs of open unity each anniversary and throughout <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_APdCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT10&dq=hillsborough+campaign&ots=KHKi7PRIlx&sig=-UZS4xasslLGYiuIHoc61QQrnOI#v=onepage&q=hillsborough%20campaign&f=false">the ongoing campaign for justice</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, earlier in 2023, <a href="https://twitter.com/DavefcKelly">Kelly</a> broke his lower back in a freak accident on the day of Everton’s Hillsborough anniversary game. Many would regard Kelly, a man in his late 60s, as the engine behind the FSF movement. He’s a tireless campaigner and despite the serious injury, he refused to get in an ambulance until after he had laid a wreath at the memorial on behalf of the Everton fans. This not only gives an insight into Kelly’s character, but also denotes just how deep the solidarity runs when it comes to Hillsborough.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three men holding a banner about food poverty" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557310/original/file-20231102-17-me1qvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Co-founder of Fans Supporting Foodbanks and Everton Fan Advisory Board chair Dave Kelly (right) with Southend fan Alex Small (left) and West Ham fan John Ratomski (centre) putting club differences aside in the fight against food poverty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/DavefcKelly/status/1570462141697736713">@IFoodbanks</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Catholics and protestants united</h2>
<p>Sitting in the <a href="https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2023/01/14/news/belfast_foodbank_service_opens_community_solidarity_hub-2996793/">“solidarity café” in West Belfast</a>, a community space set up by local councillor and head of FSF Northern Ireland, Paul Doherty, that began in his garage, he explained how they have united catholic and protestant fans in the fight against hunger. “Both communities are suffering,” he said. Rival groups now spend time together collecting food and funds outside football stadiums. Doherty added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There used to be fights outside the grounds here, now these are spaces we use to break down barriers … you notice when we go to deliver the food the exited reaction of the children is the same regardless of which community you are in. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1637087686870675461"}"></div></p>
<p>In Belfast, as elsewhere, hunger pays no heed to allegiances, food poverty is pervasive and fans are beginning to take notice of the power they have to provoke change.</p>
<p>In Liverpool, like many cities across the UK and Europe, football is woven into the fabric of social life. As Pauline, a middle aged woman who runs Vauxhall food pantry with a quiet determination, told us on a day after the pantry: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You have to have interest in football. It’s part of everyday life. When you grow up and you haven’t got a lot, you focus on football … are you a red or are you a blue? </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Fan power</h2>
<p>Set against this backdrop, fan activism in these communities links to a wider shift in the perception of fans and their ability to enact social change. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10126902221077188">Recent research</a> focusing on activism in the English Premier League (EPL) shows how in the past football fans have been perceived as a vocal minority, passive and a-political. </p>
<p>However, they have awoken to a shift in the identity of their clubs. Faced with a commercial onslaught, often coupled with overseas ownership, elite clubs are increasingly distanced from the communities that birthed them. Fans today are consequently facing up to this reality, as well as the power they hold and the possibilities unity affords them.</p>
<p>Partly because of fan movements like “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-48734-2_2">Fans Against Modern Football</a>”, “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038026120977809">Movement for Safe Standing</a>”, <a href="https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/football-supporters-against-gambling-ads">Football Supporters against Gambling ads</a>, and the widespread campaign <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37616441/how-fan-reaction-revolt-helped-end-english-clubs-breakaway">against the European Super League</a>, there are now safe-standing terraces in existence or planned at various UK clubs, gambling adverts will be withdrawn from the front of EPL club’s matchday shirts from 2026 and the ESL was dead within 48 hours of its “launch”.</p>
<p>Combined support for the ongoing “<a href="https://thefsa.org.uk/petition/twentys-plenty-away-ticket-petition/#:%7E:text=What%20is%20Twenty's%20Plenty%3F,(%C2%A315%20for%20concessions).">Twenty is Plenty</a>” campaign also saw the Premier League cap away tickets at £30 from the 2016-17 season, a fall from uncapped tickets that rose to £77 for some away fans.</p>
<p>This brings us back to the north-west, where the Everton and Liverpool supporters groups who energised the “Twenty is Plenty” campaign are the very same people who would go on to build FSF. Indeed, it was through organising a boycott of excessive charges to watch Premier League games on television that FSF was able to raise funds to help with the purchase of two mobile pantries and a lorry to spread solidarity throughout the city and around the country. </p>
<h2>Dignity and respect</h2>
<p>Often travelling to away games, the FSF crew from Liverpool utilises these strengthening networks to take donations to the collections of other fan groups. The symbolism of, for example, Liverpool fans bringing food to donate to the Manchester City fans is meaningful and has spurred other groups to follow suit. As Donna Scully, a Liverpool fan in her 50s and FSF volunteer, told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The deprivation is everywhere, and none of us [fans] at any club can say that it’s not impacting my community … it’s in every corner of this country.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Scully knows this better than most. During the week she is a director of a law firm but for the last seven years, every Sunday morning she has donated her own time, along with resources of the firm, to run The Wirral Breakfast Club alongside FSF.</p>
<p>Beginning at 8am the club predominantly serves the homeless, but this demographic has shifted to include those in work and and with homes as the cost-of-living crisis bites. Married couple Robbie and Linda volunteer in the kitchen and pump out between 70-100 cooked breakfasts which are served by a small team led by Scully who, in her Liverpool shirt, fizzes about the community hall. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1553682649771909121"}"></div></p>
<p>She serves tea and breakfast with a smile, knows all their names and their stories and checks up on everyone. She listens to their painful battles to gain support – nobody is turned away. It’s enough to make you weep. When asked about her motivation Scully replied:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We are all about treating people with dignity and respect … everyone thinks fans are about rioting and getting drunk but we want to show how we can really do something here, show how much we care about each other.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Speaking to other FSF movements from around the UK it has become clear how important the network has become. For FSF Dundee founder Marty Smith, a young man in his early 20s with a thick Dundee accent, “it’s genuinely really inspiring”. </p>
<p>The Scottish network has grown from five to eight fan organisations in the past 18 months, including Glasgow Rangers and Celtic groups working together. There are similar stories elsewhere in the UK, motivated by a passion for their communities and a desire for change.</p>
<p>Along with a healthy dose of competitiveness that still exists as <a href="https://twitter.com/BillCorcoran5/media">Bill Corcoran</a>, from the <a href="https://twitter.com/Nufcfoodbank">Newcastle FSF</a> joked: “We saw the scousers doing it, so we thought we better too!”.</p>
<p>Despite the playful competitiveness, there is a serious mission shared by all we spoke to and volunteered alongside highlighted by Paul Khan, head of the Liverpool Supporters Association, the volunteer back in Liverpool: “Our vision is to eradicate food poverty.”</p>
<h2>#RightToFood</h2>
<p>One of the criticisms faced by the FSF movement is by stepping into the void of government to bring food and essential services to underserved communities, they are legitimating a laissez-faire approach towards the welfare state which many argue sits neatly within the Conservative government’s ideology.</p>
<p>However, FSF is all too aware of this critique and has tied the movement to a broader fight against food poverty – the “<a href="https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/what-is-the-right-to-food/">Right to Food</a>” campaign.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1717073843347411285"}"></div></p>
<p>The campaign is led by Byrne and supported by several institutions including the Unite Union and city councils in Manchester, Brighton and Newcastle. Its goals include, bringing in universal free school meals for every child, rolling out “community kitchens” in much-needed areas and encouraging the government to reveal their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/13/food-plan-for-england-condemned-by-its-own-lead-adviser">plans for spending on food</a>.</p>
<p>Tying the FSF movement to a campaign such as this is typical for social movements <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315632070/social-movements-1768-2012-charles-tilly-lesley-wood">throughout history</a>, however, never has a football fan-led movement taken on an issue of such scale and importance as national hunger and child poverty. </p>
<p>Enshrining the right to food in law would begin with children and then spread upwards, with the goal of ensuring that everyone has the resources or ability to <a href="https://www.ianbyrne.org/righttofood">access the food they need</a> to live well. Indeed, the health benefits of simply eating enough food for the day are well known, as are the impacts on <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01396.x?casa_token=2f9OfRPEf-UAAAAA%3ALgHWrW34JKTAbxVAL4SuwhBhGKszbEe-BoqmEFlje2duPLpQcVARbPaBzalJIxioHzkK8KMvuw6-lF8">school attendance and long-term attainment</a>.</p>
<p>As Byrne told us, the health benefits are obvious, “less measurable – but no less important – is the effect on individual human dignity and social cohesion over time in our polarised nations of food banks next to investment banks”.</p>
<h2>Hunger marching on</h2>
<p>The communities at the heart of FSF’s work display the changing face of fandom in the UK within cities where football is part of daily life. </p>
<p>What the activities surrounding the food banks show is the ability for local solutions to national problems. Where successive governments and policy responses have failed areas such as Toxteth in Liverpool (home of the Lodge Lane pantry), groups of football fans have been able to turn their care for the community into action. But as all organisers were fond of saying “we are just a sticking plaster”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/liverpools-unsung-covid-heroes-how-the-citys-arts-scene-became-a-life-support-network-192776">Liverpool's unsung COVID heroes: how the city's arts scene became a life support network</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The national campaign is an attempt to heal these wounds for good. On a clear day in late September 2023, we joined the March for Hunger that wound its way through Liverpool led by local school children. Parallel marches took place in London and Belfast demanding universal free school meals. Among the crowds were community and church groups, individual activists, and of course football fans, who added the voice of the terraces to the universal chant demanding the right to food.</p>
<p>What this represents is a change in the way we see football fans and perhaps the way they see themselves. After all, football, like all social endeavours, is a malleable beast open to remaking and reimagining.</p>
<p>Though, at times, it has played host to a multitude of wrongs, right now - up and down the country and across the Irish Sea - football fans are deciding to remake themselves and their communities in the image of service and solidarity, regardless of club colours. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you want to donate or find out more about your local FSF network, there is more information <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/se4nx-fans-supporting-foodbanks">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-new-clues-to-how-dementia-and-alzheimers-work-in-the-brain-uncharted-brain-podcast-series-194773?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Unlocking new clues to how dementia and Alzheimer’s work in the brain – Uncharted Brain podcast series
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216124/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Sugden receives funding from The British Academy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Faulkner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers spent months volunteering with Fans Supporting Foodbanks to see how left-behind communities were fighting food poverty.Jack Sugden, Senior Lecturer in Sport Governance and Law, Liverpool John Moores UniversityChristopher Faulkner, Senior Lecturer in Sport Business, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2150062023-10-09T11:29:40Z2023-10-09T11:29:40ZWhy a Southampton FC fan took their town to a historical ‘leet’ court over the colour of a bridge’s lights<p>I recently started following a Facebook page entitled Angry People in Local Papers. One story recently highlighted was <a href="https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/23831074.itchen-bridge-lights-court-leet-hears-bid-southampton-fc-fan/">reported</a> in the Southampton Echo. Perry McMillan, a taxi driver and long-term Southampton FC fan, has made a presentment to the city’s ancient <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/court-leet">court leet</a> about the colours with which the Itchen Bridge is illuminated. </p>
<p>Though rare in England today, in medieval and early modern times, leet courts were commonplace. Members of the community would routinely make presentments on a wide variety of grievances. These often <a href="https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526112705.00009">related</a> to failures to follow specific local regulations, improper behaviour or disputes over the management of property. </p>
<p>The medieval records of the Southampton court leet have been lost. Those that survive only go back as far as 1550 but they provide a vivid insight into the everyday lives of historic communities and the often petty – but very familiar – disagreements between neighbours.</p>
<p>In his recent presentment, McMillan took issue with the lights of the bridge being blue and yellow – which are the colours of arch rivals Portsmouth, not the red and white of his club. As he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/02/ancient-tribunal-to-consider-why-lights-on-southampton-bridge-are-blue">explained</a> to one journalist: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was born and bred in Southampton and have been a Saints fan since the 1960s and it’s hard to believe that the lights on the Itchen Bridge are blue, instead of red and white. Hundreds of Southampton supporters travel across the bridge on foot, bike, and bus and have had more than a decade of mockery from Portsmouth supporters. It’s a situation we need to rectify.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A historic democratic tradition</h2>
<p>The exact origins of the court leet, as an institution of local governance in England, are unclear. It <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3787417">probably pre-dates</a> the Norman Conquest of 1066, although the term “leet” is not known prior to the early 13th century.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095648157?p=emailA611fjNbwSllM&d=/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095648157">Court Act of 1971</a> saw the majority abolished, many having not sat since the 18th and 19th centuries, when their duties were absorbed into other courts. <a href="https://www.southampton.gov.uk/council-democracy/councillors/mayor-sheriff/court-leet/">Southampton</a> is one of the few cities to have retained its court leet. It sits once a year, on the first Tuesday after Michaelmas (September 29). </p>
<p>Historically, the court leet’s single, annual sitting was a major civic occasion. Prior to moving to the guildhall with the Bargate, the iconic gateway to the medieval town in 1617, the Southampton court leet met in the open air at the <a href="http://sotonopedia.wikidot.com/page-browse:cut-thorn-cross-and-mound">Cut-thorn</a>, a circular mound surrounded by trees at the northern perimeter of the town.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A medieval fortified gate in Southampton." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552534/original/file-20231006-17-5vvk1l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Southampton’s Bargate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargate#/media/File:Bargate_2021.JPG">Geni|Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the medieval and early modern periods, the presiding officer of the court was the mayor, with the jurors comprising aldermen and councillors. Although the court had the power to investigate (but not prosecute) criminal acts, the court’s defining characteristic was its concern with local issues. </p>
<p>These ranged from common nuisances to the enforcement of trading regulations and bylaws. They also included the suppression of illegal games, such as tennis and bowls, which were thought to distract from archery practice, an activity mandated by royal proclamation. This punitive approach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtq029">can also be seen</a> as a way of regulating the activities of those lower in the social order. </p>
<h2>Grievances still relevant today</h2>
<p>Throughout the 16th century, presentments to Southampton’s court leet relating to sport and games were commonplace. These included complaints that archery butts had not been set up, or had fallen into disrepair.</p>
<p>In 1550 alone, there were five sporting presentments. Thomas Mucko the Younger was accused of keeping a tennis court. Thomas Deboke and William Mudforde were both accused of having bowling alleys. </p>
<p>These records provide a vivid picture of the disagreements and disputes which preoccupied Southampton’s townspeople. They bring to mind many of the issues – disputes over parking, planning and fly-tipping – which are familiar to readers of local newspapers today. In 1550, a complaint was made against Thomas Casberd for parking his cart in the street “to the annoyance of the king’s people” – a gripe to which we can probably all relate. </p>
<p>Thomas was, in fact, a serial offender. Another entry records how he also stood accused of illegally joining together three houses – something we might recognise today as a planning violation. </p>
<p>The language used in the presentments to medieval leet courts is often vivid and reveals attitudes to hygiene and social order. It was common for complaints about the slaughtering of animals and disposal of entrails to talk evocatively of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6563.2008.00218.x">stench of rotting meat</a>. </p>
<p>Other frequent annoyances included people washing clothes in the street and dumping rubbish or materials, including in the castle green and against the town walls – which <a href="https://doi.org/10.5284/1081704">archaeological investigations</a> have confirmed. </p>
<p>The court also dealt with presentments on a range of issues relating to live stock, leisure and civic duty. It outlawed cows being milked in the street and pigs and ducks being allowed to roam freely. It forced residents to meet their obligation to scour stretches from the town ditch. It prohibited tipplers selling ale after 9pm and allowing “unlawful games”.</p>
<p>Today, the court functions as a forum for local people to draw to the city council’s attention to issues that might otherwise pass them by. The Town Crier formally opens proceedings. Complainants then make their presentments to the court jurors, who are comprised of honorary aldermen, past mayors and sheriffs, as well as the steward of the manor of court leet and the sheriff, <a href="https://www.southampton.gov.uk/council-democracy/councillors/mayor-sheriff/court-leet/">who acts as foreperson</a>. </p>
<p>When a complaint is accepted, Southampton City Council’s court leet procedure specifies, it will be forwarded to the relevant council department and reported to the cabinet within four to six weeks. In making his presentment, McMillan is continuing a rich tradition of local governance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Jervis receives funding from UKRI.</span></em></p>Court leet records provide a vivid picture of the disagreements and disputes which pre-occupied medieval townspeople.Ben Jervis, Professor of Medieval Archaeology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112482023-08-10T16:25:33Z2023-08-10T16:25:33ZFans are finding out just how disappointing merchandise for women’s football is<p>England goalkeeper Mary Earps was named <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mary-earps-lionesses-world-cup-30656656">player of the match</a> in England’s victory over Nigeria in the Fifa Women’s World Cup. She has played a <a href="https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/squad/mary-earps">key role</a> in England’s recent successes, not just at the World Cup but in previous tournaments. Her performances have <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-08-07/fans-petition-over-england-goalkeepers-shirt-tops-33000-signatures">made her a hero</a> to her fans. </p>
<p>But Earps’ fans are unable to emulate her by wearing a replica of her goalkeeper shirt: it is not being <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12320083/England-star-Mary-Earps-blasts-Nike-hugely-hurtful-decision-not-goalkeeper-shirt-sale-Womens-World-Cup-not-available-Euro-2022.html">put up for sale</a> by team kit manufacturer Nike. Earps has said that her goalkeeping shirt not being available to buy is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66263104">“hurtful”</a>, and a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/stand-with-us-in-support-of-mary-earps-and-all-female-goalkeepers-around-the-world">petition by fans</a> calling for the shirt to be produced has reached over 35,000 signatures. </p>
<p>We are <a href="https://www.sportbusiness.com/2022/09/katie-sveinson-umass-what-do-women-sport-fans-want-fan-clothing-that-doesnt-suck/">currently researching</a> the availability of kits for women’s football fans, together with colleague <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/staff_profiles/WSU/doctor_jess_richards">Jess Richards</a>. The merchandise and clothing available to female fans and male fans of women’s teams is often limited, undesirable or just not available.</p>
<p>Female fans have expressed dissatisfaction with merchandise offered in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.smr.2018.12.003">varying shades of pink</a>. A women’s Manchester United shirt with a low neckline produced in 2015 was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-33759788">criticised for sexualising fans</a>. </p>
<p>Or women may feel obliged to buy a shirt that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.smr.2018.12.003">doesn’t fit them</a> if women’s cuts (shirts made to fit the shape of a female torso) of men’s team shirts are unavailable. </p>
<p>Here, we’ve looked at the kits women can buy on the official online stores for six teams to explore some of these issues.</p>
<h2>World Cup clothing</h2>
<p>The official online store for England football kits currently highlights the women’s home kit on their <a href="https://www.englandstore.com/en/">home page</a>. Fans can buy a men’s cut – a shirt fitted to the shape of a male torso – of the Lionesses’ shirt, including personalised versions with player names on. </p>
<p>But female fans have fewer items available specifically for them in the store. There are no women’s fit versions of the men’s national team jersey. </p>
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<p>The same is <a href="https://boutique.fff.fr/fr/france-national-team-women/t-47051587+ga-68+z-993655-482366522">true for France</a> – men can buy a men’s fit of the women’s team kit, but there is no women’s fit of the men’s team jersey currently available. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://shop.irelandfootball.ie/collections/kits">their official online shop</a> the Republic of Ireland offer women the women’s national team jersey in two different fits. They do also have the women’s national team goalkeeper kit for sale. However, the men’s team shirts are available in both long and short sleeved versions, but the women’s team shirts only come with short sleeves. </p>
<p>The online store for <a href="https://www.canadasoccerstore.com/en/">Canada Soccer</a> also features the women’s kit prominently, but the high-end “authentic jersey” is only available for the men’s team, and only in men’s sizes. A women’s fit of the men’s jersey is not available at all. </p>
<p>US soccer fans hoping to emulate women’s team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher are currently only able to buy <a href="https://store.ussoccer.com/collections/shop-by-player-1-naeher">outfield shirts</a> with her name on it on the official kit website. The only goalkeeper jersey on offer is for the men’s national team and it is only available in a men’s fit. The store has many more items for men than for women, even for products replicating the women’s national team kit.</p>
<p>In 2020 in Australia the away version of the Matildas’ kit, produced by Nike, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/23/ffa-to-make-womens-cut-available-after-matildas-kit-release-mistake#:%7E:text=FFA%20to%20make%20women%27s%20cut%20available%20after%20Matildas%20kit%20release%20mistake,-This%20article%20is&text=The%20new%20Matildas%20away%20kit,on%20shelves%20until%20next%20year.">not initially available in a women’s cut</a>. <a href="https://shop.footballaustralia.com.au/collections/kits">Football Australia</a> now has equal availability in terms of the replica jerseys and there are more items for women than for men. But the replica shirts that are currently available for the men’s team are only offered in men’s sizes. </p>
<p>Buying merchandise and especially <a href="https://www.sportbusiness.com/2022/09/katie-sveinson-umass-what-do-women-sport-fans-want-fan-clothing-that-doesnt-suck/">replica shirts is important to fans</a>. It is a way to show loyalty to a team and helps to develop a sense of identity. </p>
<p>The fan clothing worn by women can affect whether they feel they are considered as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2020.1809380">“authentic” fans</a>. Sporting culture continues to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-sports-world-is-still-stacked-against-top-women-175462">dominated by men</a>. </p>
<p>Subtle differences in how women’s sport is treated, such as those we have found here, show that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-sports-world-is-still-stacked-against-top-women-175462">women are still disadvantaged</a>. It is important that fans continue to push for equal opportunities on and off the pitch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211248/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Beth Clarkson consults on leadership and workforce development for the Premier League and supervises sports management projects for the University of Liverpool.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Sveinson and Keith Parry do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The merchandise and clothing available to fans of women’s teams is often limited, undesirable or just not available.Keith Parry, Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth UniversityBeth Clarkson, Senior Lecturer in Sports Management, University of PortsmouthKatie Sveinson, Assistant professor, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1833032022-05-18T14:39:45Z2022-05-18T14:39:45ZJake Daniels: how homophobia in men’s football is changing<p>Blackpool forward Jake Daniels’ <a href="https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2022/may/16/a-message-from-jake-daniels/">announcement that he is homosexual</a> makes him the UK’s only active, openly gay, male professional footballer.</p>
<p>Daniels, aged 17, described the move as a “relief”, and was met with <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jake-daniels-comes-out-as-gay-receives-wave-of-support-messages_uk_62834c97e4b0c2dce654296f">support and praise</a> from key figures in men’s football and beyond, including Gary Lineker, Harry Kane and Sir Ian McKellen. He was also praised by national figureheads Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William, who said Daniels coming out will “<a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1526533668419903489">help break down barriers</a>”.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A head shot of UK footballer Justin Fashanu smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463995/original/file-20220518-17-pqgko1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Justin Fashanu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu#/media/File:Justin_Fashanu_www.7sur7.be.jpg">Wikipedia/7sur7</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first UK professional footballer to come out was <a href="https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/halloffame/justin-fashanu/">Justin Fashanu</a> in 1990. The support for Daniels has been a stark contrast to the homophobic responses to Fashanu, who killed himself in 1998 at the age of 37.</p>
<p>Sport in the UK has long been rife with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.smr.2020.09.003">homophobia</a> and considered an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207594.2012.713107">unsafe place</a> for LGBT+ players. In 2017, a <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmcumeds/113/113.pdf">House of Commons report</a> concluded that “despite the significant change in society’s attitudes to homosexuality in the last 30 years, there is little reflection of this progress being seen in football.” </p>
<p>Men’s professional football is the last of the UK’s three most popular sports, following rugby and cricket, to have an active, elite professional player come out. Rugby player Gareth Thomas came out in 2009 and cricketer Steven Davies came out in 2011.</p>
<p>This lagging behind is no surprise given the vile homophobic chanting at some of England’s best players such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/may/15/sol-campbell-chant-guilty-portsmouth">Sol Campbell</a>, and the reaction to Fashanu in the 1990s. Indeed, there are some early signs of homophobic hate in response to Daniels that have been <a href="https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/blackpool-jake-daniels-championship-gay-23985118">condemned</a> by LGBTQ+ rights group Stonewall.</p>
<p>Still, over the last couple of decades, changing cultural attitudes and campaigning efforts by organisations and fans have raised awareness of LGBTQ+ participation in sport. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thejustincampaign.com">The Justin Campaign</a>, established in 2008 by a Brighton-based grassroots organisation, was one of the first official campaigns to raise awareness of homophobia in men’s football. The campaign had a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2010.541481">local reach</a> and targeted <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vNNyDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT69&dq=Caudwell+and+Spacey&ots=iCs3QBEoYa&sig=JYnnEtBfhT0LfDa-jVcWFAUMLgg#v=onepage&q=Caudwell%20and%20Spacey&f=false">young people</a>, mainly school and university students who entered tournaments as team “Tackle Homophobia”. </p>
<p>From the Justin Campaign came <a href="https://www.footballvhomophobia.com/our-story/">Football v Homophobia</a>, developed by <a href="https://pridesports.org.uk">PrideSports</a>, which now has a significant presence in the game worldwide. Alongside this grassroots activism, in 2013 betting company Paddy Power, working with Stonewall, initiated the <a href="https://news.paddypower.com/propaganda/2014/09/05/brief-history-paddy-powers-rainbow-laces-campaign/">Rainbow Laces campaign</a>. </p>
<p>The FA, football’s governing body in England and Wales, introduced its first anti-homophobia initiative in 2012, <a href="https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fa-launches-new-anti-homophobia-initiative/">Opening Doors and Joining In</a>. Since then, the FA has endorsed both Football v Homophobia and the Rainbow Laces campaigns. However, research indicates that efforts by sport governing bodies can <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19406940.2018.1479284?casa_token=jKDD4web8zAAAAAA%3AGZvZpknBtHYVAGEPUBEJtH0uE2K-1JzvKLpzPWyrWoAEqkD4e3WvlQplBBFF-9o2BfGcnfeu4xU">fall short</a> and can be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1012690213479789?casa_token=E_tG00y4m6MAAAAA%3A9qdVOdsOuDPKq3HkDdVRGj6lcTZ6gwbP7R2b8POnMZE-Tg_C3AfKSHERVyoDj3xlwJgl5qFyCR4">ineffective</a> at actually implementing change. </p>
<p>While I don’t know how aware Daniels and his peers were of these campaigns as they were growing up, there is evidence from a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2017.1391073?casa_token=LDGuu0TyNH4AAAAA%3AvBeJWx1_ATEy0Nea56FjbeVh6Pd9FN0I7ikulUY3a5xF2-hQw4QEoAGuEWAXVEctT5EGhGkl_RQ">2017 study</a> at a boy’s football academy that revealed “progressive attitudes towards homosexuality” among a small group of 14-15 year olds. This suggests that attitudes are becoming more inclusive – although the boys in the study felt unable to individually challenge homophobia when they observed it.</p>
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<h2>Fan attitudes</h2>
<p>Homophobic chanting at men’s professional games can be a common occurrence. This chanting, often deemed as “banter” by the perpetrators, can be outright blatant homophobia, or what we now call a “micro-aggression”. Micro-aggressions are the everyday speech and actions directed at marginalised members of communities that reflect prejudice and discrimination, and can be damaging to minority individuals <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1071.2730&rep=rep1&type=pdf">in sport</a>.</p>
<p>Obviously, not all football fans make homophobic remarks and gestures at a game or on social media. Many formal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0038038521994012?casa_token=sbXf81iD83gAAAAA:RBm6t5M9xPjBQ_J9cw9WxN5BpgJmnLDKiQmmZkAr_f0gIoPdMYs5xqYdrbha-qGZLxuahvFMwos">LGBTQ+ fan groups</a>, such as the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolFCLGBTSupporters/">Kop Outs</a> (Liverpool), <a href="https://www.arsenal.com/fanzone/gay-gooners">Gay Gooners</a> (Arsenal) and <a href="https://proudcanaries.co.uk/">Proud Canaries</a> (Norwich City), have also been set up in recent years, creating a visible community within the oft-discriminatory world of football fandom. </p>
<p>Despite these efforts by fans, football’s governing bodies continue to ignore or forget homophobia. A case in point is Qatar, host country for FIFA’s men’s World Cup later this year, which has <a href="https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/qatar/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwspKUBhCvARIsAB2IYusJRQPb9riqQSOg_qjO2s7zWjkoIO9onPGd6bnw0DjPwFR_TEwmCfEaAiB1EALw_wcB">anti-gay laws</a>. </p>
<h2>Cultural shifts</h2>
<p>At 17, Daniels has grown up with a popular culture that is more diverse than ever when it comes to gender and sexuality. There are more visible stories of LGBTQ+ people and communities generally, and within the world of sport. Thanks to decades of activism, LGBTQ+ culture has a place in the mainstream, and football is benefiting from this movement.</p>
<p>The women’s game is further along in <a href="https://www.outsports.com/2019/6/11/18660301/out-gay-lesbian-bi-2019-women-world-cup-soccer">celebrating out lesbian and bisexual players</a> internationally. The 2019 FIFA women’s World Cup alone had 40 out women – players, coaches and managers – offering further evidence that the women’s game is a safer environment than the men’s. This might be because women in sport have had to deal with sexist and homophobic stereotypes for a <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ssj/8/1/article-p61.xml">very long time</a>.</p>
<p>All of this, in addition to <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/friends-family-support-systems-for-lgbtq-youth">support from family and friends</a> and teachers, coaches, officials and managers who are <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/come-out-lgbt-becoming-active-lgbt-ally">LGBTQ+ allies</a>, will make young male footballers feel safe enough to come out. </p>
<p>The impact of Jake Daniels’ decision to come out cannot be underestimated. Not only will it allow him to be fully himself – and perhaps an even better player – it is set to shift the culture of men’s elite professional football.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183303/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jayne Caudwell previously received funding from British Academy, Lesiure Studies Association, Energise Me. </span></em></p>Sport has long been an unsafe place for LGBTQ+ players, but Jake Daniels’s coming out could change things for men’s football.Jayne Caudwell, Associate Professor Social Sciences, Gender& Sexualities, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1750912022-01-20T13:02:56Z2022-01-20T13:02:56ZWomen in sport: misogyny among male fans is rife but progressive masculinities are on the rise<p>When the Football Association in England launched the Women’s Super League in 2011, it was the first milestone in what sport sociologists have identified as a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038518797505">new age</a> for media coverage of women’s sport, and football in particular. The success of women athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, along with Sport England’s subsequent <a href="https://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/">This Girl Can</a> media campaign which ran nationwide, cemented this trend. </p>
<p>The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup is seen as a turning point. Print journalists paid <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038518797505">a lot more attention</a> than they had previously. And for the first time all of England’s matches were televised live, while viewership numbers across the world <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2015/07/01/goaaall-usa-germany-womens-world-cup-match-is-the-most-watched-semi-finals-ever/?sh=18bf42b12883">broke records</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00380385211063359">a new study</a>, led by Durham University and in collaboration with the University of Leicester and the University of South Australia, we set out to examine men’s attitudes towards women’s football, and sport in general, in this new age of media attention in the UK. From September 2015 to January 2016, we surveyed 1,950 men football fans from across the country, recruited through football fan message boards. </p>
<p>Research has shown that in many countries across the world, football operates as one of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2018.1443803">last bastions</a> of male domination. Our findings show that among football fans, while men with openly misogynistic attitudes are still in the majority, media exposure to women’s sport can in fact change perceptions.</p>
<h2>Progressive attitudes</h2>
<p>Based on the answers 507 of the respondents gave to our open-ended questions, we identified three different types of masculinities: progressive, openly misogynistic and covertly misogynistic.</p>
<p>The first group, which accounted for 24% of our respondents, expressed more gender-equal attitudes. They thought the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup marked a positive turning point in terms of representation of women’s sport. One Liverpool fan (age 36-45) thought the tournament “raised the profile of the women’s game”. </p>
<p>Fans in this group frequently connected this increased exposure with a perceived genuine change in men’s attitudes and a subsequent rise in the popularity of women’s sport. They thought the media had an obligation to promote women’s football to inspire girls at grassroots level, beyond just “helping it become accepted by your typical scoffing, uniformed male,” as one Halifax Town fan (age 36-45) put it. </p>
<p>Our findings show that media coverage of women’s sport had also altered some men’s perceptions. “It changed my view on the sport,” said one Bury fan (age 26-35). “ I used to see it as a bit of a joke, but having watched the [Women’s] World Cup [I] now feel the opposite.” This showed that some men had moved from misogynistic attitudes to more progressive attitudes in response to changes in media coverage. </p>
<h2>Overtly misogynistic</h2>
<p>The most dominant group, however, at 68% of respondents, was overtly misogynistic. Previously, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Inclusive-Masculinity-The-Changing-Nature-of-Masculinities/Anderson/p/book/9780415893909?gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP3RrzHhbNsbfE-uYMFsgyKdSVBuuOZ0rklclrnCQID7389HOQ22GahoCj2IQAvD_BwE">research</a> has suggested that younger men would express more positive attitudes than older men. However, based on our open-ended questions, our findings show no such generational differences. </p>
<p>Instead, men from across this group thought women have no place in sport. “They are useless at it,” said one Leeds United fan (age 46-55). They variously described women’s football as “not as dynamic, quick, skilful”, “slower and weaker” and “less competitive” than men’s football. Pegging women as neither as strong or as powerful as men, they expressed beliefs grounded in what gender studies specialists call <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/kicking-center/9780813586779">essentialist reasoning</a>: they maintained assumptions of men’s physical superiority. </p>
<p>They were extremely hostile towards the increasing media coverage women’s sport was getting, repeatedly labelling it as “positive discrimination” or “PC nonsense”. These reactionary views align with what feminist author and journalist Susan Faludi has described as the anti-feminist <a href="http://susanfaludi.com/backlash.html">backlash</a>. They perceive women’s sport as a threat to what they see as a traditionally <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2018.1443803">male preserve</a>. One West Ham fan (age 26–35) put it brashly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It now means there is too much women’s sport on the TV; no one really cares [about it]. Women’s football in the media all the time, women’s golf on Sky and the men’s Euro tour on the red button. NETBALL ON SKY!!! The one thing that does irk me is Women’s Hour on Sky Sports News. No woman watches Sky Sports News! NO WOMAN! I honestly wish they’d just piss off out the spotlight. But it’s all PC bollocks nowadays. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Covert misogyny</h2>
<p>This group – the smallest of the three, at 8% of respondents – saw men skilfully manoeuvre between progressive and hostile attitudes. These men could discuss women’s involvement in sport in positive ways, appearing to be behind gender equality agendas. However, they still thought women’s sport inferior. </p>
<p>Men in this group drew on notions of essentialism and biological differences between men and women to explain what they saw as <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/kicking-center/9780813586779">natural</a> inequalities between men’s and women’s sports. But, like this Carlisle United fan (age 26-35), they also wanted the women to be successful: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have no interest in watching what I believe to be a lower standard of sport. But then I don’t watch Notts County v Dagenham & Redbridge [lower league men’s teams] if it’s on, either. I wish the girls well. I hope they win every time they play, as I do anyone representing England, but I won’t be watching. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Organisations continue to face pressure to address gender inequalities. Our model of masculinities may be helpful as a tool for studying other settings – the workplace, education, the creative industries – in a bid to tackle broader societal misogyny.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stacey Pope receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (grant number AH/N004841/1).
This article is based on research done in collaboration with John Williams, the University of Leicester and Jamie Cleland,
University of South Australia.</span></em></p>The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup ushered in a new age for media coverage of women’s sport. A new survey of fans shows that while many men feel threatened, a growing number are on board.Stacey Pope, Associate Professor in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1675782021-09-10T14:10:52Z2021-09-10T14:10:52ZCristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United won’t appear on live UK TV – the 3pm blackout no longer makes sense<p>Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United will be watched live on television by football fans around the world – but not if they live in the UK.</p>
<p>The reason for this is the decades-old “3pm blackout”, a policy designed to protect match attendance and revenue in the era of live television. But in the world of streaming – and indeed, where live attendance is a COVID risk – is the blackout still needed?</p>
<p>In the early 1960s, the chairman of Burnley Football Club, Bob Lord, successfully lobbied other executives in the Football League to <a href="https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/the-saturday-3pm-blackout-why-arent-all-premier-leagues-games-broadcast-on-television-in-the-uk">prevent the broadcast</a> of games on Saturday afternoon. </p>
<p>The blackout was a complete ban on the live broadcasting of any football match in the UK between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday.</p>
<p>Lord worried that televised football would negatively impact match attendance. He wasn’t alone in his thinking and other sports grappled with the same fear. For Lord, it was a simple supply and demand issue. He thought of televised matches and actual attendance at games as substitute products.</p>
<p>He wasn’t wrong. At that time, almost all income generated by football clubs came from the turnstiles. There was no broadcasting revenue, and little or no merchandising and sponsorship. The thought of the north London derby or Liverpool v Manchester United at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, broadcast live to a population with almost no other access to sports content, was enough to convince Lord that the football business model would not survive with this form of competition.</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2021, and football in England could hardly be more different. The <a href="https://www.the42.ie/the-club-book-4434028-Jan2019/">globalisation of the game</a> since the late 1990s has transformed many English towns and small cities into famous locations. Players and managers are now sourced from almost every country on the planet, and the Premier League has become one of England’s biggest exports, with supporters arriving each weekend from around the globe to cheer on their adopted team.</p>
<p>The economics of the game have been transformed as well. No longer do top flight clubs like Burnley rely heavily on fans coming to games –- although the matches of the pandemic years remind us how important fans are to the atmosphere and spectacle of football. Instead, the key revenue sources are broadcasting, prize money, sponsorship and merchandising. Combined revenues for the 20 Premier League clubs <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html">surpassed £5 billion</a> in 2018/2019.</p>
<h2>Changing the game</h2>
<p>Due to COVID, the past two seasons have seen revenues decline. However, many top clubs have been insulated by the evolution of how revenues are generated. For the elite clubs, match day activity constitutes <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/1773/premier-league/">less than 20%</a> of all revenue.</p>
<p>The 3pm blackout is not terribly important for Premier League clubs today, because they do not rely on match day activities to generate the bulk of their revenue. In any case, the matches played in this slot are usually between Premier League teams not in European club competitions, and are never matches between two of the more popular “big six” clubs. So the effect of removing the blackout and broadcasting one of these games would likely do little damage to Premier League attendances.</p>
<p>But English football is far more than the Premier League. The depth of the oldest set of interconnected leagues in any sport on the planet is truly remarkable. While football strongholds such as Spain, Germany and Italy have two or three professional leagues, the English system can maintain professionalism at least six tiers down, sustained by the commitment and partisan nature of teams’ supporters and communities.</p>
<p>Unlike the elite clubs, the lower divisions <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51804544">rely much more heavily</a> on gate receipts. An argument could be made that the 3pm blackout still benefits teams lower down the English football pyramid. </p>
<p>But in our modern world of near-constant sports broadcasting, does the blackout still make sense? I think not.</p>
<h2>24/7 football</h2>
<p>Premier League football is screened each Saturday at 12.30pm and 5.30pm. The lunchtime matches do not end until nearly 2.30pm. How many fans of lower league teams would decide not to travel to a game at 3pm because Ronaldo, Salah or Kane are live on television? Very few, I suspect. These players are regularly on television each Saturday, yet the second tier of English football (the Championship) is the fifth best-attended league in all of Europe.</p>
<p>The television product and attending in person are no longer the substitute goods Bob Lord feared in the 1960s, if they ever were. A plethora of options are available to people at 3.00pm on Saturday afternoon -– both sport and non-sport -– yet League One attendances average around 8,000 people per game, and League Two just under 5,000 fans. </p>
<p>These figures are <a href="https://europeanleagues.com/wp-content/uploads/FINAL-EPFL_FA_18-VERSION-2018.01.12.pdf">higher than many</a> top-tier UEFA leagues and means the third and fourth tiers of English football attract more fans on average than the first divisions in countries like Greece, Romania, Serbia and Finland. This is not to mention the possibility of watching 3pm kick-offs anyway through (illegal) streaming services or other means. </p>
<p>Yet the Football League persists with a rule put in place long before the arrival of satellite television or the internet as we know it.</p>
<p>The irony of course is that it is possible to legally watch Saturday 3pm games outside of the UK, so foreign fans of the Premier League actually get to consume more televised content than domestic supporters. </p>
<p>While the rest of the world watches Ronaldo reappear in a Manchester United jersey, those living in and around Manchester without tickets to Old Trafford will have to wait until around 5pm to view streaming content, or later that night for Match of the Day – a show almost as old as the blackout itself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167578/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Butler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is the decades-old policy of not broadcasting 3pm football games in England still necessary?Robert Butler, Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1644092021-07-13T15:04:00Z2021-07-13T15:04:00ZEuro 2020: could Twitter stop racist abuse before it happens?<p>As excitement built in England ahead of the Euro 2020 final against Italy, fans took to Twitter to express pride in their diverse and inspiring team. There was also a sense of nervous anticipation at the chance to win a major tournament for the first time in 55 years. Many used the hashtag #Euro2020final to join the conversation before and during the first half of the match.</p>
<p>Following a crushing defeat by penalty shootout, a dark but familiar picture emerged. Some Twitter users under #Euro2020final posted <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57800431">racist messages</a> against England’s black players, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.</p>
<p>Tweets using #Euro2020final became a sobering reminder of the deep schisms that run through English society. For black British citizens, the tweets reflected a disheartening message about their continued exclusion from mainstream British culture. </p>
<p>As social media researchers who have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0267257X.2015.1035308">tracked events online</a> by analysing keywords, topics and sentiments organised under hashtags, we were not surprised by what we saw on Twitter following England’s defeat. In anticipation of abuse and bullying post-match, we archived tweets just prior to kick-off and kept a close eye on Twitter after the result was announced. We were familiar with the power of English football to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738317300312?via%3Dihub">dominate Twitter conversations</a>. </p>
<p>We used the publicly accessible tool <a href="https://tags.hawksey.info/">TAGS</a> which archives Twitter postings via a search application programming interface. While this source is not exhaustive, we were able to collect 32,765 tweets using the hashtag #Euro2020final in the hour leading up to kick-off, 100,282 during the match and 44,554 after the match until midnight.</p>
<p>We then applied topic modelling, an approach that uses machine learning to identify underlying themes in large bodies of text to explore the English language content of tweet text. </p>
<p>The following visualisations present the three most prominent topics during each time period and the three most prominent keywords associated with each of them.</p>
<p><strong>Before: positivity and diversity</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411009/original/file-20210713-19-b9z9v2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Modelling of Pre-match topics discussed</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before the match, there was a positive rather than negative framing of the English team’s international origins, with many sharing stories of immigration, diversity and a “changing” England. Also discussed were fans’ hopes for a long awaited victory and discussions about a fan <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/euros-england-fans-climb-national-21026415">incident at Trafalgar square</a> involving police. </p>
<p><strong>During: early goal excitement</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411012/original/file-20210713-21-ujqzh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Modelling of topics discussed during the match.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the match, the discussions were about Luke Shaw’s history-making early goal, Italy’s equaliser and the final results. Shaw was among the most popular topics discussed. </p>
<p><strong>After: racial abuse</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411014/original/file-20210713-23-tzo8rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Modelling of the topics discussed post match.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Post match, the theme of racial abuse emerged. While actual racist posts were tweeted by a small number of people, it should be noted that the structure of online discussions, where individual comments are shared rapidly among posters, amplified this content into an online firestorm prompting responses from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/12/fa-condemns-racist-abuse-england-players-social-media-euro-2020-final">senior government officials</a>. </p>
<p>Another dark aspect of the post-match tweets was the discussions around the link between domestic violence and football. </p>
<h2>Stopping the firestorm</h2>
<p>Our analysis raises an important question about whether Twitter ought to take a more proactive role in monitoring and preventing the spread of racist abuse following events such as the Euro 2020 final. <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/twitter-abuse-england-racism-euro-2021-b945317.html">Twitter responded to the abuse</a> on its platform by using a combination of machine learning based automation and human review to remove over 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended several accounts. </p>
<p>However, this action failed to effectively suppress the negative picture that emerged after the #Euro2020final. We suggest that Twitter could be taking action to stop online firestorms, even before they start.</p>
<p>Twitter trolls know that racist or hateful content about a high profile event will be widely condemned online. But condemnation of racist or hateful content only serves to further magnify the impact of these posts on such an event. Any positive message will be overshadowed by the discussions of hateful or racist posts. </p>
<p>What is surprising is that Twitter allows the process to continue. There is no ambiguity about these outcomes, only variability in the scale. In contrast to the limited exploration that we performed, Twitter has archives of online firestorms in a number of contexts and would be aware of the conditions, characteristics and outcomes of these occurrences. </p>
<p>Based on this knowledge, the rapid immediate cascades that result in the predictable cycle of hateful content and condemnation could be minimised using tools Twitter have already developed, such as <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1257717113705414658">prompting users</a> to rethink their tweets that may include harmful language. These tools could be adapted to provide warnings that encourage users to think before they retweet, and slow the rate of reactions to hateful content. While not a comprehensive solution, they can be applied in high profile events such as the Euro 2020 final to stem the spread of abuse online. </p>
<p>Of course, doing this raises questions about rights to free speech. Twitter received backlash over its suppression of a <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/twitter-facebook-block-ny-post-hunter-biden-article.html">New York Post story</a> about Hunter Biden. But in some cases, especially where there is potential for violence or an immediate threat against people or groups, there may be reasonable justification for taking action. </p>
<p>Questions remain around when to intervene and the extent to which intervention may push hateful discussions to other platforms. Still, it may be well worth exploring – the discussions the day after the Euro 2020 final should have been about a history-making team, not about the abuse that a small number of trolls were able to turn into a firestorm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Nicole Ferdinand is part of the research collective RUAIRE, which stands for Responsible Use of AI in Recreation and International Events. The research in this article is part of a larger body of work that is dedicated to using AI and other technologies to improve society. This research has previously benefitted from funding from the Ulster University Research Challenge Fund. For more information, see: <a href="https://responsibleai.blog/">https://responsibleai.blog/</a>. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr John Bustard (Ulster University) is part of the research collective RUAIRE, which stands for Responsible Use of AI in Recreation and International Events. The research in this article is part of a larger body of work that is dedicated to using AI and other technologies to improve society. This research has previously benefitted from funding from the Ulster University Research Challenge Fund. For more information, see: <a href="https://responsibleai.blog/">https://responsibleai.blog/</a>.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Nigel L. Williams is part of the research collective RUAIRE, which stands for Responsible Use of AI in Recreation and International Events. The research in this article is part of a larger body of work that is dedicated to using AI and other technologies to improve society. This research has previously benefitted from funding from the Ulster University Research Challenge Fund. For more information, see: <a href="https://responsibleai.blog/">https://responsibleai.blog/</a>.</span></em></p>The racist abuse of England’s black players was predictable and easily monitored.Nicole Ferdinand, Senior Lecturer, Events Management, Oxford Brookes UniversityJohn Bustard, Lecturer in Digital Transformation, Ulster UniversityNigel Williams, Reader in Project Management, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638402021-07-07T14:27:06Z2021-07-07T14:27:06ZEuro 2020: is this ‘the greatest therapy session England ever had’?<p>“Well how about that”, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/50941455">one BBC commentator said</a>, as full-time was called on the England-Ukraine quarter final match of the men’s 2020 European Championship, and players hugged on the pitch. “England dominating and giving the nation not only something to cheer with, an outstanding performance and four goals, but also”, he paused, “a largely stress-free evening.” </p>
<p>Stress-free evenings are very much in order for a lot of people after 15 months of pandemic and all the worry that has gone with that. From a psychological perspective, fans’ perceptions of their team’s progress throughout the Euros will resemble many people’s perceptions of daily life during the COVID crisis – a lack of control over events and uncertainty over what will happen next. </p>
<p>Another of the BBC’s commentators talking viewers through the Ukraine match said it had been “like the greatest therapy session England has ever had”. And if so, there’s no doubt it is a mass therapy exercise, especially after the nation was gripped by England’s winning semi-final performance against Denmark.</p>
<p>Football (whether you like it or not) is the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8892811_Football_is_the_most_popular_sport_worldwide">world’s favourite</a> sport. In England, it’s considered the national game. An estimated 1.9 million Britons <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/934866/football-participation-uk/#statisticContainer">played the game</a> at least twice a month in 2020. And England’s major tournament matches are consistently watched by over <a href="http://www.footballeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/England-TV-audience-analysis-June-16-web-version-.pdf">10 million households</a>.</p>
<h2>Social ingroup</h2>
<p><a href="https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/6/1/15/113063/What-Drives-Our-Emotions-When-We-Watch-Sporting">Research shows</a> that international football tournaments can take us on a rollercoaster of emotions. The more we identify with our team, the more our feelings <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X1630029X?via%3Dihub">are connected</a> to their performance. In extreme cases, this emotional ride while watching football <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2019.1665246">has been linked</a> to a higher risk of heart attacks.</p>
<p>When the England team beat Germany in the last 16, they conquered an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57590519">arch nemesis</a>. In beating Denmark and getting into the final two, England have reached their first European championship final – their first international tournament final <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/england/448/blog/post/2865977/why-england-havent-won-a-major-football-title-since-1966">since the 1966 World Cup</a>. For England supporters, this is a big deal. </p>
<p>Things were very different during the Euro 2016 tournament. When the English side lost to Iceland in the round of 16, pundits and fans alike <a href="https://www.espn.in/football/blog/espn-fc-united/68/post/3148659/england-struggling-to-shake-the-horror-of-euro-2016-humiliation-against-iceland">expressed</a> <a href="https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/euro-2016/bbc-commentator-in-astonishing-x-rated-rant-at-england-flops-34839506.html">anger</a> and <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a799360/euro-2016-olly-murs-more-react-england-loses-iceland/">grief</a>. It was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/27/england-iceland-euro-2016-match-report">“full-on humiliation”</a>. It compounded <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/27/england-penalties-20-years-hurt-iceland-germany">“20 years of hurt”</a>.</p>
<p>When you socially identify as part of a group (such as fans identifying with a football team) it makes you feel good. It has been found to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejsp.2169">positive</a> for your self-esteem. </p>
<p>Conversely, when the status of the group with which you identify is threatened (by, say, an opposing team on a winning streak), there can be a tendency to become protective. You might experience the same emotions that you believe your group is experiencing (as fans do when watching their team during a match) because of this sense of belonging.</p>
<h2>Collective emotions</h2>
<p>Research has shown that the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0963721420901574">collective emotions</a> that football teams experience as a whole <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2021.1916079">strongly influence</a> the emotions that distinct individuals in the team – which psychologists term a <a href="https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/2755763/2010GPIR.pdf">social ingroup</a>) – experience. A similar transference of emotions from the group to individuals can be seen happening between the players on the pitch and the fans in the stands, as the fans are included in the ingroup. </p>
<p>Thus, when players and TV pundits respond positively and intensely to a team’s performances, the fans follow suit: the collective emotions are clear to see. The strong social identity that fans derive from those emotions <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01252/full">has been found</a> to be positively reinforced. </p>
<p>Many fans, therefore will also have found the smoothness – the stress-free nature, as that commentator put it – of the England match against Ukraine, reassuring.</p>
<p>Living vicariously with England’s progress through the Euros might, however, also be taking its toll. The thought of ending up in another losing penalty shootout with Germany was, <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1453850/england-v-germany-euro-2020-fans-predict-penalty-shootout-wembley-football-ont">for some fans</a>, nerve-wracking and emotionally draining.</p>
<p>So too, the run-up to the semi-final against Denmark. When Alan Shearer asked Southgate whether he was able to enjoy this as much as fans are back home, he both smiled and shook his head. “Not really Alan, no, no,” he said. “We’re in another semi-final. That’s three in three years.” And now England is headed to the final against Italy, the pressure is very much on.</p>
<p>Ahead of the match against Germany, individual players including Marcus Rashford spoke up to reassure – or perhaps convince – people that the new-generation Three Lions team had, as one journalist <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/england-vs-germany-marcus-rashford-penalty-shootouts-no-fear-new-generation-euro-2021-b942650.html">put it</a>, “ended the nation’s penalty jinx”. </p>
<p>The fears don’t stop there though. This weight of expectation for England to end 55 “years of hurt” and win the tournament is now the new <a href="https://www.cityam.com/exclusive-poll-three-quarters-of-brits-expect-england-to-swat-ukraine-aside-at-euro-2020-and-four-in-10-think-theyll-go-on-to-lift-the-trophy/">collective anxiety</a>. </p>
<p>It is important to recognise that anxiety, and to understand how it might be countered by sharing the moment with like-minded people. Whether the results are good or bad, watching a match with friends and family can help to actively regulate emotions – to control your own emotional state. </p>
<p>Research has found that emotional regulation plays a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00220/full">central role</a> in mental health and wellbeing. So <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S146902921100152X?via%3Dihub">celebrate together</a> if your team wins. And if things don’t go the way you want them to, don’t be alone. Watch with people who care as much as you do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Rumbold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>International football tournaments take us on a rollercoaster of emotions. After the stresses of the past 15 months, watching matches with friends can keep us on a more even keel.James Rumbold, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Course Leader for MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology (BPS-Accredited), Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1593642021-04-23T14:30:04Z2021-04-23T14:30:04ZThree things the European Super League fiasco tells us about the future of football<p>The plan by 12 football clubs from Spain, Italy and England to form a “<a href="https://thesuperleague.com/">European Super League</a>” (ESL) collapsed <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56768728">in less than 48 hours</a> in the face of near universal opposition by fans and players. Based on my research on football fans, I want to suggest three key considerations helping us to map the future of the game following the ESL’s swift demise.</p>
<p><strong>1. Football and commerce are more closely linked than we like to admit</strong></p>
<p>Football’s most pertinent myth is that of a golden age when football belonged to fans before being corrupted by forces of commercialisation. The power of this myth derives in no small part from fan experiences: the cost of tickets, pay-TV subscriptions and merchandise; changing kickoff times to maximise television revenue; billionaire owners with questionable intentions. More problematically, the myth is also attractive to those who resent the greater role in football fan culture of those previously excluded: <a href="https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/gender-play-and-identity-a-longitudinal-study-of-structure-and-ag">women</a>, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/A-Game-of-Two-Halves-Football-Fandom-Television-and-Globalisation/Sandvoss/p/book/9780415314855">those who are not white</a> and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/A-Game-of-Two-Halves-Football-Fandom-Television-and-Globalisation/Sandvoss/p/book/9780415314855">fans from other countries</a>.</p>
<p>Politicians nevertheless embrace this myth. To many on the left, the ESL serves as an illustration of <a href="https://www.owenjones.tv/video/first-the-super-league-next-capitalism/">how capitalism destroys all that is dear to us</a>. The right proclaims football to be part of our national soul and heritage that hence <a href="https://www.itv.com/hub/peston/2a4458a0208">warrants protection and market interference</a>. And that, as a special case, this holds no lessons about what a global plutocratic elite might get up to otherwise.</p>
<p>Football and being a fan are however inseparable from the social order that gave rise to both: industrial capitalism. The practice of medieval folk football was a violent free-for-all, marked by an absence of rules and played between villages in open fields. </p>
<p>The modern game, <a href="https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=5891">formalised in the 1863</a>, reflected a new era. Time was now measured by clocks, touchlines separated those playing from those watching. Soon stands and stadiums followed. Those who did not play had to pay to watch. Media have since dramatically increased access to such forms of spectating and so revenue. </p>
<p>The failure of the ESL does therefore not represent a victory of fans over commerce, or of culture over capitalism. It is the very existence of fans that cements football’s commercial nature. </p>
<p>Instead, what is at stake is the question of how capitalism is governed. As sharp as the contrast between laissez-faire capitalism and social-democratic welfare states, different forms of football governance allow for vastly different experiences of the game for fans and spectators. </p>
<p><strong>2. Globalisation slowly but steadily changes football</strong></p>
<p>In their opposition to the ESL, many fans expressed the worry that national leagues which have been the focus of their fandom for decades will be downgraded or even disappear. Yet, the failure of the ESL tells us more about the pace of globalisation than indicating its reversal. </p>
<p>With the deregulation of broadcast markets and the rise of digital media, football’s horizons have been transformed, <a href="https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/jeux-sans-fronti%C3%A8res-europeanisation-and-the-erosion-of-national-">gradually shifting from the national to international frames</a>. In the early 1990s, national newspapers at most afforded a few lines in the results section to footballing competitions elsewhere. Today detailed coverage of football from around the world fuels a diversifying football media landscape including pay-tv providers, streaming services, <a href="https://theathletic.com/uk">paywalled digital print magazines</a> and podcasts.</p>
<p>For those whose fandom originates in this changing football landscape, the importance of matches between, say, Real Madrid and Manchester City – full of famous players from across the globe – will only grow. But this is generational shift, not one that will save clubs from the imminent financial doom that Madrid president <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/real-madrid-florentino-perez-claims-super-league-is-here-to-save-football">Florentino Pérez warned of</a>. </p>
<p><strong>3. Many football executives have a surprisingly poor understanding of what being a fan involves</strong></p>
<p>As journalist Simon Kuper <a href="https://twitter.com/KuperSimon/status/1384591742519988229">reminded us</a>, the performance standards required on the field are rarely matched by football executives. The failure of ESL owners and executives to command a basic understanding of those at the heart of their revenue model, fans, is staggering.</p>
<p>From replica shirts to match day attendance, being a fan is a way of signalling what is important to us, of performing who we are. As other aspects of our lives that define us – employment, romantic partnerships, nationality – have become less stable and more flexible, being a fan serves as a fixed point. When fans talk about their favourite club, they’re also talking about themselves and what is important to them. Their club matters so much to fans because it also defines and signals who they are.</p>
<p>Success and a style of play that fans embrace are both important in the way they imagine their clubs ‑ and by extension themselves. Clubs that fail to replicate past successes lose fans. More importantly though, clubs need to allow fans to recognise their values in their clubs. Commonly, clubs achieve this by not doing very much at all – fans readily bring these beliefs to their reading of the team they support.</p>
<p>However, if fandom functions as a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Fans/js60pTNRUTsC?hl=en">mirror that matters because fans see themselves </a> in the clubs they support, the ESL proposal amounted to taking away the frame that holds the mirror in place. Fans’ emotional investment in clubs is premised on these feeling true. No one builds their sense of self on something they perceive as inauthentic. </p>
<p>A proposal that suggested bypassing competition-based qualification for a privileged few ran counter to fans’ fundamental sense of who they are and of the purpose of the sport they support. As <a href="https://www.theshedend.com/topic/34784-chelsea-breakaway-from-breakaway-european-super-league/page/30/#comments">one Chelsea fan</a> concluded: “My only issue with it really is the fact that teams don’t need to qualify.”</p>
<p>Forces of commercialisation and globalisation will continue to shape football, while the failure of many inside the sport to understand why football matters to fans means we won’t have to wait long for the next ill-judged proposal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159364/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cornel Sandvoss does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The failure of the ESL does not represent a victory of fans over commerce, or of culture over capitalism. It is the very existence of fans that cements football’s commercial nature.Cornel Sandvoss, Professor of Media and Journalism, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1594762021-04-21T15:44:20Z2021-04-21T15:44:20ZEuropean Super League collapse: US football owners badly misread supporter culture in England<p>Barely two days after it was unveiled, the European Super League (ESL) is dead in the water. All six of the English clubs who made up the 12 founding members of the proposed breakaway competition pulled out, following loud opposition from everyone from the FA to Uefa to the UK government to fans. With the owners now hastily apologising and trying to make amends, the ESL founder and Juventus chairman, Andrea Agnelli, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/21/european-super-league-vows-to-reshape-after-english-clubs-pull-out">has conceded</a> defeat. </p>
<p>There is much discussion about what exactly the owners of these 12 clubs were hoping to achieve with their ESL announcement, but it surely wasn’t this debacle. One aspect of this story that is particularly noticeable is that American owners figured heavily in the English end of the breakaway, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all controlled from the US. </p>
<p>While England and the US have a lot in common, the design and administration of field sports is not one of them. This very short-lived super league has demonstrated just how big these differences are.</p>
<h2>Place power</h2>
<p>The franchise model of the US is as much about cooperation off the field as it is competition on it. Things that would be unconscionable in England are commonplace in the US. Relocation is probably the best example.</p>
<p>Beginning in 1936, the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams have also been called the Cleveland Rams and St Louis Rams. Most recently, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/12/15/21020536/las-vegas-raiders-oakland-explained-relocation">have shifted</a> to Las Vegas (they also had a stint in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s). </p>
<p>And it doesn’t end with American football. In baseball, the Salt Lake City Trappers <a href="https://www.deseret.com/1992/12/3/19019425/trappers-proud-of-their-part-in-triple-a-plan">were forced</a> to move several hours away to Pocatello, Idaho in 1993 and then Ogden, northern Utah in 1994. This was because the Portland Beavers, who played in a superior league, did a deal with Salt Lake City officials to move to the city and use the Trappers’ baseball park. The Beavers renamed as The Salt Lake City Buzz, and following several more name changes, they are now known as the Salt Lake City Bees. </p>
<p>English football fans do not tolerate this kind of thing. In June 2012 the Malaysian owners of Cardiff City announced that the club would be changing from their traditional blue jerseys to a new red kit, emblazoned with a dragon rather than the bluebird that had first appeared in the 1960s.</p>
<p>Outrage immediately ensued from the supporters. The blue of Cardiff, first worn around 1908, was not for changing. A statement issued by the club at the time, focusing on broadening the club’s appeal to “international markets” and “major and significant” investment, did nothing to appease the fans. The red jersey had to go.</p>
<p>Following two and a half years of pressure from fans, Cardiff City announced on January 9 2015 that the “club will wear a blue home kit and red away kit next season (2015/16)”. The crest was also going to be redesigned to feature the traditional bluebird. So much for Welsh dragons. </p>
<p>Around the same time, Hull City supporters entered a protracted battle with the Allam family, which owns the football club. Hull’s chairman, Assem Allam, a British-Egyptian industrialist, was seeking to change the name to Hull Tigers. After more than two years of protests and disagreement, a vote confirmed that the change had been resisted. The fans had won again.</p>
<p>What both owners apparently failed to appreciate were the historical roots of these clubs, stretching back more than 100 years. Supporters have deep emotional attachments to club colours or names that are intertwined with customs, habits and ways of behaving. </p>
<h2>Why the ESL got relegated</h2>
<p>The owners of England’s big six clubs seem to have made a similar mistake on a massive scale. The idea that six clubs, all members of the oldest set of interconnected leagues in the world, could simply walk away from nearly 140 years of tradition, league design and competitive behaviour as well as unravel 70 years of European competition by moving to a system with no promotion or relegation, was never going to work.</p>
<p>The sanctity of promotion and relegation is what sets European football apart from most American team sports. A super league in which the biggest teams automatically took part would have had devastating consequences for domestic leagues: weakened teams, meaningless fixtures, reduced attendance demand – the list goes on. </p>
<p>While the fallout from this is yet to be known, almost everyone agrees that European football needs to change to reflect the modern game. There are too many international commitments for players, and the group stages of the Champions League have become largely uncompetitive. This is down to both the seeding of the draw by Uefa and the large number of top clubs in the competition, many of whom appear every year, since three or four clubs from each league qualify each season. </p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/04/21/future-champions-league-will-revamp-work-will-breakaway-rebels/">new Champions League system</a> that is due to begin in 2024-25 looks like a move even further in this direction. It will expand the competition in a way that will make it possible for two or three more big clubs to qualify even if they don’t finish in the top four places in their domestic league the previous season (or win the previous year’s Champions League or Europa League). </p>
<p>It means almost twice as many European matches each year and moves closer to a system in which the biggest clubs are always guaranteed to qualify – though clearly not guaranteed enough from the perspective of the breakaway 12. It is not clear whether they these teams will now accept this system or insist on further negotiations with Uefa. </p>
<p>Whether the collapse of the ESL could now change the direction of travel to reduce the dominance of the top clubs in this system is an interesting question. The fabric of the game and the wishes of supporters throughout Europe should be protected, though there is not much sign of opposition to the Champions League reforms. </p>
<p>At any rate, Uefa and the breakaway clubs are co-dependent and will inevitably have to come back together. The European Super League was not the answer but it may still act as the catalyst for a way forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Butler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two days after 12 of Europe’s leading clubs broke away to launch a new competition, they appear to be back in the fold.Robert Butler, Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1536962021-01-21T10:54:02Z2021-01-21T10:54:02ZWhen football clubs are less successful, fans are more loyal to each other<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379786/original/file-20210120-15-6eprm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C3707%2C2052&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fans of less successful clubs form more of a bond with each other.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/disappointed-football-fans-unsatisfied-referee-decision-1294695664">Motortion Films/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Football fans tend to be highly loyal to their group, just as the kin groups of our ancestral past would have been. This intense state of belonging, when a person feels as one with their group, is called <a href="https://www2.psy.uq.edu.au/%7Euqbbast1/Swann%20et%20al%20Psych%20Review%202012.pdf">identity fusion</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23750472.2020.1866650?src=">My new study</a>, looking at fans of the UK’s Premier League, found supporters of the most long-suffering clubs were more “fused” to their clubs. They even considered each other more like a family compared with fans of reliably successful clubs.</p>
<p>Some fans even said they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, in a hypothetical situation, giving their own lives to save other supporters of their team. But why do football fans bond so intensely with their club and their fellow fans, people they may have never met?</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>We used a decade of club statistics to select the five most consistently successful and the five least successful clubs in the UK’s top football league, the Premiership. The top five clubs selected were Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. The bottom five clubs were Crystal Palace, Hull, Norwich, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.</p>
<p>We adjusted our analysis based on the size of the fan base, which varied between the top and bottom performing clubs. Over 750 fans completed an online questionnaire, answering questions like how much they felt other fans were kin and how willing they would be to jump in front of a train to save the lives of five fellow fans. </p>
<p>They also answered questions about the long-term dysphoria – feelings of unease or dissatisfaction – they’d experienced. We measured dysphoria using both the survey answers and by analysing fans’ written responses to an open-ended question about their most important fan experience.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crystal Palace fans at a match." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379787/original/file-20210120-19-f5ffr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crystal Palace fans were most likely to be willing to sacrifice themselves for other fans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_F.C.#/media/File:Selhurst_Park.jpg">ChristalPalace/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, Crystal Palace fans were most willing to sacrifice themselves for fellow fans, with 34.5% answering that they would. Arsenal’s were least likely, with 9.4% saying they’d make that sacrifice.</p>
<p>Manchester City fans bonded to one another in a way similar to fans of the less successful clubs, perhaps reflecting their more recent status as a successful club. Still, they did not significantly differ in their willingness to sacrifice themselves when compared to local rivals Manchester United.</p>
<p>The club whose fans reported the greatest social ties was the least successful club: Hull. In contrast, the club reporting the fewest social ties was Chelsea – historically, one of the most successful.</p>
<h2>Why?</h2>
<p>Previous research has suggested <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44292">shared dysphoric group experiences</a> such as relegation, or a bitter derby loss, lead to bonding with other group members. While euphoric events, such as winning a competition, can be <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160427">powerful in bonding us to our groups</a>, it is the dysphoric events that really stay with us. These have the most potential to cement us to our groups, through a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0145611">process of reflecting</a> on these challenging experiences.</p>
<p>An alternative explanation for the exceptional loyalty of fans of losing teams is provided by <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=voeQ-8CASacC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=cognitive+dissonance&ots=9z43Muoexz&sig=LQM0z4jhHBkTeREc2XAnhkHC2qY#v=onepage&q=cognitive%20dissonance&f=false">cognitive dissonance theory</a>. As humans, it is highly stressful to behave in a way that contradicts one of our beliefs or values. For long-suffering fans of poorly performing clubs the answer to the question “why do I do put myself through this?” could well be “because I love the club so much”. This might be an attempt to reduce the dissonance of spending lots of time and money on a club that never “pays out” with victory. </p>
<p>Yet for dissonance to occur, a fan’s willingness to suffer for the group needs to be perceived as voluntary. In theory, fans can opt-out of their football support at any time. But in reality, most fans are recruited through existing relational ties – for example, through a parent, cousin or friend. This can lead to complex and enduring networks that are hard to cut off.</p>
<h2>Identity fusion</h2>
<p>A better understanding of identity fusion has huge potential benefits for clubs and wider society. Policing football in London alone costs around <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2018/1559">£4 million in</a> the UK each year.</p>
<p>Identity fusion among fans could be channelled into self-policing behaviour, in which fans act peacefully because it can benefit their group. Clubs across the leagues could benefit from a social cohesion approach in a bid to retain “fair-weather fans”. For instance, they might encourage fans to come together after defeat to reflect on how they’ve shared the experience.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/footballs-gender-problem-from-the-pitch-to-the-boardroom-women-are-still-being-blocked-from-the-top-jobs-106905">Football's gender problem: from the pitch to the boardroom, women are still being blocked from the top jobs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many football clubs are now leading examples of corporate social responsibility, involved in ventures such as the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341056317_The_Twinning_Project_how_football_the_beautiful_game_can_be_used_to_reduce_reoffending">Twinning Project</a>, which pairs clubs with their local prison with a view to reducing re-offending. </p>
<p>There are many critical social areas that football has a stake in, including sexism, racism, homophobia and continued efforts to fight the pandemic. If fans can be united in kit, united in the face of defeat, and ultimately united in humanity, then clubs are uniquely positioned to tackle these, some of the biggest issues of our times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martha Newson receives funding from the UKRI and holds a Future Leaders Fellowship at the University of Kent.</span></em></p>Some fans even said they would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, giving their own lives to save other supporters of their team.Martha Newson, Cognitive Anthropologist, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1414902020-06-25T22:38:45Z2020-06-25T22:38:45ZLiverpool, Premier League champions: ‘A proud supporter of the Reds, I felt blue for 30 years. No longer’<p>What were you doing 30 years ago? Were you even born? Let me mark your card here. Research at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN">CERN</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland">Switzerland</a> by British computer scientist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee">Tim Berners-Lee</a> in 1989-90 would eventually result in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web">World Wide Web</a>, linking <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext">hypertext</a> documents into an information system accessible from any node on the network (thanks for that, Wikipedia). In other words, the internet was just being conceived.</p>
<p>There was no social media back then, little reality TV. Mobile phones – when you knew someone who had one – were like bricks. Elton John was top of the charts – can’t remember what with, but it was probably on a compact disc. </p>
<p>Try describing this cultural and information wasteland to anyone under 30 today. It sounds like an era of steam engines, sticky-backed plastic, string and cardboard. And it was the last time my team, Liverpool FC, were league champions in England. When you grow up with your football team winning, 30 years is a lifetime. </p>
<p>So it was a bit bizarre, watching two clubs, Manchester City and Chelsea, neither of which I’d ever want to win anything, knowing that if Chelsea could stop City winning, Liverpool would secure the greatest prize in English football, for the first time in 30 years.</p>
<p>And when, 13 minutes from the end, with the scores level – still enough for Liverpool to take the title – Chelsea scored a penalty to go 2-1 up against ten men, I knew it was finally heading to Anfield. There was nobody in the stadium to burst into rapturous applause, but hearts were racing across Merseyside, and around the world among followers of Liverpool FC.</p>
<h2>It’s been a long wait</h2>
<p>Back in the summer of 1990, I had just blagged a gig for The Times to write a piece about fans at the European Cup final in Vienna: <a href="https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/video/classics/0233-0e67b2243d91-76c9a44d62a5-1000--1990-final-highlights-milan-1-0-benfica/">AC Milan 1, Benfica 0</a>. Everyone was perfectly behaved and I remember composing some stupid remark home about these wonderful people and how little street theft and disorder there was in places abroad such as Milan. Until, of course, I actually visited Milan.</p>
<p>Back then, this was about the only way that English fans could connect to elite continental football. We were still banned as a country from European club football because of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32898612">Heysel Stadium disaster</a> in 1985 where 39 people died and 600 were injured as some of my club’s fans disgraced themselves and the nation in Brussels – and plenty of people back home had had about enough of dismal stadia and the brutality of English fan culture. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344174/original/file-20200625-33557-v567sv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Liverpool till I die: the author in 1968 as a young footballer with Bootle Grammar under-15 side, Merseyside Schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The shame of Heysel, weirdly, seemed only to spur Liverpool FC to new heights on the pitch, confirm the club’s domestic power and its importance for local people. We even won the domestic double in 1986, almost did it again in 1988, and almost did it again in 1989. Famously, losing the title to Arsenal in 1989 in dramatic, last gasp, fashion came only weeks after the shock of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19545126">Hillsborough disaster</a>. We were still in turmoil. I sat on the steps of the Kop that night as Arsenal celebrated, thinking that Liverpool winning the league title again wouldn’t have felt right with so many dead fans to grieve for. I wasn’t heartbroken at defeat.</p>
<p>One more league title did come, in 1990, but by then our charismatic managers and the great Liverpool players of this era – Kenny Dalglish was still manager, but his glory days were behind him. And so many others – a stellar roll call – Souness, Hansen, Rush, even John Barnes, were gone, past their best or retired. Their replacements were often sub-standard. It was the end of a glorious road, 25 years of fantastic success.</p>
<h2>Wilderness years</h2>
<p>Liverpool FC would now lose traction, fall behind their key rivals. This was mainly because the club was still run as a superior corner shop, reluctant to embrace change – club secretary Peter Robinson even opposed new computer software for the finance staff. </p>
<p>But it was also because the longer-term baggage of these awful disasters of the 1980s engulfed the club, its staff and its supporters. The old Anfield boot room aura of competitive coaching advantage would now no longer work in this new, more global, age of sports science, international player recruitment, and billionaire foreign owners. Buying the best of British was no guarantee of success, as it once had been for Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s.</p>
<p>The aftermath of Hillsborough also produced an agenda for nationwide stadium modernisation, a moment when the game itself in England was completely reconstructed and repackaged. This came with the birth of the brassy new, commodified FA Premier League in 1992, the rise of satellite TV as a major new funder for English football, and the globalisation of the elite levels of the English game, made possible by new technology and new marketing and communication techniques. Liverpool FC took time to reconnect, still stuck in their old ways.</p>
<h2>Klopp rules the Kop</h2>
<p>It has taken 30 years for us to get back to the very top – the occasional wonderful European triumph and other domestic trophies notwithstanding (I have seen them all). We almost went under completely in 2010, rescued by our current owners, the Americans at FSG, only at the 11th hour in the High Court. In 2014, a cruel Steven Gerrard slip robbed us, at the last, of a certain title. There were tears on the Kop.</p>
<p>A year later, and a hippy-looking, bearded smoker breezed in from Germany, apparently drunk on Kool-Aid, to tell us that Bill Shankly himself had been resurrected with a dentist’s smile, and that he was going to build a new fortress at Anfield. This new coach was soon even scolding his own supporters in the Liverpool Main Stand for leaving matches too early. Who was this guy?</p>
<p>Jurgen Klopp has somehow whizzed Liverpool football club back to the 1960s, when the city was iridescent and its ambitious young Scottish manager and his players believed anything was achievable – and then went on to show how. The “<a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/what-is-heavy-metal-football-how-has-jurgen-klopp-used-it-at/gvxzni0i7rne1enr3bayptwcr">heavy metal</a>” global team Klopp has built in five years, with its Dutchmen, Brazilians, Africans and Brits, is the best I have seen at Anfield – and I have pretty much seen them all. It may even be the best ever to play at the highest level in the English game. It is close to perfect.</p>
<p>Which is why it is both agony and ecstasy now, watching Liverpool, my club, claim this first title for 30 long years, not from my Block 207, Row 15, Seat 60 place on the Kop, but from the unwelcome comfort of my living room. Nobody is even sitting in the stadium where I should be. At least the season has not been voided as some scared accountants and club chief executives initially wanted. And not even Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Manchester City could stop us. </p>
<p>But COVID-19 has meant our own, long-awaited, 19th league title will have to be consumed and celebrated home and alone. It is hard to take – I do want to get out and scream – but after 30 years, and in the current circumstances, I can live with that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Liverpool fan John Williams has banished the ghosts of 30 years. Liverpool are champions of the English Premier League and, as far as he is concerned, things are as they should be.John Williams, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1394712020-06-11T02:55:24Z2020-06-11T02:55:24ZFooty crowds: what the AFL and NRL need to turn sport into show business<p>This week the deputy premier of New South Wales, home to most teams in Australia’s National Rugby League, suggested getting football fans back in the stands might be an issue of fundamental rights.</p>
<p>If 20,000 people could rally in support of Black Lives Matter in central Sydney, John Barilaro <a href="https://www.espn.com.au/nrl/story/_/id/29289371/nsw-deputy-premier-pushing-40000-nrl-crowd">reportedly said</a>, the NRL could handle similar in a stadium: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>So as far as I’m concerned the evidence is clear that we can open up these restrictions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This narrative should not obscure the more obvious story here: of elite sport as entertainment business.</p>
<p>The accounts of the National Rugby League and the bigger Australian Football League are representative of professional sports leagues around the world. Most of the riches now rest on the audience watching at home. They don’t need fans in the stands for ticket sales. They do need them to make their sports great television.</p>
<p>In the case of the NRL, game receipts accounted for less than 10% of its revenue in 2019. The AFL, with crowd sizes slightly more than double the NRL, may make 15% – not much more in the greater scheme of things. </p>
<p>For both leagues more than 70% of revenue flows from broadcast rights and corporate sponsors. </p>
<p>The business model is simple: attract a broadcast audience, sell that audience to advertisers. So the critical metric is viewing numbers. </p>
<p>But what viewers want is excitement and a sense of occasion. These are hard to evoke without a crowd.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-crowd-noise-matter-139662">Why does crowd noise matter?</a>
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<h2>Empty experiences</h2>
<p>The AFL and NRL both played rounds in front of empty stands prior to suspending their seasons in late March. The unaugmented viewing experience was deemed unsatisfactory, as Nine’s NRL head, Simon Fordham, explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The players are out there giving 110%. The commentators are reacting to what they are seeing and also delivering emotional, powerful calls. But the crowd is there just to mesh those two things together.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both Nine and Fox Sport <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/fake-yeews-the-story-behind-the-nrl-s-new-faux-crowd-noise-20200529-p54xsc.html">added canned crowd noises</a> to NRL games when the season resumed a fortnight ago. Viewer reactions were mixed. </p>
<p>The first match of the round, a Thursday night clash between the Parramatta Eels and Brisbane Broncos, was the most watched <a href="https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/05/29/1.3-million-reasons-to-smile-nrl-return-most-watched-since-2014/">regular season NRL game since 2014</a>. Channel Nine scored more than 951,000 viewers, and Fox Sports 355,000. </p>
<p>A week later, however, Brisbane’s match against the Sydney Roosters scored Channel Nine just 619,000 viewers, and Fox Sports 216,000. </p>
<p>The AFL has agreed to its broadcast partners, Channel Seven and Foxtel, also using <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/channel-7-releases-footage-of-afl-game-with-artificial-crowd-noise-c-1002712?utm_campaign=share-icons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&tid=1589792028676">canned crowd noises</a>. With the AFL season resuming this week, we’ll get to judge its success. </p>
<h2>Direct and indirect values</h2>
<p>The NRL’s annual report shows game receipts were less than 10% of its 2019 revenue of almost <a href="https://www.nrl.com/siteassets/2020/nrl_annualreport_2019_hr.pdf">A$556 million</a>. Broadcast revenue – from Channel Nine and Fox Sports – was about A$324 million, more than 60%. “Sponsorships and wagering” (revenue from poker machines in league clubs) made another 16%. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341054/original/file-20200611-114080-12g1l92.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The AFL’s annual report does not state game receipt revenue. This is rolled into a wider figure for “commercial operations”, which includes sponsorship and wagering.</p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341055/original/file-20200611-114118-1f1t4am.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>But the AFL report does detail crowd numbers. We can use those to make a ballpark estimate of game revenue based on what we know about the NRL’s receipts and crowd sizes. </p>
<p>An average of 35,105 people attended the 198 games of the AFL’s 2019 premiership season. The NRL annual report does not specify attendance numbers, but most other sources suggest average match attendances of 15,000 to 16,000 at its 201 games in 2019.</p>
<p>This is an admittedly rough calculation because there are many possible variables. But assuming most things being equal, the AFL’s game receipts for more than double the NRL’s numbers would be worth about A$115 million – 14.5% of its total revenue of <a href="https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2020/03/18/925fd047-a9b6-4f7d-8046-138a56ba36f4/2019-AFL-Annual-Report.pdf">A$794 million</a>.</p>
<p>Which is not insignificant. On the other hand, there’s more than A$500 million flowing from television audiences.</p>
<h2>Broadcast pressure</h2>
<p>So the number to focus on over the coming weeks to judge the health of both codes will be the average number TV viewers per game. For the NRL, that figure <a href="http://www.footyindustry.com/?p=4923">was 459,000</a> in 2019. For the AFL, it was a little more than <a href="http://www.footyindustry.com/?p=7730">1 million</a>. </p>
<p>Both leagues are already under pressure to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/we-want-a-new-deal-channel-nine-tells-nrl-it-won-t-make-its-next-payment-20200326-p54ecv.html">renegotiate current deals</a> with their broadcast partners, who have cancelled <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/seven-foxtel-withhold-afl-payment-but-new-contract-nears-20200529-p54xjy.html">quarterly payments</a>. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-spit-to-scrums-how-can-sports-players-minimise-their-coronavirus-risk-139034">From spit to scrums. How can sports players minimise their coronavirus risk?</a>
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<p>They’ll do what they can to make their product a ratings winner. Expect more experiments with crowd augmentation, and for a harder push to bring back real fans if those experiments fail to mesh.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139471/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abdel K. Halabi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The business model of the AFL and NRL is simple: attract a television audience, sell that audience to advertisers. To do that they need crowds.Abdel K. Halabi, Senior Lecturer in Accounting , Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1281552019-12-05T10:48:14Z2019-12-05T10:48:14ZManchester City v Manchester United: a battle for ideological dominance<p>The Manchester derby is <a href="https://theconversation.com/manchester-a-city-united-by-sport-76186">always a key clash in the Premier League calendar</a> and all eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium when City take on United, as the two footballing giants face-off for the first time this season. Yet the confrontation will be significant for reasons that go way beyond goals and titles. </p>
<p>So far this season, City have fallen some way short of the exacting standards they have set themselves over recent years under Pep Guardiola’s tutelage. Meanwhile, United is still immersed in post-Ferguson angst as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer grapples with his team’s continuing underachievement.</p>
<p>Adding some spice, each of the clubs’ off-field struggles are no less troubling. City has seen a Court for Arbitration in Sport ruling go against it as the club deals with charges that it <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50435304">breached UEFA’s Financial Fair Play</a> (FFP) regulations. Over at United, fans remain concerned about the club’s owners and their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/oct/08/manchester-united-problems-ole-gunnar-solskjaer">failure to deliver the levels of success</a> they have previously enjoyed.</p>
<p>Yet despite the tensions associated with the head-to-head and the perpetual financial waltz of trying to work within the constraints of FFP, a bigger battle is being fought out in Manchester – one that is largely anonymous though profoundly more important than anything that a single Premier League game can manifest.</p>
<p>In 2005, Manchester United was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/may/16/newsstory.manchesterunited">acquired by the Glazers</a>, a family of American sports entrepreneurs and owners of National Football League franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Glazers are steeped in the traditions of a US domestic sports economy that remains the largest in the world, possibly accounting for 40% of the total <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjt0-eu8ZbmAhUhQEEAHZ9IBEMQFjAAegQIBBAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pwc.com%2Fgx%2Fen%2Fhospitality-leisure%2Fpdf%2Fchanging-the-game-outlook-for-the-global-sports-market-to-2015.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1JZkn_P_4hYpirGY-cbS6B">global sports industry</a>.</p>
<p>The growth and dominance of the US sports industry remains striking, as it has been governed largely by the free market. Unlike most countries in the world, America effectively has no government sports ministry. Instead, sport in the US is driven by commercial principles, where profit rules and financial returns are generated by and for private investors.</p>
<p>In many ways, Manchester United has become the embodiment of this western, capitalist model of sport. While costs are carefully controlled, revenue growth is pursued with gusto. This has constantly reaffirmed United’s position as being one of the most <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49808790">commercially valuable football clubs in the world</a>, even though the club has been struggling on the pitch. </p>
<p>It also sees the organisation locked into a perpetual cycle of rights sales. The club now makes money on deals with anything from <a href="http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/manchester_united_agree_deal_with_japans_kansai">Japanese paint brands</a> to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgekoutsakis/2018/10/01/first-50-year-old-chivas-whisky-celebrates-manchester-uniteds-1968-cup-victory/#19f7c5bdb411">Scottish whisky distillers</a>.</p>
<p>United needs a win this weekend, not just for the club but also for the capitalist ideology that it represents. The club <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/773f17be-1320-11e9-a581-4ff78404524e">goes to great lengths</a> in its pursuit of revenues, though its <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/07/football/manchester-united-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-spt-intl/index.html">recent travails</a> have taken some of the lustre off the brand. Victory at the Etihad will say just as much about the best way to run a football club as it does the team’s capabilities. </p>
<h2>The ‘rentier state’ owners</h2>
<p>A cursory glance at the list of Manchester City’s commercial partners might lead one to conclude that the club is of the same ilk as United. However, City is a very different proposition. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/sep/01/manchestercity.premierleague">In 2008</a>, the east Manchester outfit was acquired by the <a href="https://www.cityfootballgroup.com/our-business/ownership/">Abu Dhabi United Group</a> for Development and Investment, a state investment vehicle.</p>
<p>Hence, City is owned and run by a petrodollar-fuelled Gulf state, which exhibits the characteristics of a <a href="http://www.ejinsight.com/20191125-the-rentier-states-ruling-football/">“rentier state”</a>. As was discussed in a <a href="https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/sport-politics-and-society-in-the-middle-east/">recently published book chapter</a> that I wrote, among their characteristics rentier states are typically dependent upon natural resource deposits for revenues which are, in turn, used to invest in overseas rent-generating assets. </p>
<p>These rents are then utilised domestically as a substitute for taxation and spending, which mitigates the need for democratic structures and processes. Manchester City-generated revenues therefore play their part in keeping Abu Dhabi’s population happy.</p>
<p>The importance of Asian state ownership at City is further illustrated by the way in which its owners use the club as an <a href="http://www.ejinsight.com/20190225-manchester-city-chengdu-deal-a-matter-of-business-or-politics/">instrument of state policy</a>, notably in international relations and diplomacy. For instance, the City Football Group (CFG, of which Manchester City is a constituent element) is part-owned by Chinese investors, a stake that was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/01/manchester-city-265m-deal-chinese-investment-group">publicly announced</a> to coincide with Chinese president Xi’s Jinping’s visit to Britain in 2015. </p>
<p>Utilising City as a policy instrument has enabled all manner of deals between Abu Dhabi and Beijing to be agreed. Earlier this year, as the football world responded to CFG’s announcement that it will set up a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/20/manchester-city-football-group-buy-chinese-club">franchise club in Chengdu</a> (China), few people noticed the simultaneous announcement that Abu Dhabi’s state airline Etihad (the main shirt sponsor of Manchester City) <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/etihad-airways-to-deploy-new-787-dreamliners-to-china">will establish new links with …. Chengdu</a>.</p>
<p>The rentier state game plan in football is already <a href="http://www.ejinsight.com/20191125-the-rentier-states-ruling-football/">well established</a>, has been playing out <a href="https://theconversation.com/english-football-a-proxy-battleground-for-feuding-gulf-states-117812">for most of this year</a> and, indeed, looks <a href="https://www.policyforum.net/a-different-kind-of-sporting-contest/">set to intensify</a> as we head into 2020. A City victory in this weekend’s Manchester derby will add impetus to an increasingly powerful influence on the sport.</p>
<h2>Not just a football match</h2>
<p>City versus United is therefore no longer just a football match, it is a front line in what has fast become an <a href="http://www.ejinsight.com/20171122-europe-s-flat-footed-response-to-the-rise-of-asian-sports/">ideological war between the West and the East</a>. Sure, the war doesn’t solely involve a battle for the heart and soul of football. Similar skirmishes are also being played out in various sports and across other industrial sectors such as real estate, financial technologies and leisure. </p>
<p>Two decades ago, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/international-sports_b_1246775">western capitalism ruled</a> and United dominated. But the world order is now changing with Asian states in the ascendancy. Perhaps no surprise, then, that City is now dominant. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, as with many conflicts, there is collateral damage which, in this case, seems to be the football fans of Manchester. City supporters from Openshaw and West Gorton no doubt remain nostalgic for the good old days of Francis Lee and Colin Bell. Over in Stretford and Gorse Hill, United fans will often hark back to the days of the <a href="https://www.manutd.com/en/history/munich-remembered/the-busby-babes">Busby Babes</a> and <a href="https://www.manutd.com/en/players-and-staff/detail/EricCantona">King Eric</a>.</p>
<p>But these once locally embedded social institutions, which were a tangible manifestation of peoples’ geographic identity and community, have now simply become instruments in a global ideological war. </p>
<p>However fans might reminisce, the reality is that the clubs are no longer “theirs”. Instead, the avaricious corporate appetites of western capitalism and the rent hungry sheikhs of the Gulf are now engaged in playing the biggest derby game of them all – the battle for ideological dominance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The clubs no longer ‘belong’ to the fans - they have become instruments in an ideological war between Western capitalism and the rent hungry sheikhs of the Gulf states.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sports Enterprise, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1260542019-11-07T11:47:24Z2019-11-07T11:47:24ZRacism in Italian football reflects the everyday migrant experience<p>Italian striker Mario Balotelli has hit out at the “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50295523">small minded</a>” fans who have once again targeted him with racist abuse. The Brescia player kicked the ball into the crowd and threatened to walk off the pitch after being on the end of racist chants during the team’s away game against Verona. His anger is understandable. It’s not the first time Balotelli has been targeted. But very little seems to be being done in Italy – a country where racism in football has <a href="https://www.ultimouomo.com/razzismo-calcio-italiano-breve-storia/">a long history</a>.</p>
<p>It’s not that these racist events aren’t happening across the whole of Europe. In October, England’s Euro 2020 qualifier put the issue under the spotlight in the UK when black players on the men’s team were targeted with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50212951">racist chants by Bulgarian fans</a> in Sofia. And, as many pundits and ex-players commented then, England <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49089209">has its own problems</a> that need to be addressed.</p>
<p>But in Italy, the issue of racism is even more acute. In September, Romelu Lukaku, the Belgium and Inter Milan striker, was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49546433">racially abused</a> during a match in Cagliari, forcing him to <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/02/inter-milan-striker-romelu-lukaku-speaks-instagram-receiving-racist-abuse-cagliari-10671261/">speak out</a>. Balotelli has previously been targeted with the chant “non ci sono negri Italiani” (“there are no Italian blacks”) <a href="https://st.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Sport/2009/11/Cori_razzisti-Balotelli-Juventus-Bordeaux.shtml?uuid=acdebdc0-da63-11de-9109-5de42fb9e91e">by Juventus fans</a>. Not to mention the now standard monkey chants endured by players like <a href="http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/calcio/2013/04/23/Razzismo-Shaarawy-insulti-sono-inaccettabili_8598833.html">Stephan El Shaarawy</a> (Milan), <a href="https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2013/01/03/dal-pubblico-cori-razzisti-sospesa-lamichevole-pro-patria-milan/460469/">Kevin Prince-Boateng</a> (Milan) and <a href="https://www.lastampa.it/sport/calcio/2010/10/18/news/i-buu-di-cagliari-che-autorete-br-partita-sospesa-poi-ci-pensa-eto-o-1.36997863">Samuel Eto’o</a> (Inter Milan) in recent times. Indeed, in an angry post on Instagram following the latest attacks on Balotelli, Boateng said: “NOTHING has changed. But we don’t give up.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B4cuviqIIVt","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Endemic racism</h2>
<p>Between 2011 and 2016, the Observatory on Racism in Football (ORAC) counted 249 racist incidents in Italian stadiums. But in the 2017-18 season alone, ORAC registered 60 racist incidents. One can simply dismiss these episodes as the rotten behaviour of the ultras (the most extreme fringes of football supporters), but the truth is that racism is not confined to these extremist fringes. Racism also penetrates the institutions that regulate Italian football.</p>
<p>The case of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/05/fifa-italian-fa-president-carlo-tavecchio-banana-eaters">Carlo Tavecchio</a>, the former president of the Italian Football Federation, is a prime example. In July 2014, during his presidential election campaign, Tavecchio criticised the excessive number of foreign players in Italian professional clubs, referring to players who “previously ate bananas” suddenly becoming first-team players. Despite this overtly racist remark, Tavecchio was elected president of the Italian FA and cleared of any wrongdoing by the Italian football authorities, whereas both UEFA and FIFA issued a temporary ban on him.</p>
<p>The world of football punditry also doesn’t seem immune from racism. In September, Luciano Passirani, a sports commentator for the Milan-based local TV Telelombardia, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49713647">was sacked</a> for making an ugly racist comment about Lukaku.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1191646732033183744"}"></div></p>
<h2>Ingrained in law</h2>
<p><a href="http://newitalians.eu/en/">Our research</a> (which involved speaking to hundreds of Italian children of migrants in person and on social media) found that race is embedded in the way many Italians look at themselves. The Italian nation is thought to be constituted first and foremost by white Catholics, even if “Catholic” has gradually lost its religious dimension and become more of a cultural marker. </p>
<p>Despite various reform attempts, the nationality law (which lays down how people can get citizenship) privileges the so-called “bloodline” and marginalises the children of migrants who were born or educated in Italy. For example, the grandchildren of an Italian who migrated to Argentina last century and who no longer speak the language and have no connections to Italy are more entitled to obtain Italian citizenship than the children of Nigerian parents born or raised in Italy.</p>
<p>Our study found that neither the law nor the most of Italian society regards these children of migrants – also known as the “<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Balotelli-Generation-Inclusion-Belonging-Knowledge/dp/3034325029">Balotelli generation</a>” or <a href="https://www.secondegenerazioni.it/">G2</a> – as Italian.</p>
<h2>‘You speak just like me’</h2>
<p>Italian children of migrants <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tran.12236">told us many stories</a> that captured the sense of displacement, puzzlement and surprise that white Italians experience when they hear someone – who doesn’t look like them – speaking like them. Let’s take for instance the experience of a Korean man who grew up in Bergamo, in northern Italy. After being adopted at a very young age by an Italian couple. When South Korea beat Italy in the football World Cup in 2002, he said suddenly all the city’s Asians “became Koreans”.</p>
<p>When he ran into a group of four youngsters in a car at a set of traffic lights, one of them shouted in dialect: “Bastard Koreans, get the fuck out of here!” He responded angrily in the same dialect. “They first looked puzzled,” he said, “but then at the green light they skidded away and kept insulting me.”</p>
<p>A young Italian woman, born and raised in Italy to an Eritrean mother and an Ethiopian father, told a similar story that happened on the day Italy won the World Cup in 2006.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We were all out celebrating this victory. Everybody was screaming and shouting because everybody was happy. There was also a group of Senegalese men, who were celebrating with their drums, the djembe. It was a happy moment, but then a group of Italians approached them and told them that they had to stop, because it was the celebration of the Italians and they were not Italians.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similar stories of <a href="http://effec89.altervista.org/documentation/Libri/News/Komla-Ebri,%20Kossi%20-%20Imbarazzismi.pdf">everyday imbarazzismi</a>) (a mix of embarrassment and racism) were recounted over and over again by our participants. The fact a person is born and brought up in Italy hardly seems to matter. What matters is their face and the colour of their skin. Because for those who regard Italy as an ethno-racial community, someone who is black or has almond eyes simply cannot be a real Italian.</p>
<p>If racism in Italian football is to stop, it has to stop first in Italian society. Kicking it out from the stadiums would achieve little if it is not kicked out from society first.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marco Antonsich has received funding from the European Commission. </span></em></p>Race is embedded into the way many Italians look at themselves. The Italian nation is thought to be constituted first and foremost by white Catholics.Marco Antonsich, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1190422019-06-21T13:53:11Z2019-06-21T13:53:11ZEgypt’s powerful football fans and politics: a toxic mix that could combust during Afcon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280530/original/file-20190620-149835-ewbkzn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Egyptian policemen pose in front of the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt, where Afcon takes place.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Khaled Elfiqi/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the 32nd <a href="https://www.cafonline.com/total-africa-cup-of-nations/">Africa Cup of Nations</a> (Afcon) opens in Cairo, Egypt, the focus will be on the games between the continent’s top football teams to see who is going to raise the cup on Friday 19 July at the end of the three-week tournament. But behind the scenes the North African state’s security agencies will be keeping a close eye on a certain group of fans, known as “ultras”.</p>
<p>Ultras are fanatical football fans who organise themselves into support groups, often attached to clubs but also often reflecting a particular class or brand of politics. The ultras movement <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110713024313/http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2010/11/2/we-dont-fight-we-paint-flags-instead.html">began</a> in Italy in the 1950s. Today they are also prominent in countries like Germany, France, Poland, Serbia Scotland, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. </p>
<p>They can often be seen strutting their stuff at major matches, providing sounds, visuals and noise through songs, chants, fireworks, instruments, flags and banners. Some ultras have political connotations – left or right wing, fascist, communist or revolutionary. A number of ultra groups are <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/fascism-and-football-death-and-hatred-in-the-soccer-stadium">racist and violent</a> and some are linked to <a href="https://thesefootballtimes.co/2015/05/30/the-importance-of-ultras-in-europe-and-south-america/">criminal gangs</a>. But most are simply passionate supporters.</p>
<p>There’s tension around the security issue because of the role previously played by ultra groups in Egypt. The situation has been so tense that the government has gone as far as banning groups of fans linked to some of the country’s top teams. But the ban goes against the Confederation of African Football’s wishes to have stadia filled to the brim. </p>
<p>Egypt has lifted some of the restrictions it imposed on fans. But some remain in place, including a ban on ultras attending matches. The hope is that this will keep a lid on any outbreak of violence.</p>
<h2>Revolution</h2>
<p>The close link between football and politics often manifests in ultras groups. In Egypt, the powerful ultras played a <a href="https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/05/10/the-chaotic-world-of-al-ahly/">crucial role</a> in the revolution of 2011.</p>
<p>Two ultra groups – <a href="https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/05/10/the-chaotic-world-of-al-ahly/">Al Ahlawy</a>, that supports Al Ahly, Egypt’s iconic club and its major rivals, Zamalek’s White Knight ultras – marched together in their thousands on Cairo’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12332601">Tahrir Square</a> in 2011. They became a leading voice on the front line against Hosni Mubarak’s regime, helping unseat the despot after 30 years of autocratic rule.</p>
<p>The influential revolutionary group’s role in the events of 2011 has been written about extensively by senior football writer, Matt Gault. As he’s observed, it was a time when only two groups in Egypt were allowed to air their views: the Muslim Brotherhood and the ultras.</p>
<p>Al Ahly is huge in Egypt. It was named <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/sport/egypts-al-ahli-named-african-club-of-century-491787">African Club of the Century</a> by the continent’s football umbrella body in 2000 for its astonishing record: eight times African Champions League winners, 38 Egypt league winners and 35 times Egypt cup winners. The illustrious club’s highly organised ultras movement, <a href="https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/05/10/the-chaotic-world-of-al-ahly/">Al Ahlawy</a>, was formed in 2007.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://thesefootballtimes.co/author/mattgault92/">Gault</a> wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Ahlawy provided fuel for the revolution which ultimately overthrew Mubarak. They manned barricades, participated in songs of protest and produced banners denouncing the regime of Mubarak.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The author observes that as a result of this, the Ahlawy today has an exalted position in the hearts and minds of Egyptians:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They were seen to be the protectors of the revolution, the voice of the poor and disenfranchised.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Arab Spring</h2>
<p>One of the questions around Egypt’s bid to host this Afcon, after Cameroon was <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/cameroon-stripped-of-afcon-2019-hosting-duties/a-46531556">stripped of the rights</a>, was the issue of security. It is a pertinent question considering that the Egyptian state has been, since the Arab Spring, engaged in a battle with the ultras.</p>
<p>Their strained relationship got even worse after <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-allows-football-fans-not-ultras-back-stadiums">clashes</a> following a match in Port Said city led to the death of 74 Al-Ahly club fans in February 2012. Fans accused police and paid hooligans of orchestrating the violence, with it being perceived as revenge for the 2011 uprising.</p>
<p>The state banned fans from attending matches after that. The ban was partially lifted last year but only 5,000 spectators will be allowed into games initially, and ultras will remain banned. </p>
<p>These clampdowns by Egypt reflect similar activities in Tunisia and in Morocco that are designed to limit activities of the ultras. While the state has generally used security systems to silence the youth, they had been largely unsuccessful in doing so within the football stadium. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1073977/egypt-named-as-hosts-of-2019-africa-cup-of-nations">award to Egypt</a> of hosting rights to the Afcon was a mild surprise. Clearly, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had few options. Cameroon clearly <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20181130-cameroon-stripped-hosting-2019-africa-cup-nations">wasn’t ready</a>. The only two countries that stepped up to the plate as alternative sites were Egypt and South Africa. South Africa had been a more recent host and its broken diplomatic relationship with influential Morocco was clearly a negative. </p>
<p>Thus, Egypt, despite the underlying security issues, offered the better opportunity – at least in the Confederation’s eyes. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, to win the bid to host the Afcon, the Egypt had to assure CAF that the state would relax the rule limiting spectators at Egyptian stadia. CAF needs spectators at games. Egypt complied. But, as the Afcon approached there were reports of <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/amnesty-criticises-arrest-of-football-fans-before-afcon2019-opener-26808933">ongoing arrests</a> of members of the ultras – most recently 30 were arrested in connection with “terror offences”. </p>
<p>The Egyptian state clearly believes the arrests will prevent ultras from being at the games. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the state hopes that fan-instigated stadium riots will not occur during the Afcon. While the ongoing clampdowns may make the state feel that this problem has been nipped in the bud, there are uncertainties. Hopefully, for the Confederation and Egypt, the Afcon will be all about football and not about ultras or social problems that inspire the protests.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chuka Onwumechili does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The nervous Egyptian state hopes that fan-instigated stadium riots will not occur during the Afcon, following a clampdown on some fans.Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181362019-06-21T12:26:12Z2019-06-21T12:26:12ZHow mafia and corruption scandals rocked Italian football and left fans with a crisis of faith<p>Football could be considered Italy’s <a href="https://globalteamevents.com/soccer-in-italy-a-look-at-the-culture-and-history-of-italys-most-popular-sport/">most popular sport</a>, with world-class teams <a href="https://www.forbes.com/soccer-valuations/list/">worth billions</a> attracting <a href="https://www.pwc.com/it/en/publications/assets/docs/reportcalcio-2017.pdf">a dedicated following</a> across the country. But more than that, football shapes the nation’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970008721268">collective identity</a>, bringing people from the smallest village to the biggest city <a href="http://www.cussoc.it/index.php/journal/article/view/37">together in their love</a> for “the beautiful game”. </p>
<p>But over the past decade, media investigations and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Corruption-Mafia-Power-and-Italian-Soccer/Testa-Sergi/p/book/9781138289932">research have uncovered</a> an unseemly lack of virtue within the industry. Mafia infiltration and corruption have come to characterise Italian football to the point that malpractice, deviance and criminal behaviour might seem to be the norm. </p>
<p>For example, fans of one of Italy’s most successful teams, Juventus Football Club (also known as “Juve”), have been dismayed by a series of <a href="https://www.thelocal.it/20170126/top-italian-football-club-accused-of-mafia-links">corruption allegations</a>. In April 2019, the Italian Supreme Court <a href="https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2019/04/19/ndrangheta-in-curva-juve-cassazione-conferma-i-clan-controllavano-gli-ultras-per-spartirsi-i-ricavi-del-bagarinaggio/5122423/">ruled that</a> Juventus managers had supplied match tickets that were touted for profit by groups of hard-core fans, known as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/01/nside-talys-ultras-the-dangerous-fans-who-control-the-game">ultras</a>, under the control of individuals linked to the Calabrian mafia, known as <a href="http://theconversation.com/meet-the-ndrangheta-and-why-its-time-to-bust-some-myths-about-the-calabrian-mafia-54075">the ‘ndrangheta</a>. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-ndrangheta-and-why-its-time-to-bust-some-myths-about-the-calabrian-mafia-54075">Meet the ’Ndrangheta – and why it's time to bust some myths about the Calabrian mafia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In an earlier case, concluded in October 2018, former Juventus player and 2006 World Cup winner Vincenzo Iaquinta <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46048806">was sentenced</a> to two years in prison for firearms offences, in part of a larger trial concerning the infiltration of ‘ndrangheta clans in northern Italy. The footballer’s father was also sentenced to 19 years on mafia-related charges. </p>
<h2>Playing for power</h2>
<p>These incidents are not confined to one club – organised crime groups have interests at all levels of the sport. In 2018, football generated <a href="https://www.calcioefinanza.it/2018/07/26/quanto-vale-calcio-in-italia-2017-volume-affari/">€2.397 billion</a> in Italy alone – the bulk of which came from audiences, not even counting TV, sponsorship and advertising contracts. It’s obvious that an industry attracting such enormous amounts of money would make an appealing target for criminal groups that seek to accumulate profits and conceal the proceeds of crime. </p>
<p>But mafia-type groups are also <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319535678">driven by power</a>, with the aim of gaining influence through intimidation or protection and ultimately governing through violence or corruption. Criminal groups such as 'ndrangheta clans use football as a platform to boost their reputation and prestige through more or less legal activities. </p>
<p>Some clans will interfere with youth soccer associations, for example by sponsoring young players, buying or establishing teams or even “saving” them if they are in financial difficulties. A <a href="http://www.giuseppelumia.it/2014/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/17_12_13-Bozza-relazione-CALCIO.pdf">special committee</a> of the Italian parliamentary Antimafia Commission explored these occurrences throughout Italy in 2017. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280189/original/file-20190619-171271-1oxnz7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The ultras of AC Milan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/milan-italyseptember-28-2017-hooligans-soccer-726963664?studio=1">Shutterstock.</a></span>
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<p>Groups may use the leverage gained in local environments to exploit business opportunities or gain power at higher levels, too. In <a href="https://www.thelocal.it/20170126/top-italian-football-club-accused-of-mafia-links">the case of Juventus</a>, ticket touting offered clans control over a profitable market, as well as a means to exercise power over the <a href="https://theconversation.com/gunfire-streetfights-and-ultras-violence-bring-final-shame-to-italian-football-spectacle-26346">sometimes violent ultras</a>. This, in turn, boosts the reputation of the clans by demonstrating their capacity to exercise influence and control over people and territories using money and violence, if needed. </p>
<h2>Losing faith</h2>
<p>Mafia groups also use personal networks and contacts to fix match results and benefit from illegal betting networks. A famous case involving a Serie A footballer, <a href="https://thesefootballtimes.co/2014/05/06/the-mobsters-grandson-giuseppe-sculli-and-the-ndrangheta/">Giuseppe Sculli</a> – the grandson of a very prominent ‘ndrangheta boss – showed how mafia interests can be pursued through players or referees for criminal purposes. </p>
<p>In Italian football, match-fixing can occur at alarming scales. The Calciopoli scandal in 2004 eventually led to Juventus being <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/calciopoli-2006-match-fixing-scandal-juventus-relegated">relegated to the lower league</a> in 2006. During this case, <a href="http://static.fanpage.it.s3.amazonaws.com/socialmediafanpage/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/sentenza-calciopoli-motivazioni-appello.pdf">it was alleged</a> that different football players, referees and managers had created a system of corruption and sleaze which favoured the victories of certain teams, including in the Serie A. </p>
<p>Italians’ <a href="https://arenacalcio.it/2019/01/10/calciopoli-dodici-anni-dopo-secondo-moggi-e-tutto-da-rifare-con-laiuto-dei-tifosi/">faith in fairness in football</a> after the Calciopoli scandal has dropped drastically. But money laundering and fraud allegations continue to be made against those the highest level, as seen in the 2019 case concerning the <a href="https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2019/01/25/palermo-calcio-zamparini-ai-domiciliari-per-falso-in-bilancio-e-autoriciclaggio-lui-una-storia-di-vergogna-per-la-citta/4923791/">former president of the Palermo FC</a>, Massimo Zamparini. </p>
<p>While the state of Italian football seems especially bleak, allegations of corruption in this industry happen everywhere. In October 2018, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/10/belgian-football-clubs-raided-fraud-match-fixing-inquiry">Belgian authorities</a> charged five people in relation to a massive police inquiry into financial fraud and match-fixing. In May 2019, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48431483">Spanish police forces</a> arrested a number of La Liga and second division players and club executives as part of an investigation into match-fixing. Most recently, in June 2019, former UEFA president and Juventus football star <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/michel-platini-french-football-star-detained-on-suspicion-of-corruption-over-2022-world-cup-11743932">Michel Platini was arrested on suspicion of corruption</a> over the decision to name Qatar as host nation of the 2022 World Cup – even as he serves a four-year ban from football for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/09/michel-platini-cas-appeal-ban-football">receiving a “disloyal payment”</a>. </p>
<h2>A red card for corruption</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that boosting public confidence in the fairness of football requires improved systems of governance, from the local levels to the national arenas. So it’s <a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/football/news/2019/05/25/fifa-restoring-corruption-ethics-code-criticism-57109">good news</a> that international governing body FIFA is set to restore the offence of corruption to its ethics code, having it removed the previous year. </p>
<p>There also needs to be better care and transparency around the enormous amount of money that the industry attracts. FIFA and national bodies – such as the FIGC in Italy, for example – need to oversee the transactions for buying and selling teams and players, make arrangements for legal betting and ensure accountability in sponsorship systems, to begin with. </p>
<p>But there also needs to be an awareness that the industry offers social and symbolic capital to mafia organisations and organised crime groups, as well as economic opportunities to “dirty” entrepreneurs. In response, bodies such as FIFA need to develop specialist knowledge and build in antidotes to corruption, while maintaining oversight and disciplinary power over the industry.</p>
<p>The football field is a meeting place for different interests and different people. It’s a space for business, but also for entertainment and competition. Leadership of such fields requires integrity, dedication and the will to work for the many – not enrich the few.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Sergi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>High-profile cases of corruption, ticket touting and match fixing have led Italians to lose faith in the beautiful game.Anna Sergi, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1179192019-06-18T10:42:11Z2019-06-18T10:42:11ZWomen’s World Cup: the science of what makes a good football game for fans<p>The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup has got off to a record breaking start. The US beat Thailand 13-0, claiming the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48604054">biggest ever Women’s World Cup win</a>, showing why they are first in the world rankings. A record 6.1m tuned in to watch England beat Scotland, making it the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48581038">UK’s most watched women’s game of all time</a>.</p>
<p>The viewing figures are proof that the popularity of the women’s game is growing – with many football fans keen to tune in and support their country. But while this is great news for the sport, there still tends to be much less interest in women’s national football teams compared to the men’s teams.</p>
<p>This is in part down to the fact that the development of women’s football has been historically disadvantaged by national associations banning their members from allowing women’s football to be played at their grounds. These bans <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2016.1216982">started in 1921</a> and were only lifted in 1971. As <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/1921-when-football-association-banned-women-soccer-dick-kerr-ladies-lily-parr/">sports writer Jim Weeks notes</a>, “by this time, half a century of progress had been lost”. Of course, there is also far less money in women’s football today, compared with men’s, but there could also be another major factor. </p>
<h2>Competitive balance</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/business-school/about-us/our-staff/epib/profile/index.php?id=3643">research</a> looks at competitive balance and intensity in women’s as well as men’s football. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1880543?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">Competitive balance</a> is a key concept in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1825886?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">sports economics</a>. The main idea is that there is a need for equilibrium between teams’ playing strengths to generate enough uncertainty for fans to be interested. Essentially, people prefer to watch games with teams that are close in ability levels rather than a game where one team is far better than the other. This is because, from a viewer’s perspective, it makes for a better match and a more uncertain finish.</p>
<p>Competitive balance goes beyond sports economics to relate to psychology and sociology. Indeed, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/book/national-pastime/">Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist noted in 2005</a> that fan interest is supposed to come from the satisfaction of emotional and spiritual needs. It can be seen as a “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WHyiQgAACAAJ&dq=elias+and+dunning+1986+quest+for+excitement&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv-LvZkbHiAhXfRhUIHWAlDI0Q6AEIKjAA">quest for excitement</a>”, consistent with what Aristotle called “<a href="https://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-poe/">the tragic pleasure</a>”.</p>
<p>A key factor that can affect the competitive balance at international level is the way the sport is developed in different countries. Large differences in the development of the game across countries can lead to large differences on the pitch – with certain games being less interesting for fans to watch. This tends to be the games between countries that have vastly different amounts of funding put into the game and where there is not the same youth development or scouting for the football stars of the future. All of which can impact levels of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16184742.2019.1606264">participation across countries</a>, as well as the different levels of <a href="http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/622833/">experience across national teams</a>.</p>
<h2>Women close the gap</h2>
<p>As part of my <a href="https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJSMM.2011.041569">research</a> I’ve looked at and compared the competitive balance of both the women’s and men’s World Cup games since 1990. To do this, I calculated the percentage of game-time with a difference of no more than one goal between teams.My results show that historically, women’s World Cups have always been less balanced than men’s, but that this gap has considerably reduced over time. </p>
<p>The findings show that the percentage of game-time with a difference of no more than one goal was 64% in the 1991 Women’s World Cup, and 90% in the 1990 Men’s World Cup. Then in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, it was 81% for women vs. 87% for men in the 2014 World Cup – making it a much more exciting and competitive tournament for fans. This may be one reason why the 2015 edition of the Women’s World Cup <a href="https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/news/record-breaking-fifa-women-s-world-cup-tops-750-million-tv-viewers-2745963">was the most watched in history</a>.</p>
<p>But competitive balance isn’t the only factor that makes a football match more appealing to fans. It also matters whether there is something at stake for at least one of the sides – this is known as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S144135231830411X">competitive intensity</a> – and it explains why knock out matches or games where at least one side could go ahead if they win, tend to be so much better to watch. </p>
<p>When looking at competitive intensity in World Cup games, the percentage of game time with something at stake for at least one team was 81% for women in 2015 compared with 80% for men in 2014. In other words, there was slightly more game time with actual uncertainty in women’s football – with at least one team having something to compete for.</p>
<p>So when it comes to selecting the best matches to watch as a football fan, you want to be going for those games that are predicted to be close, with teams of equal standing, or where one side has a lot to lose – these games make for a much better viewing experience. Yes, games like like US thrashing Thailand 13-0 are spectacular, but from a fan perspective nothing beats a closely contested grudge match between two rival teams who are both going for glory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolas Scelles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The science of why people prefer to watch games with teams that are close in ability levels rather than a game where one team is far better than the other.Nicolas Scelles, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics, Policy and International Business, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1180562019-05-30T18:07:39Z2019-05-30T18:07:39ZCome On You Reds! A Liverpool fan dreams of Champions League glory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277276/original/file-20190530-69087-1hzcwoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mohamed Salah shows us how it's done.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-england-april-10-mohamed-salah-1067486108?src=YjoZWMNvWqN0B0Db9jePxw-1-7">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I’m a lucky man. A sports sociologist by trade, I’m in Madrid to see my eighth European Cup final involving my club, Liverpool FC – “the Mighty Reds”. For people my age (65) and from my city (Liverpool), this competition will always be known as the European Cup – rather than the Champions League – because of its history and character. And we’ve won it five times, after all.</p>
<p>This time, I have an assured match ticket to Saturday’s game – a cool £154 dropped into UEFA’s coffers – and even somewhere to stay. I booked up in December: you do need outrageous hope in football, even if only to avoid the <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-english-footballs-top-flight-favours-fans-of-london-clubs-113066">crippling costs of support</a>.</p>
<p>In 2018, when the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44258022">Reds played Real Madrid</a> in the final in Kiev, Ukraine, I paid £1,000 for flights, slept overnight in Warsaw airport and later on a friend’s apartment floor. Was I mad? All that suffering, just to see our star forward, the Egyptian Mo Salah, being ruinously fouled after only 30 minutes. It looked like game over – and just to confirm it, our young goalkeeper, Loris Karius, decided to throw two Real Madrid attempts into his own net. He (and we) ended up in tears.</p>
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<p>Quite by chance – and considerable good fortune – I managed to miss Liverpool’s terrible 1985 Heysel Stadium final in Brussels, when hooliganism and inept organisation rendered the whole thing catastrophic and meaningless as sport. Tragically, <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/announcements/350670-lfc-marks-34th-anniversary-of-heysel-stadium-disaster">39 fans were killed</a>. But – and all academic objectivity goes flying away here – I have cried with joy in Rome (1977 and 1984); cavorted at Wembley (1978); jigged in Paris (1981); and gasped in amazement at the miracle of Istanbul (2005) when we came back from
three goals down. I even <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1855670.The_Miracle_of_Istanbul">wrote a book about it</a>. In 2007, in Athens, it was only <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6669039.stm">defeat and chaotic despair</a>. You might say I have some experience of the highs and lows of these events.</p>
<p>And yet the 2019 final is entirely different, even for me. Because this time, Liverpool is <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/05/30/champions-league-final-tottenham-vs-liverpool-kick-off-time-venue-predictions/">facing another English club</a>, Tottenham Hotspur – a talented team, but rookies when it comes to top-flight European football.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-englands-clubs-swept-to-european-football-dominance-117030">England takeover</a> of the final has happened only once before, in 2008 in Moscow. Then, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/dec/30/manchester-united-chelsea-champions-league-moscow">Manchester United defeated Chelsea</a> on penalties in the Russian rain. That final seemed strangely lacking in the contrasts and exotica which makes the European competition so special because of its usual international flavour. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-league-how-englands-clubs-swept-to-european-football-dominance-117030">Premier League: how England's clubs swept to European football dominance</a>
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<p>Indeed, it feels like we have been cheated of a proper European occasion in 2019, too. Spurs are high-class opposition, for sure, but we can play them any time at home. I’ll bet our north London rivals feel exactly the same.</p>
<h2>What about the Greens?</h2>
<p>Environmentalists might wonder, not unreasonably, at the carbon bootprint left by flying tens of thousands of fans from England across Europe to play a match that could so easily (and much more cheaply) have been decided in the UK. But a global game will always involve international travel.</p>
<p>Smart alecs might also argue that mixing it in Madrid with our London rivals in 2019 is a sort of Champions League final for the Brexit era. Why do we need continental opponents when it is so obvious that we, the English, are the best? </p>
<p>The commercial power and strength of the club game in England is clear. But this is different, of course, from talking about the English game, because our coaches and key players are drawn from distant parts of the globe. Liverpool FC has as many Brazilians and Africans as Englishmen in its first team. Indeed, England manager Gareth Southgate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/18/gareth-southgate-premier-league-english-players-warning">recently predicted</a>, glumly, that soon only 15% of top Premier League players might qualify to play for England.</p>
<p>So why does the current version of European football still matter, even though we are playing all-too-familiar Premier League opposition in its blue-riband event? Perhaps because, against all reason, a club such as Liverpool still overwhelmed mighty Barcelona <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48179167">by four goals</a> in the semi final, in the same raucous working-class location it has played in since 1892, and in only the tenth competitive meeting between these clubs in their entire combined histories (I so wish you could have been there).</p>
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<p>Or, because the commercially modest Dutch masters, Ajax – a truly great name in European football’s past – can, even in the age of billionaire oil and state club ownership and Premier League power, build a thrilling young team and come within seconds of beating Spurs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2019/may/08/ajax-v-tottenham-hotspur-champions-league-semi-final-second-leg-live">in their semi-final</a>. Now, if Liverpool were playing Ajax in Madrid that would be a proper European Cup final – sorry, Spurs.</p>
<p>It is that precious uncertainty and search for collective glory which is why we still watch. And why misguided, ageing, supporters spend mad money to sleep fitfully overnight in Eastern European airports and Kiev floors. Because, my friends, that is emotionally invested sport, not business.</p>
<p>Come on, you Reds!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It can be difficult, emotional and expensive following a football team. A sports sociologist explains why it’s worth it.John Williams, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1159462019-05-14T09:58:55Z2019-05-14T09:58:55ZFootball referees: death threats, physical violence and verbal abuse are all part of the job<p>Match officials play an integral role in the beautiful game we call football. But what is not so beautiful about this game is the abuse that referees receive when officiating. Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, for example, was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47891377">recently banned for eight games</a> after being found guilty of abusing a referee.</p>
<p>Most spectators will have witnessed a situation where an official is harassed for making an unfavourable call. Whether it is a <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/11/football/diego-costa-atletico-madrid-ban-barcelona-la-liga-spt-intl/index.html">professional footballer</a> insulting the referee’s mother, or <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/8287901/thousands-amateur-referees-threaten-strike-abuse/">parents of junior players</a> threatening officials at a local five-a-side match, abusing the ref has become a “normal” part of football.</p>
<p>Match officials encounter an array of hostile behaviours from players, coaches and spectators ranging from <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/neymar-banned-psg-manchester-united-insulting-referee-champions-league-a8888221.html">verbal abuse</a> to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46318558">physical assault</a>. The most common form of abuse exhibited is verbal aggression, with 64% of match officials in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ab.90028">one study</a> claiming to have frequently experienced such actions, followed by threats (36%). Worryingly 15% of the match officials reported physical abuse while on the job – and it’s not rare for <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46180452">match officials</a> to be hospitalised as a result of physical attacks. </p>
<p>The overall pattern of abuse seems to be consistent across all levels of football, a worrying trend when you consider that amateur referees are as young as 14. And with a considerably lower presence of security and protection within amateur football matches – often none – referees are more exposed to aggressive conduct, which explains why more serious assaults on referees often take place during amateur matches.</p>
<h2>Emotional impact</h2>
<p>Exposure to abuse can have adverse effects on an official’s performance, <a href="https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol9/iss4/5/">many referees</a> report a loss in concentration and motivation after being criticised by players and spectators. And more serious effects of abuse can also develop long after the game. <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-01916-010">Research</a> has shown that exposure to similar forms of abuse within other occupational settings can have numerous psychological consequences – including an increase in anxiety levels. </p>
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<p>The damaging effects of this abuse are reflected in the dwindling referee retention rates – with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-41585962">more referees</a> quitting their jobs due to being constantly abused. This is likely to lead to a reduction in skilled match officials. And with referees playing a significant role to ensure that football is played fairly and correctly, this can only result in poorer quality games at all levels. </p>
<p>On top of this, many fear that the normalisation of abusive conduct will have a negative effect on the junior players at grassroots levels. This is because failure to intervene against match official abuse could give footballers of tomorrow the wrong message about appropriate conduct.</p>
<h2>Why the abuse?</h2>
<p>Players and spectators often engage in abusive behaviour in part due to what’s known as “in-game triggers”. These can be frustrations towards a decision they believe to be unfair – or as a method of externalising their problems in the game. Many people also use interpersonal conflict with the referee in an attempt to influence future refereeing decisions. </p>
<p>Such abuse is frequently demonstrated by players and managers at the highest level of football – who often face little consequences for their actions. As a result, these actions are seen as acceptable conduct by viewers and spectators. And it normalises the behaviour as an integral part of football. This allows players and spectators to emulate the actions in future matches with little consideration of the moral implications. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273814/original/file-20190510-183103-111bn1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Verbal threat from parents can be a normal part of the job for referees of youth leagues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Children, teenagers and even adults frequently try to imitate the mannerisms of their favourite footballers – be it copying their hairstyles or their skills when playing the game. One reason for this copycat behaviour is what social psychologists refer to as “<a href="https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/educationalpsychology/n276.xml">vicarious reinforcement</a>”. This is the act of imitating another person, in an attempt to reap the same rewards as them. </p>
<p>Now ask yourself, what would be going through a junior player’s mind when they witness a successful footballer they look up to shouting at the referee for giving a decision against their team. </p>
<p>My current <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/project/Abusing-the-Man-in-the-Middle-Investigating-the-causes-effects-and-coping-strategies-of-referee-abuse-in-football">research project</a> looks to identify the root causes and effects of referee abuse. With assistance from <a href="https://www.the-ra.org/">The Referees’ Association</a>, we have developed two online surveys. One measures the experiences of match officials and the other measures the attitudes of spectators, players and coaches of amateur football matches. The study, which has been funded by the <a href="https://www.cies.ch/en/cies/home/">International Centre for Sports Studies</a>, is working directly with match officials and people who attend grassroots matches – such as spectators, players and coaches – and it’s hoped these findings will help to inform future interventions aimed at reducing referee abuse and its adverse effects. </p>
<p>And given that <a href="https://www.naso.org/portals/0/downloads/reports/SpecReptAssault.pdf">many match officials</a> believe that players act aggressively towards referees due to a desire to imitate the actions of their role models, it’s clear this is something that needs to be dealt with at all levels of football sooner rather than later.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115946/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dara Mojtahedi received funding from CIES from the current project. However the funders have had no influence on the design or anticipated outcomes of the study.</span></em></p>It’s no wonder so many referees are quitting their jobs.Dara Mojtahedi, Lecturer in Psychology, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1130662019-03-22T08:21:50Z2019-03-22T08:21:50ZPremier League: how English football’s top flight favours fans of London clubs<p>The English Premier League (EPL) is the most <a href="https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/seasoncountry/#/yr/2019">successful football league</a> in the world and one of the most <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43488263">successful sports businesses</a> of any kind. But the benefits may be relatively skewed towards people who live in London. Not only has the UK capital had more clubs per fan in the EPL than any other region since the league was created in the 1992/93 season, but their fans have to pay less to travel to see their clubs play away matches.</p>
<p>Over the 26 years the league has been in operation, the number of EPL clubs based in London has remained relatively stable at approximately six. Meanwhile, the number of clubs from different regions has fluctuated. The largest reduction was observed in the north of England where the number of EPL clubs fell from ten out of 20 in 1995/96 (when the EPL was reduced from 22 to 20) to seven out of 20 in 2018/19. There was large variation in participation from teams in the Midlands or the east of England and a small increase in the number of clubs from the south and Wales, with the participation of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, AFC Bournemouth and Cardiff City in 2018/19.</p>
<p>If you dig deeper, you can see that the northwest and, especially, Yorkshire & Humber are the biggest losers over time (Figure 2) – although Leeds United and Sheffield United are currently sitting pretty on the Championship (the second tier of English football) table and may well join the EPL in 2019/20. This implies that there may be stronger regional representation, with Huddersfield (Yorkshire) and Fulham (London) looking destined for relegation to the Championship.</p>
<p>If you adjust this calculation for population size (assuming one club per approximately 2.5m people – distributing fairly 20 clubs across around 51m people), the north of England and London were – and still are – the only two regions punching above their weight. But you can also see a change over time as London has surpassed the north in terms of “over-representation” of clubs from the region. The north’s losses have benefited the south and Wales. Once again, drilling down into lower level regions, it becomes clear that the north-west is the only region comparable to London (Figure 3). </p>
<p>For example, in the 2018/19 EPL season, there were six clubs from London (“observed”) and based on a population around 8,200,000 people from the 2011 Census we would expect around three clubs (“expected”). Meanwhile the north-west of England has a population of around 7.5m so, again, you would expect around three clubs – but there are five in the EPL.</p>
<h2>Strain of the train</h2>
<p>We decided to work out how much things were skewed in favour of London-based clubs and their fans. We calculated how much it costs for fans to follow their clubs on all away EPL fixtures, picking an arbitrary date: Saturday November 3, 2018. We used the most common kick-off time of 3pm and obtained rail and car travel estimates from Google maps and the national rail enquiries website. Unsurprisingly, following Newcastle United, in the northeast, was the most expensive choice – each committed Geordie had to spend around £2,500 on rail fares to attend all of the club’s away matches.</p>
<p>Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, Cardiff City in Wales and Huddersfield Town in Yorkshire were next in line – their fans had to spend more than £1,700. At the other end of the scale, fans of London clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal faced an average cost of around £1,000. Fans of Liverpool and Manchester clubs had to spend around £1,400 and £1,200, respectively.</p>
<p>In total, rail fares for Newcastle United fans to attend all 19 away matches were in excess of £6.5m (accounting for away fan capacity and assuming sellout crowds). This is a clear outlier, reflecting Newcastle’s remoteness in relation to other clubs – although rail travel time for Novocastrians was better than expected. This at least reflects good services and connections – better than for Bournemouth, Cardiff and Burnley, for example, considering the distances.</p>
<p>Rail costs per mile further demonstrate a variation – Leicester fans, in particular, have the right to feel particularly aggrieved, with cost per mile travelled to or from London being 0.58p and to or from everywhere else 0.52p (averages for all other cities/towns, excluding London, were 0.43p and 0.47p, respectively).</p>
<p>Interesting point: for Bournemouth and Southampton fans, a return train ticket to London is slightly more expensive than for London-based fans travelling in the opposite direction.</p>
<p>In reality, all these costs are underestimates, since televised matches are played at times that make the lives of travelling fans very difficult – it may be impossible to get a direct train and an overnight stay may be essential, further adding to the costs. And these additional costs are likely to be higher for non-London supporters, since services outside London tend to be less frequent, while overnight stays in London are more expensive. </p>
<h2>Level playing field</h2>
<p>It becomes evident that football fans have to bear a disproportional cost in time and money, supporting an industry that makes massive profits. So, what can be done? Travelling fans are effectively sports “visitors” and should be treated with reciprocal respect, with more consideration given to televised matches and the distances fans have to travel. </p>
<p>The EPL could also acknowledge the travelling costs for away fans and offer financial support to clubs in a similar way to how broadcast and central income is distributed. This would allow each club to consider a ticket pricing strategy for its own fans or support travelling arrangements. Perhaps clubs could consider selling a bundle product which would include both match and rail ticket. Alternatively (or in addition), the government or football institutions could negotiate fairer “fixed” rail prices.</p>
<p>But it’s not all down to geography, as infrastructure also plays its part. London is at the centre of the biggest sports investments which have made the capital the natural host for national football events. It seems unfair that <a href="https://www.efl.com/carabao-cup">EFL (or Carabao) Cup</a> finals and FA Cup semi-finals and finals are hosted in London.</p>
<p>Wembley, the “headquarters” of English football, has historically been an integral part of the game in England and is recognised as a global football trademark. But always having cup finals there increases the time and expense for supporters of non-London clubs that are successful in these competitions. Perhaps the region of the finalists should be considered before a venue was decided. </p>
<p>This imbalance is a problem for the EPL as it may have implications for its attractiveness and for generating revenue overall. And, as the so-called “people’s sport”, it’s surely a problem that this emphasis in favour of London and London-based clubs makes life harder for fans with less money to travel to see their clubs play. </p>
<p>Football is one of the most loved sports in the UK and the world, bringing together families and friends over a number of generations. It’s a societal link of togetherness. It shouldn’t give an unfair advantage to London or lead loyal supporters to poverty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tasos is a supporter of Olympiakos S.F.P. He is confident that one day Olympiakos will reach and conquer the Champions League....one day....
Tasos also has a soft spot for AFC Bournemouth. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evangelos Kontopantelis is a Manchester City season ticket holder and is often camouflaged as an empty seat.</span></em></p>Football is supposed to be the ‘people’s game’, but the English Premier League is easier and cheaper to follow if you are a fan of a club based in London or the prosperous southeast.Anastasios (Tasos) Theofilou, Principal Academic, Bournemouth UniversityEvangelos Kontopantelis, Professor in Data Science and Health Services Research, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1134112019-03-13T15:06:39Z2019-03-13T15:06:39ZFootball violence: attacks by fans on players are abhorrent, but there’s no need for knee-jerk reactions<p>British football is once again under the microscope for all the wrong reasons. In the tenth minute of the Second City Derby between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on March 10, a Blues supporter evaded stewards, ran on to the pitch and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-47523268">attacked Villa’s captain Jack Grealish</a>. The assault came less than 48 hours <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/03/08/scottish-footballs-fan-problem-worsens-man-runs-pitch-shove/">after an altercation</a> in which a Hibernian fan confronted James Tavernier of Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. This was soon followed by another pitch invasion in which an Arsenal supporter <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/man-utd-arsenal-pitch-invader-15953100">appeared to shove</a> Manchester United’s Chris Smalling.</p>
<p>This spate of incidents has reignited the debate on disorder in football, with new focus on the safety of the players on the pitch. Former professionals <a href="https://www.supersport.com/general/news/190311_Shearer_warns_lives_could_be_at_risk_after_pitch_invasions">speculated</a> on what might have happened had the offenders been carrying weapons, with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47519794">the stabbing of tennis player Monica Seles</a> in 1993 used as a cautionary tale. </p>
<p>The man involved in the Grealish incident, Paul Mitchell, 27, has been jailed for 14 weeks and a range of preventative measures have been mooted. The imposition of “<a href="http://www.parliament.scot/S5MembersBills/draft_consultation_strict_liability_Scottish_football_clubs_NEW_WEBSITE_OCT_17.pdf">strict liability</a>” on football clubs for the offending behaviour of their fans – with a ladder of sanctions including points deductions and playing behind closed doors – has been suggested <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/17195713.clubs-must-face-sanctions-for-crowd-disorder-fines-games-behind-closed-doors-even-being-docked-points/">as deterrent</a> by various pundits, despite little evidence of their effectiveness. </p>
<p>Changes to the infrastructure of stadia, including netting, moats, and even the return of perimeter fences to provide more robust physical barriers between fans and the pitch have also been proposed, despite the known <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bjiSBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT98&lpg=PT98&dq=including+netting,+moats+and+perimeter+fences+football&source=bl&ots=4de_THYZzG&sig=ACfU3U03bGSnIkCFiHJ4LMi7l0Rdt1SNSg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizsf_z9P7gAhVSVRUIHaugB4UQ6AEwCHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=including%20netting%2C%20moats%20and%20perimeter%20fences%20football&f=false">risks to health and safety</a> that these restrictions pose. These risks have been evident in <a href="https://www.stadiumguide.com/timelines/stadium-disasters/">successive stadium disasters</a> and barriers have been considered unthinkable since the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diavhiUso5E">Hillsborough tragedy of 1989</a>, when 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gCOUiycidjI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Former Birmingham City midfielder <a href="https://twitter.com/cotterill_david/status/1105112095367020544">David Cotterill</a> went as far as advocating the deployment of armed officers to protect players, recalling the time Bobby Robson suggested that police should “turn the flamethrowers on them”, following the violence and disorder that <a href="https://millwall-forum.vitalfootball.co.uk/threads/millwall-v-ipswich-riot-1978.10/">marred a cup tie</a> between Millwall and Ipswich in 1978.</p>
<p>What is the significance of these recent pitch invasions and the ensuing debate on player safety? Do they signal a return to the “dark days” of football hooliganism? </p>
<h2>A notorious time</h2>
<p>When were these so-called dark days? The most notorious 15-year period of football hooliganism in the 1970s and 1980s was bookended by two notable interventions by the football authorities. In 1971, the Football Association closed Manchester United’s home ground, Old Trafford, for their opening two games after fans threw knives and darts at visiting supporters the previous season. In May 1985 all English clubs were banned from European competition in the aftermath of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32898612">Heysel Stadium disaster</a> in Brussels, in which 39 people died and 600 were injured after fans were crushed against a wall that then collapsed during the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. </p>
<p>The major change to regulation of crowd management followed the publication of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19574492">Taylor Report in 1990</a> in the wake of Hillsborough. While aimed at improving crowd safety, Lord Justice Taylor’s <a href="https://sgsa.org.uk/regulation/all-seated-football-stadia">recommendation for all-seated stadia</a> was enacted alongside a raft of other measures, including the increased use of CCTV at football stadiums as well as an extension of the legal power to ban individuals from football matches and criminalising encroachment onto the pitch.</p>
<p>These changes have had <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2014.961374">a significant impact</a> on the experience of watching live football, deterring and restricting the “hooligan element” and attracting a new type of family audience.</p>
<p>But it’s important not to overstate the extent of change. The post-Taylor era has been punctuated by isolated episodes of serious disorder. Major crowd trouble in <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209028/Man-stabbed-West-Ham-Millwall-fans-brawl-outside-stadium.html">2009-10</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/apr/13/millwall-fa-cup-violence-wembley">2012-13</a> led to similar soul searching about the “curse” of football hooligans and demands for it to be stamped out once and for all. </p>
<h2>‘They think it’s all over’</h2>
<p>Can disorder ever be totally eradicated from football? Perhaps not. But the long arc of British football is undoubtedly bending towards <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723515615177">less violence</a> (see graph below). The arrest rate for the whole of last season was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46220337">3.5 per 100,000 fans</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263648/original/file-20190313-123554-e3s2yw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The number of football-related arrests has steadily declined since 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Home Office</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Serious violence and crime at other major events – <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/arts/music/stone-roses-gigs-blamed-for-huge-crime-rise-in-finsbury-park-8779314.html">whether large concerts and festivals</a> or <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/44106914">horse racing</a> – does not seem to induce the same level of opprobrium or moral panic. The widespread media coverage of football amplifies the spectacle of disorder, leading with depressing inevitability to the type of copycat behaviour witnessed at the weekend. And the attraction of a clampdown lies in the view that football fans (as a collective group) are inherently disposed to violence. </p>
<p>We should guard against the urge to treat anyone who encroaches on the field of play as a threat to player safety. There are clearly very different reasons for why a fan might encroach on the pitch – to ensure their own safety, as part of a protest or civil disobedience and, of course, celebration. Only a tiny minority are malign in intent. </p>
<p>Indeed, it is somewhat ironic that the most celebrated phrase in English football – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg2CXkJVCHk">those immortal words</a>: “Some people are on the pitch, they think it’s all over”, uttered by commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme in the 1966 World Cup Final – was in reference to pitch invaders at Wembley celebrating what they thought was the final whistle signalling England’s triumph. </p>
<p>Let me be clear – professional footballers have an unequivocal right to work in an environment free from the threat of violence. This is also true of teachers, nurses, paramedics, prison officers – to name a few professionals who face regular violence and intimidation in their workplace. But it is also accepted that it is unreasonable to expect all risk to be eradicated in these public spaces, especially when such protection begins to impinge on civil liberties. </p>
<p>The relevant stakeholders in football must, of course, tackle the issue of player safety. But the debate about how to police football crowds effectively needs to avoid knee-jerk reactions to isolated incidents. Engagement with fan groups and representatives – alongside clubs and police – are essential to develop more pro-social and sustainable solutions. Dialogue is a not a panacea, but it is essential for meaningful progress to continue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Fitzpatrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A series of attacks by fans on players recently raised the spectre of a return to the bad old days of the 1970s and 1980s.Daniel Fitzpatrick, Lecturer in Politics, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1059242018-11-01T10:41:14Z2018-11-01T10:41:14ZHigh stress, job insecurity and unrealistic expectations put football managers at risk of mental health problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243312/original/file-20181031-122150-1yy4yto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Uncertainty hangs in the air for Jose Mourinho.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There aren’t many jobs where an employee’s potential sacking is everybody’s business. But in the high-stakes world of elite sport, the jobs of those in charge – the managers, coaches and leaders – seem to be fair game and a talking point for fans and critics alike.</p>
<p>A quarter of the way through the 2018-2019 Premier League season, Manchester United were struggling in tenth position in the table. For a lot of teams, tenth place would be perfectly acceptable, but this is Manchester United, an organisation with a proud history and a winning tradition. So naturally, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45770468">speculation</a> over whether manager Jose Mourinho – the self-appointed “Special One” – would be fired was (and still is) a topic of discussion for the nation’s press, the pub and Twitter feeds across the globe. </p>
<p>The environment for coaches, managers, and other leaders in high performance sport is characterised by exactly this type of intense and continuous scrutiny – as well as perennial job insecurity and unrealistic expectations from fans and the media. This is often based on historical and therefore irrelevant performance. These people also operate in a situation in which performance is judged entirely on the basis of what other people do or don’t do. And often an incredible amount of time is spent <a href="https://www.cricket.com.au/news/darren-lehmann-concedes-coached-too-long-justin-langer-300-days-travel-australia-coach-pakistan/2018-10-16">away from home and family</a>. </p>
<h2>Job insecurity</h2>
<p>There are very few other careers in which decisions and speculation about your future employment are played out in real time, in front of an audience of millions. And all of this leads to a situation in which <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/high-octane-women/201311/the-tell-tale-signs-burnout-do-you-have-them">burnout</a> and other mental health issues are real risks.</p>
<p>Those in charge are expected to cope with what would be an unbearable level of stress for “normal” people. And research suggests that for leaders in sport, there is pressure and expectation (from within and from outside soucrces) to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313413841_Desperate_to_Quit_A_Narrative_Analysis_of_Burnout_and_Recovery_in_High_Performance_Sports_Coaching">maintain a mask</a> of stocisim at all times. </p>
<p>So while an increasing number of high-profile athletes are, quite rightly, becoming much more comfortable openly talking about stress and other mental health issues, it’s something we see a lot less of from those in leadership positions.</p>
<p>Sport psychology research consistently demonstrates the stress associated with leadership in high performance sport. As many as <a href="http://sciencenordic.com/coaches-burn-out-top-level-sport">one in four</a> coaches might experience extreme fatigue and burnout by the end of a competitive season. Elite coaches have talked about the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257840865_Stress_and_Coping_A_Study_of_World_Class_Coaches">negative impacts of stress</a> on their physical and mental well-being, and on their relationships outside of work. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243315/original/file-20181031-122171-205gye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Retired Dutch footballer, Marco Van Basten, has spoken about how the stress of management led to his resignation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are several examples of coaches and managers who have <a href="https://wcyb.com/sports/content/northwood-coach-cites-battle-with-depression-in-farewell-letter">left sport altogether</a>, citing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15909277">Gary Speed</a>, manager of Sheffield United FC and, later, the Welsh national team, tragically took his own life in 2011. Only later did we find out that he had <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tragic-gary-speeds-sister-tells-4864972">most likely been battling depression</a> for most of his adult life. </p>
<h2>Tough at the top</h2>
<p>The UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport recently launched a <a href="http://www.uksport.gov.uk/news/2018/10/10/positive-mental-health-environment-across-olympic-and-paralympic-sport">Mental Health Strategy</a> that includes screening and monitoring programmes for athletes, and various other support mechanisms for coaches and staff. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for sport in the UK. But for those in charge, who are generally not afforded the opportunity to show any signs of fragility or vulnerability, it may well be that asking for help will continue to be a challenge.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-deal-with-burnout-using-lessons-from-elite-sport-81522">Five ways to deal with burnout using lessons from elite sport</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When athletes disclose mental health issues, they’re “brave”, “paving the way for others”, and “opening up the conversation”. Yet if Jose Mourinho were to say he was struggling mentally under the pressure of the job right now, well, you can only imagine what the headlines might read.</p>
<p>What this all shows is that the coaches, managers, and leaders – who have a duty of care to look after the mental and physical well-being of their athletes – also need to be considered when it comes to conversations around mental health in sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Olusoga does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It can be tough at the top for football managers.Peter Olusoga, Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1030812018-09-28T10:35:01Z2018-09-28T10:35:01ZIs it immoral to watch football?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238179/original/file-20180926-48656-1kbmh7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What ethical issues should you consider when watching football?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbrooks/1408419587/in/photolist-39sw5k-aw9o55-5rEnmC-d69ttj-5rCejv-aw9sbG-5ruiJQ-5ryARg-t4TFG-dmjbEM-cg2HUo-2Z57qp-3dZUCN-dcDbMf-5pHskA-6NRPXZ-34Nmv4-g9GL2W-8Me6Zd-gHUwQn-cg2KBu-6NQgkZ-8Afe1P-ayJapD-gNgxBV-ayMcF5-dmj3xZ-ayJWNM-6NRBVp-giHQcH-bUkcwT-gNgPs3-c2MX9Y-t4U8X-2Z8THA-gHVBHC-djnBAy-b4ALrR-d83anY-ayLN63-LrEJ2-bzbNrj-5mpaSE-dmj7WZ-ayMtry-92rxFQ-7nrs4o-8Katiq-djnAqw-cg2Vo9">Chris Brooks/flickr.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For a large swath of Americans, fall means football. But, as in previous years, this season’s football has been mired in controversy.</p>
<p>Most notable of these has been the Colin Kaepernick case. Kaepernick has <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/25/leaked-tapes-nfl-owners-players-october-meeting-kaepernick-collusion-case-donald-trump">accused the NFL</a> of colluding to keep him off the field because of his protests against police brutality and racial inequality during the playing of the national anthem. A recent ruling has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/30/sports/colin-kaepernick-collusion-case-nfl.html">granted him a full hearing</a> in the dispute. </p>
<p>And this hasn’t been the only controversy. Scientific findings have shown that regular practice of football increases the <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cte-brain-damage-football-players-top-science-stories-2017-yir">risk of brain diseases</a>. Allegations regarding the <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2014/10/21/violence-of-football-is-becoming-too-difficult-to-justify/">intrinsic violent nature of the game</a> and an increasing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/11/02/turned-off-nfl-fans-too-angry-too-commercialized-and-too-stupid-expensive/">commercialization of the sport</a> have been the subject of recent headlines as well. </p>
<p>For fans who consider the sport from an ethical perspective, all these issues raise a question: Is watching football morally problematic?</p>
<h2>Football injuries</h2>
<p>At its core, football demands skill and tactical acumen. Indeed, as philosopher <a href="http://www.miqols.org/howb/authors/biographies/alex-michalos/">Alexis C. Michalos</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00948705.1976.10654110">said more than four decades ago</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“There’s something admirable about the performance of an excellent running back, a scrambling quarterback or a defensive player with the knack of being in the right place at the right time. Anyone who has tried to match such performances must admire them.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, in the way it is currently practiced, football is seriously dangerous for players. </p>
<p>Repetitive brain trauma makes football players highly vulnerable to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurogenerative disease. A 2017 study found that <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/most-football-players-who-donated-their-brains-science-had-traumatic-injury">99 percent of deceased NFL players</a> who had donated their brains to scientific research suffered from this disease. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238371/original/file-20180927-48653-x1kb2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The risk of injuries for football players is comparatively higher.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/merelymel/2835102176/in/photolist-5jwD71-oSXUh2-6YhJjv-dZVg9T-6XZcCv-nYyHWe-nWSvQQ-omnrTR-9zJBbK-at4gWG-bef2zz-axkeWV-axnVLm-6YmKNy-2E8NSZ-nvUs9r-8juoMw-dGgub7-2fdxi-9gMd8k-bLexs8-qdiuYL-7e8tsx-5rtZow-7eftpb-7ecmqb-dgdvZe-9KK9FP-bUPJY7-qhweCK-38h83m-59eKdT-7dXkiz-quNK6Z-ebydtC-nWTBdP-pxZ64Y-7svUjp-7dXk6e-ock6pU-ce7Zoq-9d5tvb-bUPBbo-4btkVW-oecA5S-dR4czn-oeKhQW-97xkBG-97ufrv-5de1Eo">Melissa Doroquez/Flickr.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, football players <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3418954/">suffer the most injuries</a> among athletes.
A study of the injury rates among high school student-athletes estimated that the injury rate for football was twice that of soccer or basketball. </p>
<h2>Culture of violence?</h2>
<p>In his blistering 1991 poem “<a href="http://www.haroldpinter.org/poetry/poetry_football.shtml">American Football</a>,” British writer Harold Pinter, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in literature, depicts the sport as “deliberately” violent. Aimed at satirizing the violent character of the Gulf War, Pinter portrays war and football as being intimately connected. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z3_i9-AAAAAJ&hl=th">scholars</a> who study the <a href="https://www.brockport.edu/academics/kinesiology/faculty/torres.html">ethics of sport</a>, we would argue that while football does require the use of bodily force, it is not that football is inherently violent. Sport philosopher <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/profile/20042/502/jim_parry">Jim Parry</a>, for example, contests this claim by defining violence as involving <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Ethics-and-Sport/McNamee-Parry/p/book/9780419215103">“intentional hurt or injury to others</a>.” </p>
<p>It is not inherent violence but a culture of violence around the sport that is troubling. </p>
<p>Nate Jackson, a former football player, describes in his 2013 memoir, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062108036/slow-getting-up/">“Slow Getting Up,”</a> that for most of his colleagues, the main rewards of the sport relate to violence. For instance, one of the main lessons players must learn to be successful is “decide what you’re going to do and do it violently.” </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://perival.com/delillo/delillo.html">Don DeLillo</a> compellingly <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/16/lifetimes/del-r-endzone.html">captured the rhetoric and ethos of violence</a> surrounding football in his 1972 novel “End Zone.” Gary, the book’s running-back narrator, describes football in militaristic language that resembles warfare. </p>
<p>Furthermore, far from being ideologically neutral, some commentators argue football appeals to conservative values. <a href="http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1113&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=48">Registered Republicans have been found more likely to be NFL fans</a> than registered Democrats. Perhaps this could explain President Donald Trump’s denunciation of players who decided not to stand for the pregame national anthem. </p>
<h2>More about money?</h2>
<p>As for its commercialization, consider the following: In the last decade, the NFL has raked in billions in lucrative broadcasting rights deals. Verizon paid <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/verizons-2-billion-nfl-streaming-deal-benefit-ad-business-2017-12">over US$2 billion for five years</a> for the right to stream NFL games across its digital platforms.</p>
<p>It is true, as philosopher <a href="https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/emeritus/alasdair-macintyre/">Alasdair MacIntyre</a> contends, social practices <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/after-virtue-9781780936253/">need institutions to flourish</a>. In turn, institutions require financial resources to accomplish that goal. The problem, however, comes when institutions pursue those resources at the expense of the very virtues and values that define those practices. </p>
<p>In the case of football, it could be argued that the form and skills that make it appealing are now a model for revenue generation. In doing so, its inherent virtues and values have been deemphasized, in favor of market values. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/oh150/oriard/biography.html">Michael Oriard</a>, a former football player and historian, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-politics/article/commercialized-and-professionalized-oriardmichael-bowled-over-big-time-college-football-from-the-sixties-to-the-bcs-era-chapel-hill-nc-university-of-north-carolina-press-2009-pp-352-3000/1DB5C482DD67E9EF592982D44D2A7EF1">contends</a>, the story of NFL football “is necessarily about money, lots of money. Professional football has always been about money.” The commercial aspect has become even more prominent as a result of its commodification as a television product. </p>
<p>These days the litany of television commercial breaks has not only <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanberr/2018/08/28/the-nfls-ratings-probably-will-continue-to-decline/">negatively impacted</a> the length and pace of games but also driven fans’ attention away from football. Indeed, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted that the <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000794543/article/roger-goodell-outlines-plans-to-improve-pace-of-game">league worried</a> about the impact of commercials in the flow and pace of the game. </p>
<h2>What are the ethics?</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238192/original/file-20180926-48659-1vm5hbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Football is an important part of America’s shared culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/robandsunshine/97222696/in/photolist-9AhVo-pbHr21-pbJfzN-4q93xQ-pVzvEr-q8nrec-qH5nW7-dRFRyV-HuFGnu-5W6Gvs-245HZ5Z-dS3vVE-4q5uCH-qXmW5h-9g9BM8-9xWPKN-NcnsNy-qJDdiX-4P9mx-qzUiXi-pVzvEB-qHEeAR-s9jx2h-d7xzjC-dQKq9M-dNx7Np-7BuUGw-RMaCtX-qJDd8B-dNCHmd-52BC5x-5Zgog7-r5Xp8e-5WTE2U-qWqZjJ-Tmqt2R-Dj1UGe-fQnfE6-26vzoxg-oC8Cp3-jJCuZS-j8tGKR-EzdFHt-ksexL-pRae4g-9v22f-pRaUqc-a6nyK-9gkFNw-rcMksP">sunshine.patchoulli/Flickr.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historians point out that the Super Bowl is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2017.1348756">America’s largest shared cultural experience</a>. It could be argued that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00948705.1997.9714536">football fans learn to speak and shape their national identity</a> by, among other things, engaging in the sport. Football, in other words, embodies and reveals the main values of the culture, playing a key role in shaping the way in which Americans imagine their common national identity. </p>
<p>Considering all the morally problematic aspects surrounding football, it is worth asking: Is this the kind of social practice around which Americans should imagine and build their national identity? </p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This piece is part of our series on ethical questions arising from everyday life. We would welcome your suggestions. Please email us at <a href="mailto:ethical.questions@theconversation.com">ethical.questions@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103081/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Football plays an important role in American culture. Experts point out some ethical questions you might consider asking this season.Francisco Javier López Frías, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Penn StateCesar R. Torres, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies and Physical Education, The College at Brockport, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.