Soccer Fandom & Democracy

Explicating the Civic Potentials of Sport and Sporting Events

Project Description

This project examines how soccer supporter communities organize their activities as forms of collective action that extend beyond sport into broader civic life. Working with a locally active soccer supporter association, the study explores how participation in supporter culture shapes individuals’ sense of belonging, identity, and engagement with their communities. By focusing on associational structures and organizing practices, the project seeks to understand how sport fandom can serve as a pathway to sustained civic engagement.

Project Information

Project Lead: Alex Gang

Research Team:

• Paul Kimbrough
• Kento Ichimura (SPMGT – Graduate)
• Sadie Chamberlain (SPMGT – Undergraduate)
• Kaylie DeMerritt (SPMGT – Undergraduate)

Partner(s): The 509 Syndicates
Period: 2025 – Current

Project Goals

• Understanding Soccer Fandom Culture: To develop a deeper understanding of American soccer supporter culture as an emerging and understudied social context, with attention to its practices and forms of participation.
• Organizing and Civic Pathways: To examine how associational structures and organizing practices within supporter communities create pathways for broader civic engagement, including participation, coordination, and collective action.
• Sport as Public Sphere: To explore soccer fandom as a potential site of public sphere where communication and tension unfold among diverse stakeholders, revealing both the possibilities and limitations of sport as a platform for civic engagement.