Allison, Rachel and Pope, Stacey (2022) 'Becoming Fans: Socialization and Motivations of Fans of the England and U.S. Women’s National Football Teams.', Sociology of sport journal. .
Abstract
The professionalization, commercialization, and mediatization of women’s football have opened new opportunities for fan attachments, engagements, and identities. Yet limited empirical research has addressed how or why fandom develops for women’s football, particularly in comparative perspective. We rely on in-depth interview data collected with adults in England (n = 49) and the United States (n = 53) who attended live matches of the 2019 Women’s World Cup to address pathways into and motivations for fandom. We find that awareness of and attachment to women’s football developed through exposure to women’s football mega events or online women’s football communities, through having played football, or after being recruited by existing fans. For English fans only, fandom included when men’s teams added women’s sides or through attending local women’s matches. Motivations for fandom included connections to players, family, and friends, appreciation of athletic talent, a commitment to gender equality, entertainment, and the inclusivity of fan cultures.
Item Type: | Article |
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Full text: | (AM) Accepted Manuscript Download PDF (554Kb) |
Status: | Peer-reviewed |
Publisher Web site: | https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0036 |
Publisher statement: | Accepted author manuscript version reprinted, by permission, from Sociology of Sport Journal, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0036. © Human Kinetics, Inc. |
Date accepted: | No date available |
Date deposited: | 01 April 2022 |
Date of first online publication: | 16 December 2021 |
Date first made open access: | 01 April 2022 |
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