{"id":64,"date":"2026-03-26T16:13:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T23:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/?page_id=64"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:58:36","slug":"soccer-fandom-democracy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/soccer-fandom-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Fandom & Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t
\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n\t
<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Soccer Fandom & Democracy<\/span><\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tExplicating the Civic Potentials of Sport and Sporting Events\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Project Description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Project Lead: Alex Gang<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Team:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Paul Kimbrough<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Kento Ichimura (SPMGT \u2013 Graduate)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sadie Chamberlain (SPMGT \u2013 Undergraduate)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Kaylie DeMerritt (SPMGT \u2013 Undergraduate)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Partner(s): The 509 Syndicates<\/span>
    Period: 2025 \u2013 Current<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Project Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Understanding Soccer Fandom Culture:<\/strong> 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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Organizing and Civic Pathways:<\/span><\/strong> To examine how associational structures and organizing practices within supporter communities create pathways for broader civic engagement, including participation, coordination, and collective action.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Sport as Public Sphere:<\/strong> 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44228,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":312,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions\/312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=64"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/civicsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=64"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}