Last year Sky Sports commissioned a report to qualify the different types of football fans among us. I didn’t see this study get a lot of air time locally in Australia, so I wanted dive back into it. What this report highlighted, is the degree to which soccer has penetrated our everyday conversations, bahaviours and culture. In other words, there’s more to meat pies and scarves at the footy!
The report, called ‘Football Fandom in 2021’, described four different subcultures of fans: ‘Lifers’, those life-long one club fanatics; ‘Stattos’, the numbers obsessed and good at fantasy football; ‘Expressionists’, love the merging of the sport with fashion and music; ‘Socialisers’, come together with family and friends around games; and, ‘Game Changers’, a group that sees the social change possible through football.
Socialisers are the most interesting group to me. They connect around the game and seem to “enjoy how big wins bring communities together,” according to a story on this on the Sky Sports site. This idea goes beyond the individual fan’s personal interest and love of a team – it alludes to a sort of tribalism.
Indeed, the modern football fan is complicated, mostly because he or she is often more interested in occurrences that go beyond the score or highlights. For these people there’s a social ritual of football, a weekly gathering of the tribe around the bonfire.
Future Leaders Fellow (UK Research & Innovation) at the School of Anthropology and Conservation at Kent University, Dr Martha Newson helps explain this connection. She says that as a contact sport, football is like the modern version of a tribal a battlefield or the scene of big-game hunting. This attribute triggers an ancient psychological need to stick together. She adds that this is emphasised in football culture, especially in this era of greater connectivity.
“Football has always been about the shared experience and shared territories,” says Newson. “Modern technology provides chances to extend your social football circle, but at the same time means people can watch remotely – without sharing these experiences together. Our research suggests without sharing the experience in person, there’s less opportunity to bond.”
Of course, the sport has always been built around communities but the community – or coming together of likeminded people – has noticeably expanded in recent years. Beyond the 90 minutes of the match, says Newson, there’s hours of gossip, checking stats on your phone, and meeting a stranger in another country who is instantly a friend through football. And importantly, these ties are broadening even more in recent times.
“Opening the stadium-based game more to women, less able bodied people, and the lgbtq+ community will strengthen these social connections more widely,” says Newson.
Of the fan’s evolving relationship to the sport, Liverpool legend and Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher recently said: “The relationship between fans and football is evolving and we are seeing far more people interact with football in so many ways. It’s great to celebrate this diversity and open the door to conversations with people we wouldn’t have before.”
The Sky Sports report also noted the importance of player voices on social issues. It has one very compelling number in regard to this: it found an overwhelming 70% of people feel the power of players has enabled the nation to advance conversations around discrimination, while 63% believe they have a better understanding of social and economic issues because of their love of football.
The progression of the fan in 2022 is fascinating and for many of who’ve long enjoyed the game, a welcome shift that has made chatting about sports even more impactful and rewarding.
The Soccer Pitch Is Green 