Game of two passions: a football fan's autoethnography

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of autoethnography within the context of sports fandom. This paper advocates the use of such qualitative methodologies to enable a greater understanding of sports fans. The paper also aims to provide greater understanding of sports fandom. Design/methodology/approach – The research moves away from traditional methodologies of studying sports fandom from an objective viewpoint and uses an evocative autoethnography to provide an account of the lived experience of a sports fan. Findings – By writing himself into his research it has been possible to gain a deeper insight into sports fandom. The subject of passion arises and while the Dualistic Model of Passion was explored as a mechanism for dealing with obsessive passion it is suggested that attempting to move away from a state of obsessive passion may diminish the enjoyment of being a sports fan. Practical implications – This paper highlights the benefits that methodologies such as autoethnography can have for academics studying sports fandom and other disciplines. It encourages academics to overcome the perceived lack of academic acceptance of the method. Originality/value – This paper utilises a qualitative methodology to explore the experience of being a sports fan. This methodological approach is yet to be fully embraced within this field and hence there is a lack of in-depth data on the experiences of sports fans. This account will allow readers to develop a greater understanding and insight of sports fans

The China Question and Soccer in Australia

This chapter addresses key manifestations of football in Australia’s relationship with China: Australia’s identity and China’s approach to recognition of Australia as an Asian football country (for example, the foreign player rules regarding Australian players in the Chinese Super League, and attitudes of Chinese and Australian football fans towards Australia competing in Asian competitions); Chinese interest in football in Australia, including actual and proposed ownership of A-League clubs and inter-club networking; and orientations to football among Chinese–Australian communities, particularly the positioning of grassroots Chinese leagues and football fan connections to the game in Australia. In bringing these various threads together, we seek to illuminate football’s global, regional and national dynamics, while exposing the many ways in which the game—and sport in general—is inevitably embedded in social, political, cultural and economic relations ranging from the hyper-local to the global

“Perhaps she only had a banana available to throw”: Habitus, racial prejudice, and whiteness on Australian Football League message boards

This article presents the findings of 2,415 posts collected from two prominent Australian Football League message boards that responded to a racist incident involving a banana being thrown at Adelaide Crows player, Eddie Betts, in August 2016. It adopts Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to examine the online practice of fans for evidence of racist discourse and the extent to which this was supported or contested by fellow fans. The overall findings are that online debates about race in Australian Rules Football and wider Australian society remain divided, with some posters continuing to reflect racial prejudice and discrimination towards non-whites. However, for the vast majority, views deemed to have racist connotations are contested and challenged in a presentation centering on social change and racial equality

An institutional analysis of gender (in)equalities, covid-19 and governance of elite women’s football in Australia, England and the USA

Purpose: Women’s football faces an existential threat from covid-19. Using case studies, we explore the covid-19 responses of three highly-ranked national football associations (Australia, England, and the USA) and their professional women’s football leagues to: (a) compare and shed new insights into the wide range of phased responses, and (b) establish recommendations for other nations to navigate major crises with their social and ethical responsibilities to women’s football. Methodology: Drawing on institutional theory, a framework analysis was undertaken examining 71 articles to analyse the gendered global impacts of covid-19 on women’s football. Findings: Results highlight several important recommendations for nations to consider during the pandemic: (1) maintain active communication with the community to allay worries about the future of women’s football, (2) gather support from health and government officials, (3) seek out commercial and broadcasting partnerships to drive revenue, and (4) the interests of women’s football are best served when responsibility for the elite women’s league does not rest (solely) with national football associations. Originality: The study is first to explore institutional pressures and football governing bodies during covid-19 and provides a framework for nations to manage major crises. Social implications: We argue sport is an interwoven part of society and cannot be separated from gender equality issues irrespective of the pandemic