Communication and Marketing in the Fight Against Racism in the Sports Context

Racism is a global hierarchy of superiority and inferiority that has been politically, culturally, and economically produced and reproduced for centuries by the institutions, in different countries, depending on their colonial history. In that sense, racism cannot be seen as a concept that is equal in every region of the world. Racism in sport is a research topic that has been particularly valued in recent years (and decades). There are several episodes of racism that occur in sport (among fans and athletes). In this sense, sports institutions (European and global) regularly invest in social marketing campaigns to raise awareness of this social phenomenon. Therefore, social media has allowed football fans to engage in discussions concerning football and other subjects. This chapter presents a brief theoretical reflection with three (European) examples of marketing campaigns against racism in sport (UEFA, Premier League, and F.C. Porto). This chapter presents inputs for marketing, ethics, and management in sport. At the end, lines of future research will be presented.

The Role of Brand and Fan Personalities in Building Fan-Brand Relationships

Football fans are consumers with special relationship with their favourite teams. Consumer-brand relationship is unique and ultimate in football context. However, the absence of these relationships is mainly due to a lack of communication and interaction. This research aims to investigate the impact of brand personality and fan personality on fan- brand relationships. Mixed methods were conducted that employed in-depth personal interviews with football professionals and fans to gain better insights regarding consumer-brand relationships and to develop a conceptual framework and research hypotheses. Then, a quantitative phase has been followed to test these hypotheses. 471 valid questionnaires were collected through a non-probability convenience sampling technique from Egyptian football fans. The findings have shown that brand personality and fan personality have a positive impact on each of interdependence, commitment, partner quality, self-connection, nostalgic attachment, intimacy as consumer-brand relationship dimensions in the football context.

Kicking It Out? Football Fans’ Views of Anti-Racism Initiatives in English Football

This article explores the views of 906 football fans (96% of whom selfidentified as White), collected via an online survey from May-June 2019, regarding the impact of the leading equality and inclusion organization, Kick It Out, in delivering initiatives to challenge the multifaceted expressions of racism by some White English football fans. Whilst fans recognize the importance of raising awareness of racial discrimination, nearly three quarters of White fans do not engage with any Kick It Out initiatives. In the face of new challenges, including the largely unregulated space of social media, and a socio-political climate that has facilitated the resurgence of overtly expressed bigoted, colour and cultural-based racisms, the article stresses that the English football authorities must support the work of anti-racism organizations to increase their potency amongst White fans if racial discrimination is to be more effectively challenged in the future.

Fan Reflections on Sexuality in Women's Football in the United Kingdom

This article presents the responses of 1,432 male association football fans, collected via an online survey from March 2020 to April 2020, regarding their views on sexuality in women's football in the United Kingdom. The analysis focuses on two broad themes that emerged from the data: (1) the association of women footballers with masculinity and how they subsequently transgress the traditional characteristics of femininity; and (2) a reduced stigma surrounding sexuality in women's football given its lower profile in terms of coverage and the smaller number of fans in comparison to men's football. The article concludes by outlining how there is less homonegativity concerning sexuality in women's football in the United Kingdom, primarily because the heteromasculine position of male fans is not challenged, but fans also reaffirm the stereotypes and myths of nonheterosexual women playing a sport like football.

Jinx, Control, and the Necessity of Adjustment: Superstitions Among Football Fans

Superstitions are behaviors human beings use to gain a sense of control over certain events in their lives. Thus, sport and its inherent uncertainty provide fertile ground for superstitious behavior. Research on this subject has focused mainly on athletes while examining the behavioral expressions, motivations, and characteristics of fans’ superstitions that have remained marginal; therefore, the present paper aims to address this lacuna by analyzing these behaviors as part of sports fandom and fans’ daily routines. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 24 Israeli football fans of local teams. Key findings illustrate two themes: time dependent acts of superstition; and place. It is argued that superstitious behavior serves fans in two ways. First, making them feel their actions influence the match outcomes and helping their favorite team beyond simply cheering in the stands. Second, reducing the level of uncertainty and subsequent stress level characteristic of being a sports fan. Furthermore, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when fans’ access to stadiums was restricted, the results show that the fans’ absence from the stadiums led to a reduction in the quantity and frequency of their superstitious behaviors, pointing to the significance of sporting venues in fan behavior.

Football fans’ views on the passolig e-ticket system and the decline in stadium attendance: the case of the Turkish football super league

The aim of this research is to investigate the reasons behind the decline in stadium attendance in the Turkish Football Super League since the implementation of the Passolig e-ticket system as well as football fans’ views on this system. The research sample consisted of football fans living in the province of Sakarya. The total number of participants was 500. A questionnaire comprising three parts was used for data collection. The first part of the questionnaire included questions aimed at identifying personal details of the participants; the second part included questions intended to identify their viewpoints on Passolig; the third part asked about their opinions concerning the reasons behind the decline in stadium attendance. The questionnaire contained 38 questions in total, 37 of which were prepared in the form of a five-point Likert scale with an additional open-ended question to identify participants’ opinions of Passolig. Quantitative data obtained through the study were evaluated using the IBM SPSS 25.0 software package, and qualitative analysis methods were employed for coding the questions about participants’ opinions. The study concluded that based on the opinions of the participants, Passolig has not been able to fulfill its intended functions of increasing stadium attendance, minimizing violence, and preventing ticket touting. The participants view Passolig as a means of generating unearned income and understand its implementation as one of the main reasons for the decline in stadium attendance. Besides the implementation of Passolig, high ticket prices, the weak financial situation of fans, and media broadcasts that provoke violence were among the foremost reported reasons for the decline in stadium attendance.

Worlds of evidence

The Hillsborough football stadium disaster (1989) in Sheffield, UK, led to the deaths of 96 football fans and resulted in the longest jury case in British legal history (2016). This article examines the witness statements of two Sheffield residents who claim to have attended the match. Using a mixed-methods approach that incorporates a cognitive linguistic framework (Text World Theory) with visualisation software (VUE) we consider both form and function of a number of linguistic features, such as meta-narrative, evaluative lexis, syntax, and modality to investigate how institutional voices permeate and potentially distort layperson narratives. Our analysis casts doubt on the veracity of the statements and raises questions about what can be considered evidential in a forensic investigation.

Associations between sociodemographic and behavioural variables, fanaticism and aggressiveness of soccer fans

Soccer fans’ aggressiveness has serious consequences for individuals and society. However, its predictive factors have been poorly investigated. This study aimed to examine variables that predict soccer fans’ aggressiveness. This survey, correlational and cross-sectional research involved 210 participants, which were equivalent in crowd type (105 belonging to organized fan crowds and 105 not belonging to organized fan crowds), sex and age. The measurement instruments were: sociodemographic, occupational and behavioural questionnaires; the Fanaticism Scale for Football Fans; and the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Results showed high aggressiveness in both groups and correlations between aggressiveness and fanaticism, sociodemographic and behavioural variables. Furthermore, the predictors of aggressiveness were fanaticism, age and time affiliated with the organized crowd. Therefore, it is concluded that sociodemographic and behavioural variables and fanaticism are important for understanding this phenomenon.