Football Fandom and Identity in the 21st Century

Arne Niemann is Professor of International Politics at the Department of Political Science, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. Alexander Brand is Professor of Political Science/International Relations at Rhine-Waal University in Kleve, Germany.Regina Weber is Researcher at the German Centre for Rail Traffic Research and Adjunct Lecturer at the Faculty of Society and Economics at Rhine-Waal University in Kleve, Germany.The three authors thank Florian Koch, Senior Lecturer at the Centre Interlangues (TIL), Université de Bourgogne (uB), for his contribution to the data collection.

• 1 Introduction.- 2. Europeanisation of Football.- 3. Football fan research.- 4. Europeanisation of Identity.- 5. Analytical framework and research approach.- 6. Identity work in online fan forum discussions.- 7. Surveying football fans: Cosmopolitans and Communitarians.- 8. Football fans’ narratives of Europe and the game.- 9. Conclusion.