CONTESTATION IN MODERN ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

Abstract

This article analyses the fandom of supporters from four professional English football clubs organized into Independent Supporters Associations (ISAs), and the extent to which these groups contest the rapidly changing culture of modern football. Broadly linking schools of fandom to class, it argues that ISAs combine certain `traditional' working class values with agenda developed by the Football Supporters Association, and contest some key dominant principles of modern commercial football. It concludes that, ironically, the new political economy of the modern English game can offer greater opportunities for fans of smaller clubs to contribute to decision-making processes.