In the study of local politics in Indonesia, researchers have begun to turn their attention to the role of sporting organizations such as football clubs and their fans. It is widely believed in local ...communities that football is closely linked to politics, given that it has been observed that almost any form of social network can be used for electoral purposes in Indonesia. Supporters' clubs are a site where masses of ordinary people congregate, with a fanaticism which could offer lucrative political returns for politicians able to translate that passion into votes. However, thus far, the literature on Indonesian local politics provides little information on how football supporters are mobilized politically at the grassroots. This study therefore tests the proposition that football fan clubs can be used for electoral mobilization by way of a close study of one such club, Aremania, in the 2017 local election in the city of Batu, East Java. The analysis confounds expectations, showing that this fan club was not readily converted into a vote bank, largely as a consequence of its egalitarian organizational pattern and culture. At least in some cases, therefore, it seems that football clubs are one rare category of social group in Indonesia that is resistant to political mobilization. The argument is sharpened by way of a comparison with Argentina, where football supporters' clubs are more hierarchically organized and more closely linked to politics.
Preference analysis was conducted among supporter club members of the German national soccer team. Survey results based on 493 completed questionnaires underline the market potential of official fan ...loyalty programmes due to a high average willingness to pay and a general preference for cheap and easy to implement 'right of first refusal' benefits for tickets as the main supporters club feature. Adequately designed supporters clubs may present soccer clubs with a new source of income while creating opportunities to improve stadium atmosphere and security.
This article explored a new approach to football fandom by Liverpool F.C. supporters club in Nsukka, Nigeria. Between 2019 and 2020, this group embarked on thanksgiving ceremonies to commemorate the ...successes of Liverpool F.C. within that period. The study adopted participant observation and oral interviews as methods of data collection. Findings show that the reason for the thanksgiving ceremonies by the group is anchored on a tenacious faith in God, who can do all things, including helping Liverpool F.C. win trophies. This finding brings to scholarly attention the much-neglected role the Christian faith plays in football fandom among young people in Nsukka, Nigeria.
This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of supporters club members and gain basic insights into how a supporters’ club should be managed in the future. Specifically, the study analyzed the ...Sakai Blazers Supporters’ Club and compared the annual fees, reasons for joining the club, attractions of the club, membership benefits, and team support activities by membership type and age group. The data were collected from 350 members of the Sakai Blazer Supporters’ Club. The comparison by membership type clearly showed that while “Socio” members wanted a higher-priced member category, “Friends” members wanted a lower-priced one. In addition, it seemed that one of the reasons that Socio members preferred that membership type was the range of member benefits it provided. In terms of what they liked about the fan club, Socio members wanted to support the team more than Friends members did. The same tendency was observed in regard to their intention to support the team. The results of the age group comparison showed that “players” was the keyword among members in their 20s and 30s, indicating that they valued opportunities to obtain players’ information and see them in person. On the other hand, the keyword among the members in their 60s and 70s was “connection,” suggesting that they became members through their connections to, for example, the local community, corporate sponsors, and individuals involved in the team.
Contradictory themes of multiculturalism in Australia are examined through case study analysis of suburban soccer leagues, particularly the Bad Blue Boys, a group of Croatian young male fans of the ...Sydney United team in the National Soccer League. It is argued that the displays of ethnic nationalistic allegiance among these youth have been prompted by a sense of exclusion. While some defended such displays as an expression of ethnicity, others find ethnicized soccer offensive, suggesting that living in a multicultural society obliges ethnic groups to conform to Australian customs. The need to rethink existing theorizing on multiculturalism is discussed. 43 References. Adapted from the source document.
Democratic societies are challenged by various violent and organized groups, be they terrorists, gangs or organized hooligans. In exchange for offering an identity, leaders in such groups typically ...require members to be violent. We introduce a simple model to capture these stylized facts, and then study the effects of policing. We find that an increase in the marginal cost of violence always reduces violence, while increasing the indiscriminate fixed cost may backfire and result in smaller and more violent groups.
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