This document discusses how well new digital, social and broadcast media can replicate the experience of attending a live football match. It analyzes the shift from traditional working-class supporters attending matches to a more commercialized model where matches are consumed remotely through media. Traditionally, attending matches provided community and mental health benefits for supporters. The match atmosphere and ability to vocally support their team allowed cathartic release. However, increasing costs have priced out many traditional supporters. The document examines how football stadiums are carefully designed spaces that allow supporters to escape social norms and experience a sense of belonging. It questions if new media can generate these same feelings of authentic community and benefits to well-being. Research was conducted through

1. 20 September 2016
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MSc Events Management
William Potter
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND

2. 1
Abstract
A determined commodification of English top-flight football since the inception of the Premier League
twenty-four years ago recently culminated in a multibillion pound deal for the TV rights of Premier
League football matches from 2016-19. Disenfranchised ‘traditional supporters’ have steadily been
priced out of attending football stadiums that had previously functioned as places of community and
aided the development of tribal identities for the local, working classes.
This study set out to discover whether this suppressed sense of community and well-being can be
replicated outside the servicescapes of football stadiums, by digital, social and broadcast media
outlets. An initial inquiry into football spectatorship habits of Premier League football supporters
helped identify a probable discrepancy in the mindsets of consumers, who rejected prospects of
replication, and producers, who continue in their pursuit of reproducing the live match day
experience.
Thematically analysed primary data helped reveal a demand for immediacy of information and
experience from supporters who were unable to watch their team live. This data is matched against
social research theory, as well as current and future media trends. It enables a broad discussion on
the authenticity of fandom, community and experience, which guides a liberal conception of
authenticity for new footballing communities, who should value knowledge of their footballing
heritage, but focus on generating their own understanding of what is meaningful to them.
New generations of supporters have different needs, but a preoccupation by Premier League football
clubs to generate revenues off lucrative brand-communities across the globe proved detrimental to
the promotion of community and well-being for the modern, or ‘post-fandom’ football supporter. The
commercial gain of abusing the history and tradition of former support is in danger of causing more
damage by overshadowing moments of utopia that validate the experiences of new communities.
There is a clear aim for this paper to act as an indicative set of recommendations for further research.
A communication strategy for Premier League teams is formulated alongside a reminder to these
global businesses, of their corporate social responsibility to promote valuable social networks that
cater to all footballing communities. By utilising a symbolic construction of community, the paper
offers no clear blueprint, but provides a promising outlook for the continued benefits of football
spectatorship.

3. 2
Table of Contents
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction............................................................................................................................................3
Context of Study.....................................................................................................................................4
The Traditional Supporter......................................................................................................................4
Community and Well-Being................................................................................................................5
Deconstructing the Football Stadium .................................................................................................6
Temporary Autonomous Zones ..........................................................................................................7
Authenticity of Support and Experience ...............................................................................................8
Table 1.1 – ‘Authentic’ and ‘inauthentic’ fans ...............................................................................................9
Post-fandom.........................................................................................................................................11
Power and Potential of the Premier League .......................................................................................12
Money and the Premier League .......................................................................................................12
Table 1.2 – Rise of Premier League TV Income............................................................................................13
Broadcast Media...............................................................................................................................13
Digital Media.....................................................................................................................................15
Figure 1.1 Ownership of and interest in Ultra HD 4K TVs............................................................................16
Social Media......................................................................................................................................17
Figure 1.2 – Use of Smartphones at Live Sports Events...............................................................................18
Research Methodology and Ethical Considerations ...........................................................................19
Sample...............................................................................................................................................21
Quality of Data..................................................................................................................................22
Results and Discussion.........................................................................................................................23
The Authentic Match Day Experience...............................................................................................23
Figure 1.3 – Attendance of matches in a season .........................................................................................24
Footballing Communities..................................................................................................................27
Perceived Mental Health Benefits ....................................................................................................30
Utilising Social Media........................................................................................................................32
Conclusions and Recommendations....................................................................................................35
Summary...........................................................................................................................................35
Limitations and Recommendations for Further Research................................................................36
Implications for Digital, Social and Broadcast Media Outlets...........................................................37
Implications for Football Clubs .........................................................................................................37
Promoting Community and Well-Being............................................................................................38
Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................40

4. 3
Introduction
This paper initially seeks to provide a review and critical discussion of the positive attributes of
attending a live football match, based on an abundance of football fandom literature. A suggested
consensus of the traditional football supporter will provide a platform from which to critique different
definitions and conceptions of footballing communities from the past. By suggesting key themes found
in new qualitative research taken from twenty-five questionnaire responses, the paper moves on to
discuss the ability and limitations of new digital, social and broadcast media outlets to replicate the
experiences of the ‘traditional supporter’. Having explored similarities, the data manages to adopt a
proactive function, that brings to light methods to produce footballing communities that promote a
state of mental health and well-being amongst supporters.
A vast base of football fandom literature (Lawrence, 2016; Fillis & Mackay, 2014; Henderson, 2009;
Sandvoss, 2004; Giulianotti, 2002; Jones, 2001; Bar-On, 1997; Redhead, 1997; Buford, 1991; Taylor,
1971) enables this new research to be matched against current and predicted future trends of
watching and following football. This helps in structuring the paper towards a clear purpose, which is
to identify recommendations for football broadcasters, teams and media outlets in the UK. These
recommendations focus on three criteria. Firstly, how media outlets can better replicate, or enhance
the breath-taking intensity, cathartic release and sense of atmosphere of attending a live football
match; secondly, a communication strategy for Premier League clubs that is both sensitive to local
communities and commercially effective for global audiences; and finally, a strategy to change the
perception of authenticity for supporters in the ‘post-fandom’ era that promotes community and well-
being. Prior to analysing how social theory research is linked to football fandom literature, this paper
provides a context through which the relevance of these comparisons are illuminated. A
comprehensive investigation into current and future media trends precedes a discussion of results
from this study, that link back to the secondary research already presented.
The footballing communities referred to initially are reassessed after a discussion of the new research
offered by this study. Using Benedict Anderson’s (1991) idea of ‘imagined communities’, this paper
moves on to query whether the physical proximity of a fanbase, or a fan’s attendance at a stadium, is
any better at demonstrating a sense of community for a football team. This conceptual point may help
to overcome narrow-minded preconceptions of the ‘inauthentic fan’, but of greater concern, is
whether these new online communities can provide the same qualities of well-being generated by the
liminal space of a football stadium. The carefully crafted physical environment, or servicescape (Fisk,
Rosenbaum & Massiah, 2011; Bitner, 1992) of modern football stadia, coupled with years of tribalism
and tradition, manage to create a version of what Hakim Bey (1991: 53) termed a temporary

5. 4
autonomous zone. The questionnaire responses suggest that the atmosphere and pure cathartic
release of support and camaraderie cannot be replicated by the more mediated experiences online or
on TV. With increasingly immersive new digital technologies continuing to emerge, this paper
concludes by suggesting that this supressed sense of well-being is attainable with the hope and belief
of emerging social networks and the imagined communities of cyberspace.
Context of Study
The ‘Big Bang’ moment (Henderson, 2009: 38) for English football arrived on 20 February 1992, when
the Premier League was officially formed. This landmark decision paved the way for Rupert Murdoch
and BSkyB, to secure a £304m, exclusive five-year deal for live Premier League matches (O’Brien, 2004:
2). The resultant TV scheduling sacrificed a simple tradition of teams kicking off at three o'clock on a
Saturday afternoon, which exists because of old shift patterns of the working classes (Atkinson, 2016).
This shift signalled the death of the ‘traditional supporter’, with audiences now being regarded above
supporters as the key cultural players (Sandvoss, 2004: 137). Television had become football’s primary
referent (Redhead, 2007: 232) and new audiences “emptied clubs and stadia of local meanings”
(Ruddock et al., 2010: 327).
Fast forward twenty-four years, and a record £1.165bn has been spent by the twenty teams that make
up the English Premier League in the 2016 transfer window just passed (BBC, 2016). A £5.1bn
television deal which came into effect from the start of the 2016/17 season (Guardian, 2016) enabled
the loosening of purse strings by these clubs and adds pertinence to the subject matter of this paper.
It highlights not only the value broadcasters such as Sky and BT place on live football matches as
fundamental to the success of their business, but also the relentless transition from Premier League
football as a spectator sport, to what the more cynical scholars of footballing studies (Guilianotti,
2002; Redhead, 1997) describe as a business fuelled by customers. This point will be discussed by
critiquing the emergence of the term ‘post-fandom’ (Davis, 2015; Guilianotti, 2002; Redhead, 1997),
that questions the authenticity of football fans whose interactions are predominately online or from
afar.
The Traditional Supporter
Football pre-Murdoch had a far deeper connection to social background. It was known as the
“people’s game” and fandom was “immersed in class” (Davis, 2015: 423). For these working-class, or
‘traditional supporters’, the club was part of their culture and as Richard Giulianotti (2002: 27) attests:
“Working-class fans during the 1930s might have seen themselves as members within a participant
culture at football clubs”. Post-war, an emerging “society of leisure” (Taylor, 1971: 148) entailed a

6. 5
“bourgeoisification” of football culture, but it was not until the late 1980s and ultimately Murdoch’s
millions in 1992, that the traditional bedrock of working class support started to shift from the stands.
Increasingly expensive tickets for matches meant that the working classes were being priced out of
attending grounds that they had an “affectionate relationship” with (Guilianotti, 2002: 33). These
traditional supporters are unlikely to switch allegiances, whereas new consumer fans are more
market-oriented (Fillis & Mackay, 2013: 337). This shift, in the opinion of Giulianotti, is contentious,
as he believes traditional fans are the custodians of the game, so their plight during this process of
commercialization is evidence of a negative transition (Jones, 2012: 38). John Williams (2006: 102)
agrees that the commercialization of English football sacrifices the traditional virtues and social codes
of the game. Football spectator communities consequently fixate themselves on the tenuous
relationship between traditional football-going communities and the hyper-commercialisation of
professional clubs (Lawrence, 2016: 285). The focus here is not whether the plight of the ‘traditional
supporter’ is detrimental to the game, but that there is an agreed consensus that they have an
important historic attachment to their team: socially, culturally and physically.
Community and Well-Being
The extensive documenting of football hooliganism in the 1970s and 80s (Steen, 2014; Redhead, 1997;
Buford, 1991) meant that the positive attributes of attending football matches were largely
overlooked. Football started as an expression of community. Being a traditional supporter, “meant
being local and physically present at matches”, which helped provide opportunities for the working
classes to generate a sense of meaningful collective place and identity (Steen, 2014: 32-60). The
players were usually local and this added to the collective spirit, with people living very normal,
modest lives, able to gain broader social networks and important personal values which go beyond
family support (Pringle, 2004: 123). Without a strong family unit, this community provided a sense of
personal identity, which both represents the place they live and enjoys varying degrees of success,
that they might not have experienced in a personal capacity.
Social and sport psychologist, Daniel Wann (2006: 276), champions the positive health effects on offer
for spectators at a football match. The average Joe “can feel part of something grander than the
self…gain vital connections to others in their community and…reap the psychological well-being
benefits that accompany their sense of connectedness”. This sentiment is echoed by mental health
professor, Alan Pringle (2004: 122), whose study of Mansfield Town supporters found “recurring
themes around fans experiencing a sense of belonging, positive changes in mood and the importance
of a socially acceptable arena for the discharge of frustration and stress-related tension”. The study of
Mansfield Town supporters draws particular interest as it focuses on an ‘unfashionable’ team in the

7. 6
lower recognised divisions of English football. This club, less likely to have ‘consumer fans’, can draw
parallels with the ‘traditional supporters’ aforementioned – increasing the likelihood of former
footballing communities of the ’top-flight’ English teams receiving these perceived mental health
benefits.
Gau and James (2014: 49) identify a sense of accomplishment, loyalty and enjoyment amongst key
personal values that are derived through the consumption of spectator sports. These values are all
capable of replication through mediated televisual experiences. The missing factor – crucially for
stress-relieving purposes of well-being - is the cathartic release of attending and contributing vocal
support or disdain towards football teams (and referees). Whether it is appropriate practice to
alleviate emotional distress at a football stadium is open to interpretation, but pretension should not
mask its capacity for healing. It is unlikely that the same cathartic release would be replicated outside
a football stadium. The atmosphere at a lively pub might be an appropriate venue for vocal football
fans, but only thirteen per cent of patrons list live sport as a reason to go to pubs (Mintel, 2016a),
weakening its stance as a footballing community.
Deconstructing the Football Stadium
Any connection between perceived mental health benefits and one’s attendance at a football match
is contingent on the ability of the match day atmosphere at a football stadium to have transformative
qualities. It is important therefore, to analyse the physical and symbolic dimensions of a football
stadium’s servicescape, as well as the socially acceptable, ‘carnivalesque’ behaviours sanctioned on
match day. The ability of the servicescape to provide meaning, and hence authenticity, is a key
component in developing a state of mental health and identity for supporters. Whether the methods
used to trigger meaningful experiences come from a place of authenticity themselves may be
detrimental to uneducated supporters, who develop a misplaced sense of identity, based on
exaggerated traditions and customs.
It is the history of a club such as Manchester United that made Sir Bobby Charlton christen it the
‘Theatre of Dreams’ (Taylor, 1996: 171), but Fernandes & Neves (2014: 555) point out a lack of
empirical evidence on the role of the carefully constructed servicescape in football studies, which
“influence consumer attitudes and behavior” and “generate customers’ satisfaction, which in turn has
a positive effect on their desire to repeat the experience”. They recognise the design of football
stadiums, that “allow comfortable and free exploration of the service experience”. This manipulation
of the physical dimension of the servicescape helps remove the weights of societal expectation,
enabling customers, or supporters, to meet their needs without consciously pursuing them. It

8. 7
“provides participants with an opportunity to live natural and primitive experiences and feel less
constrained by social norms and routines” (Kim and Jamal, 2007: 184).
Football clubs mimic conceivably authentic themes to create the illusion (Wang, 2015; Meir, 2009) of
a stadium packed with traditional supporters. Reminders of social and cultural history such as
Liverpool FC playing, ‘You’ll never walk alone’, at the start and end of every match at Anfield, helps
generate a vociferous passion that might otherwise be lacking. Amongst tens of thousands of people,
it is quite possible to be transported to a liminal space that allows the free expression of anger,
laughter, crying and chanting. Football club owners tolerate this “carnivalesque activity as long as it
adds to the atmosphere and makes the spectacle more attractive” (Spracklen & Lamond, 2016).
Temporary Autonomous Zones
The excitement and passion of the match day atmosphere are mutually beneficial for owners and
broadcasters, who benefit from the commercial draw of such an occasion, and supporters, who thrive
off the shared sense of tribalism. It creates an interesting social setting - free from the social norms of
the outside world. It can be thought of, as anarchist writer, Hakim Bey, describes: a temporary
autonomous zone (TAZ). The immersive servicescape of a football stadium frees grown men (more
commonly than women) from their worries, anxieties and emotional seatbelts. Bey (1991: 56) heralds
these temporary healing properties, but warns against “all entanglements with permanent solutions”.
Returning to watch the same team, in the same stadium, every other week, provides some
predictability to the process and perhaps prevents the football stadium from truly being a TAZ,
especially as “the ground became managed as a venue” (Davis, 2014: 425). It is a shift from
uncontrolled to controlled anarchy, made easier by a temporary, but cyclical model for an
autonomous zone.
Mike and Kath Tyldesley (2015: 107) suggest that the fleeting nature of a match day can be described
as the “Fortnightly Autonomous Zone”. The “tribe gathers…Songs are sung, heroes saluted and then
it all vanishes” into empty terraces and plastic seating. They use Bey’s TAZ to imagine a positive,
utopian future for football spectators, where the desires and needs of supporters are given meaning
and influence. Traditional supporters’ conception of the ‘old days’ might omit their own version of a
TAZ - acts of hooliganism, with: “Nothingness in its beauty, its simplicity, its nihilistic purity” (Buford,
1991: 195). By identifying this selective nostalgia, new beliefs and meaning can be found. It is
important to recognise history and tradition, but it should not overshadow moments of utopia that
validate modern fans. Moments that allow football supporters to dream. Moments where their needs
are recognised and met. Moments such as Premier League teams capping away tickets at £30 for three
years (Premier League, 2016); Leicester City (5000/1 outsiders), champions of the ‘richest league in

9. 8
the world’; or Everton donating £200,000 to help send five-year-old Sunderland mascot, Bradley
Lowery, to America for life-saving cancer treatment (Sunderland Echo, 2016). These are all utopian
moments in modern, Premier League football, that provide hope and belief for future football fans. If
they can be described as “utopia-in-the-gaps” (M. & K. Tyldesley, 2015: 106), then there might still be
hope for utopia in a match day stadium: the fortnightly autonomous zone.
Television and online media are even more mediated experiences than the crafted servicescapes of a
football stadium. They disconnect the match further from supporters and, in doing so, promote a
solitary experience. For Bey, extreme forms of mediation from digital media corporations widen the
gulf between production and consumption of sport and reinforce the alienation of the individual’s
existence (cited in Bar-On, 1997). The TAZ of a spectator at a football ground is mediated further with
the removal of the physical dimensions (crowd, stadium, atmosphere etc.) and introduction of an
inanimate screen. No doubt, football supporters will continue to relish the transformative qualities of
the liminal zone that is a football stadium. What is not clear, is whether or not these are authentic
experiences; the result of physical and symbolic manipulation of servicescape; or social actors playing
their role. The following section shall explore these possibilities.
Authenticity of Support and Experience
An authentic experience, person, or act, have all evolved through many understandings, with some
conceding: ‘‘there are at least as many definitions of authenticity as there are those who write about
it.’’ (Taylor, 2001: 8). Despite being a highly contested subject, most agree that an authentic
experience is subjective by nature (Novello & Fernandez, 2014; Robinson & Clifford, 2012; Reisinger
& Steiner, 2006; Wang, 1999). Despite this, there still remain different kinds and standards of
authenticity that are important to address in the digital age. It is worth separating out three strands
of authenticity for the purpose of this paper: Firstly, whether there exists a defining set of
characteristics for the authentic, or inauthentic fan. Secondly, the authenticity of experience within
the football stadium’s servicescape and to what extent the mediated platform of a TV, or computer
screen, changes this. And finally, the interpretation of authentic action and reaction by social actors
playing spectators.
The prevailing argument for many traditional supporters, is that they command a more significant
status as authentic fans, who attend matches and enjoy geographical, social and cultural attachments
to their club. This is a hot topic for disagreement on football forums and social media channels online.
Professor Stephen Wagg (2004: 29) lists a stereotypical set of distinctions between the two types of
fan (Table 1.1).

10. 9
There are different categories at work here. Personality traits such as ‘fickle’ and ‘ignorant’ are easier
to categorise as inauthentic, than socioeconomic or geographical classifications such as ‘middle-class’,
or ‘non-local’. The values listed as authentic are distinctive of what has already been established as
the ‘traditional supporter’. The traditional stereotypes are therefore symptomatic of the traditional
supporter. This table serves not as an indication of the authentic supporter, but rather of an authentic
traditional supporter. There are different versions of the supporter, as this paper moves on to discuss,
that are authentic in different ways. Premier League teams especially, have gone through a process of
deterritorialization, that makes non-local, or online communities, just as authentic as the local
communities of the place they reside (Sandvoss, 2004: 92). It is a controversial conclusion, but what
makes a fan authentic is based more on the liberty, knowledge and meaning for the individual, than
the status, location or action of the collective. What this means for the personal identities of different
types of supporter is not as clear. Whether the ‘non-local’ fan can value a club as part of their personal
identity in the same way a local fan can is increasingly unclear as clubs become decreasingly
representative of their local communities.
The second, crucial point, for this paper, concerns the authenticity of experience. Donald Getz (2008:
404) states that: "Much of the appeal of events is that they are never the same, and you have to ‘be
there’ to enjoy the unique experience fully". By watching a live stream of a football match, with the
current service offered by broadcasters in the UK, there is no doubt that certain elements of the match
day experience are absent. The mediated form of broadcasting live football has failed on account of
being unable to fully replicate the experience of ‘being there’. Authenticity, in terms of the ‘match day
experience’ has not been replicated on television. At the same time, the individual's engagement at
modern football stadiums has become more staged. Pine and Gilmore (2011) note that, "the prevailing
Table 1.1 – ‘Authentic’ and ‘inauthentic’ fans

11. 10
contemporary thought is that (the) future success of companies no longer relies on their operational
abilities but rather on sustaining consumers’ perceptions of the experience’s authenticity" (cited by
Milman, 2013: 72). A lack of technology prevents some authentic aspects of the match day experience
being recreated, but vast aspects of the in-stadium experience are rejected, in favour of better-angles,
analysis and replays for example. The perception of the authentic match day experience is
manipulated inside the stadium in a deliberate way, that challenges the nature of experience. Moods
and emotions might be influenced by carefully constructed servicescapes, but what doesn’t change is
the game being played in front of them. This is more easily manipulated by broadcasters trying to add
to the excitement and spectacle, making it a less authentic experience for the viewer. Conversely,
there is less chance of one’s 'perception of authenticity' being altered if they have not travelled to a
setting which is providing products, services and other event attributes that may mask or enhance the
match day experience.
Attending a match suffers a loss of authenticity through manipulation of servicescape, but watching a
live stream suffers from broadcasting intervention and a failure to replicate the match day experience.
This second point is sometimes through choice, but it fails here, crucially, in reproducing a TAZ that
fosters the cathartic release and social integration that nurture mental health benefits such as well-
being. Novello & Fernandez (2014: 5) point out that, “within a liminal tourist space, conventional
norms are often temporally suspended as tourists take advantage of their relative anonymity and
freedom from community scrutiny. This liberation enables participants to develop an experience that
leads them toward an authentic sense of self”. A match that has been travelled to may possess a
deceiving physical dimension, but it manages to accomplish its aim by transforming the event
attendee to a setting where they can experience things in a childlike manner, away from the weight
of societal expectation. This is a mark of authenticity that broadcasters and digital media companies
have yet to match.
A preliminary consensus tells us that different kinds of authentic football supporters exist in varying
proximities to the team they support. The inauthentic fan can be found and is likely to be playing the
role of an authentic supporter inside the match day stadium. The traditional supporter has been priced
out of attending Premier League matches, which paves the way for consumer fans to buy a ticket to
“21st century’s most authentic reality show” (Steen, 2014: 15). These spectators have been weakened
to the point of actively pursuing experiences that go contrary to what they believe has true meaning
and authenticity for them (Mozaffaripour, 2015: 2660-1). The match might function as a mildly
amusing day out, but any passion or interest in the game is based on the societal demands of genuine
support inside the stadium. The French existentialist philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, defined people
acting without authenticity as acting in "bad faith" and the noticeable trend of individuals filming and

12. 11
documenting events, without actively engaging with them, is a prime example of the inauthentic fan,
who uses technology to showcase a 'perfect', but inauthentic version of oneself. It is a worrying trend,
with sixty-eight per cent of millennials now using smartphones at live sports events (Mintel, 2015).
The ability to interact via social media inside stadiums gives birth to another aspect of the event
experience and one must assess whether it can offer inner meaning, without consulting external
behavioural trends. This, Sartre (1948: 4) concedes, is the basis of existentialism and is a "profound
responsibility".
The existentialist themes of alienation and meaninglessness initiated by Sartre are taken on by Guy
Debord. Using his seminal work, ‘The Society of the Spectacle’, as a guide, there is a gloomy outlook
for the modern football supporter. It presents the concept of the ‘spectacle’, where: “All that was
once directly lived has become mere representation” (1967: 2). The commodification of almost every
aspect of life creates a situation where the authentic experience becomes almost impossible. Where
the traditional supporter lived directly, the modern fan will mediate their social existence and
experiences via broadcast or social media, using their smartphone and simulating an imitation of
reality.
Albert Camus, another French philosopher of the same era, once claimed: "All that I know most surely
about morality and obligations, I owe to football" (cited in Witzig, 2006: 4). If modern day football
spectatorship is indicative of a more general human condition as Camus contends, then this study
could act as a moral laboratory to judge our perception of life itself and the way we relate to others.
Its authenticity as a barometer for wider society will be assessed in relation to the subtleties of reality
that Debord defines: "The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people,
mediated by images” (1967: 4). Further discussion of football as a spectacle can be discussed more
clearly by studying the social revolution, or cleansing, that alienated many traditional supporters. For
the purpose of this study, these historical accounts are preferred to anecdotal evidence in producing
a working definition of the authentic traditional supporter. ‘Post-fandom’, as detailed in the following
section, helps explain the rise of Debord’s spectacle in football and contemporary consumer culture
in wider society. It is easier to make judgments on the authenticity of modern football, or ‘post-
fandom’ supporters, whose account of experience is more current.
Post-fandom
Having established stereotypical traits of the authentic traditional supporter, it is a good point to place
these in contrast to authentic traits of the ‘non-traditional’ supporter and introduce the emergence
of the term ‘post-fandom’. Steve Redhead (1997: 11) cited the 1990 World Cup Competition in Italy
when introducing the phrase. He regarded it in hindsight as “a self-fulfilling prophecy”, with English

13. 12
fans involved in more violence, on the back of two decades of relentless hooliganism. It was the end
of football fandom as was once perceived. A backlash and ‘clearing out’ of the traditional supporter
meant new football supporters were “manifestly born into post-fandom” (Redhead, 1997: 29). Richard
Guilianotti supports Redhead’s distinction of fandom, moving a step further by claiming all supporters
in the post-fandom era are essentially consumers (cited in Davis, 2015: 428). The consensus between
Redhead and Guilianotti is that football has removed the traditional supporter and replaced them with
market-oriented consumer fans.
The assumption of this post-fandom world, is that nothing can be authentic. As discussed, the
inauthentic fan does exist and they are consumers, as Guilianotti points out. However, his rejection of
the authentic fan is somewhat limiting. There is no reason to dismiss the genuine support of fans who
let their team encompass their entire lives. Earlier suggestions of evidence for hope and belief in
modern football revealed that there is “utopia-in-the-gaps” (M. & K. Tyldesley, 2015) for fans across
the globe who continue to “not only find their freedom, but themselves, and what it means to truly
belong to something like a community in football” (Davis, 2015: 433). The emergence of the term post-
fandom should be rejected if used to signify a date after which the authentic fan cannot exist.
Classifying one set, or era, of supporters as more authentic than another is unproductive and
unjustified.
Despite vehement rejection of one interpretation of post-fandom, it still manages to function as a
useful phrase. It is a convenient term to describe the years following the inception of the Premier
League and the coinciding fallout of the traditional supporter. This working definition of post-fandom
becomes useful as this paper explores how new kinds of supporters have adapted their sense of
community to their football team. Rather than exploring whether fandom still exists, the phrase, ‘post-
fandom’, will be used to describe an era where the perceived well-being of the traditional supporter
by attending football matches, has faded, with no clear alternatives. It is critical to determine the
modern day need for perceived mental health benefits of football spectatorship and vital then, to
discover and help foster the new footballing communities that give rise to these benefits.
Power and Potential of the Premier League
Money and the Premier League
The three-year, multibillion-pound TV rights deal for the 2016-19 English Premier League, represents
a seventy per cent increase on Sky and BT’s previous deal (Table 1.2), with every televised game now
worth more than £10m.

14. 13
This windfall led to a record £1.165bn being spent by Premier League teams in the 2016 summer
transfer window, including a world-record transfer fee of £89m by Manchester United for Paul
Pogba, a player they had sold four years previously for a pale-in-comparison sum of £1.5m
(Telegraph, 2016). Clubs continue to invest in players, with millions spent each week on wages and
the latest annual figures showing a rise of six per cent to a record £2bn in 2014/15. The relentless
upward trajectory of revenue growth that funds these extortionate transfer fees and wages is
encapsulated with the following statistic (Deloitte, 2016):
By half-time of the second Premier League game that is televised domestically in 2016/17,
more broadcast revenue will have been generated than by all the First Division matches
combined 25 years ago.
The Premier League now overtakes Major League Baseball as the second most lucrative league in the
world, behind the NFL (Guardian, 2015). It earns significantly more in foreign sales than any other
sports league in the world: a combined £2.23bn for 2013-16, that the MoS calculates will surge by
nearly fifty per cent to approximately £3.2bn for 2016-19 (Mail Online, 2016). Football is a global
phenomenon and the Premier League, one of the UK’s biggest exports, is leading the way.
Broadcast Media
Private UK broadcasters Sky and BT, retained the live Premier League TV rights for 2016-19, with the
BBC, a public service broadcaster, agreeing to pay £204m to retain the highlights (Guardian, 2015).
The sizeable investment of these broadcasting giants has already had a noticeable impact in terms of
scheduling, advertisement and punditry for live matches in the 2016/17 season. Both Sky and BT
launched multimillion pound marketing campaigns featuring high profile players, including David
Table 1.2 – Rise of Premier League TV Income
(BBC, 2015a)

15. 14
Beckham and Gareth Bale. The advertisements are not dissimilar in grandiosity to a trailer for a
Hollywood blockbuster, perhaps unsurprisingly, with movie budget figures allocated for every game.
Sky Sports, who continue to be the most innovative broadcaster, have matched the 2010-11
introduction of Monday Night Football (MNF) with a new primetime slot on Fridays, conveniently
named: Friday Night Football (FNF). The success story of MNF is thanks to its two ex-footballers, Jamie
Carragher and Gary Neville, whose insightful analysis is matched with a colourful rivalry and unlikely
camaraderie between the lifelong Liverpool and Manchester United representatives. A 2016 ‘Best
Sports Programme’ award for MNF, alongside a 2014 and 2015 ‘Best Sports Presenter, Commentator
or Pundit’ for Gary Neville at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards (RTS, 2016) confirms the
innovative broadcasting standard Sky Sports has set. Football fans enjoy matching the historical
allegiances of passionate pundits, with the ‘dressing-room insight’ of recent ex-players. Gary Hughes,
Sky Sports' head of football, recognises this successful format, admitting they actively scout ageing
players with a view to hiring them when they retire: “Gary (Neville) always spoke well at press
conferences” (Joe, 2016). Perhaps surprisingly then, FNF has adopted a different approach, hiring the
light entertainment pairing of Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley to host and lead the battle against prime
time competitors. The 8pm kick-offs clash with BBC1 show EastEnders and Sky Sports will undoubtedly
be trying to match the drama of their rivals.
Only four seasons into a Premier League broadcasting relationship, BT Sport still languishes behind
Sky Sports, who are the firm market leaders. This season, they have made the decision to challenge
Sky’s Soccer Saturday, the impressively successful format where ex-players deliver score updates for
the 3pm kick-offs, that are still protected (for now) to help boost match day attendances (Times,
2015). It has become an integral part of the sports broadcasting landscape and BT Sport Score will
challenge the format with more viewer interaction, alongside what head of BT Sport, Simon Green,
heralds as ‘less claustrophobic’ opinions: “We’ll have personalities from the women’s game, we intend
to have more foreign participation” (Guardian, 2016). BT Sport have shown signs of innovative
broadcasting themselves, with interactive studios allowing ex-players to recreate on-pitch scenarios,
as well as hiring 2014 World Cup Final referee, Howard Webb, to offer views on key refereeing
decisions as part of the co-commentary team.
A three-year contract secures Sky and BT’s stranglehold on Premier League TV rights for now, but as
viewing habits change, the likes of Netflix, Facebook and Amazon will be expected to challenge the
more traditional broadcasting stations in the future. Sky likely copied the successful blueprint of
‘Monday Night Football’ from the United States, where it remains one of the longest-running prime
time programmes ever on commercial network television (ESPN, 2012). Keeping the customer

16. 15
satisfied is a priority for Americans and this translates to the sports industry (Steen, 2014: 30), but
consumerism is also a big part of their culture and they are more comfortable with a constant stream
of advertisements dominating their viewing experience (Ciment, 2015: 12). Live sport is one of the
only mediums that audiences actively seek to watch as it is happening, which draws the money and
subsequent influence of advertisers (Bhattacharya, 2016). What the States call ‘soccer’, has failed to
match other sports commercially and its popularity might well have been dictated by its inability to
mould into an advert-friendly, time-out-heavy format. The huge distances supporters in the States
need to travel to support their team presents more power to broadcasters, who have less pressure to
succeed than Premier League rights-holders, with a global audience ready to pounce on new deals.
Normally the state of media in America can be a good indication for future trends in the UK, but in this
instance British sports broadcasters are leading the way.
Digital Media
The ability of broadcasters such as Sky and BT to replicate or enhance the match day experience is
reliant upon the development of increasingly immersive and innovative digital technology. Premier
League teams seeking to boost online communities also value new digital media technologies as a
fundamental aspect of their marketing mix. Despite ambitious intentions, UK broadcasters have
become more cautious when introducing new technologies, with unsuccessful products in the past
affecting levels of customer trust and loyalty (Mintel, 2016b). Cutting-edge technologies such as virtual
reality, holography and 3D are readily available, but have only been used sparingly. In this section,
current trends are matched against emerging technology and the needs of football supporters, to
predict what is next for broadcasters, clubs and digital media companies.
The new football season brings with it a new product and it is the turn of 4K Ultra-High Definition, that
was first introduced by BT, but is being championed by Sky in particular, as the future of television.
The relative failure of 3DTVs may deter customers whose expensive purchases failed to prove value
for money with a lack of content readily available, with heavyweight manufacturers such as Samsung
and LG appearing to give up on the technology (Mintel, 2016b). Sky remains confident of maintaining
the trust and loyalty of customers, whose main gripe was a reluctance to wear the required glasses
for the 3D experience. This issue is resolved with the distancing of technology from supporter with 4K
TVs, “that deliver four times as much detail as 1080p Full HD” (TechRadar, 2016). It is set to be more
than a fad, with seventeen per cent of TV-owners currently having a 4K set in the household, but a
further forty per cent confirming their interest in purchasing one (Figure 1.1). BT launched BT Sport
Ultra HD in July 2015 and has been joined by Sky, which introduced 4K services on 13 August - the
opening day of the 2016/17 Premier League football season.

17. 16
Figure 1.1: Ownership of and interest in Ultra HD 4K TVs, June 2016
Base: 1,812 internet users aged 16+ who have TVs in the household
A commitment to 4K technology enhances the current offering for football supporters, but fails to
introduce anything new to the experience. The more interesting emergent technology is virtual reality
(VR). There is already a wealth of content for VR headsets, that manipulate sound and vision, to
immerse the user in a virtual world. The experience is all-encompassing and the possibilities for
football spectators range from watching matches live inside the stadium, to watching historical
matches through the eyes of key players, e.g. Geoff Hurst in 1966; Maradona in 1986; or Zidane in
1998. VR has the capability to replicate the match day experience. Notably, the NBA kicked off the
2015-16 season as the first league to broadcast a live professional sports game in VR (NBA, 2015). Sky
own a VR studio, but have been slow to introduce the technology because of their tainted history with
3D broadcasting. On 22 April 2016, they released a VR interview with David Beckham on Facebook 360
to mark the company's twenty-fifth anniversary (SkySports, 2016). Whether customers who rejected
3D glasses will be responsive to the idea of wearing a headset is a question yet to be answered. For
football fans to accept the technology as a viable alternative to travelling to the stadium, it would
require that their “perception of authenticity in performance also shifts" (cited in Finn & Somdahl-
Sands, 2015: 812). If fans can embrace this heavily mediated format, then the cost of watching their
team live falls dramatically.
In the live music industry, there is already evidence of a shift towards virtual events. Attendees of live
performances have been provided a platform to help mirror their experience to those at home with a
tool created by a company called 45sound (backed by Sony), that matches people's videos against a
master audio recording and allows those experiencing the performance virtually to switch camera
angles between different recordings at the same time (Bennett, 2012: 546). With the recording
capabilities of smartphones constantly improving, it is conceivable that fans at a football stadium will
Figure 1.1
(Mintel, 2016b)

18. 17
soon be able to augment the virtual football spectators’ experience with point-of-view (POV) angles
and the chants of nearby supporters. Football stadiums must compete with constantly evolving home
entertainment offerings, and the Levi’s Stadium, of the San Francisco 49ers’, recognises this, enabling
70,000 fans to tap into Wi-Fi networks and access apps that provide a virtual guide to your seat;
replays during the live game; food and drink delivered to your seat; and even updates for the shortest
bathroom queues (Inc, 2016). Taking virtual stadium experiences to the next level, a struggling Korean
baseball team, the Hanwha Eagles, brought in a crowd of ‘robot fans’ to the stadium, so that
supporters unable to attend can control the robots from afar – making them cheer, chant and perform
a Mexican wave on command (BBC, 2014). The quality of experience between actually attending an
event and attending it virtually is becoming smaller and the chance to ‘attend’ a game in some
capacity, is important for loyal fans.
The potential of holographic technology has only been showcased sparingly. Again, the live music
industry is ahead of the game, with a precisely choreographed, full-holographic performance by the
late Michael Jackson teasing global media channels at the prospect of future virtual performances of
this kind (Condron, 2014). Holographic technology has yet to take advantage of the live football
market. It would solve customers’ annoyance with 3D glasses and VR headsets, with the match being
played at a distance to the consumer. This would only work in a full-size stadium, which Japan
acknowledged with their bid for a 3D holographic World Cup in 2022. The idea was to offer a full-field
broadcast onto football pitches around the world, allowing fans that can't make it to Japan to enjoy a
realistic simulation, whilst standing next to fellow supporters (Engadget, 2010). Their bid
unfortunately failed, but the progression of holographic, VR and 3D technology entails a movement
towards the acceptance of virtual events. Despite being in its "nascent stage", the "rapid development
of computer, photoelectronic and display technologies (will make it) possible to realize real-time and
dynamic full-color holographic 3D display soon" (Liu et al., 2015: 745). The potential to replicate the
depth, perception and atmosphere of live football matches on a mass scale places holographic
technology amongst the most exciting digital innovations for an ever-increasing supporter-base of
football fans seeking the immersive experience of attending football matches in more convenient and
economical locations.
Social Media
Social media in football has helped build online communities between supporters; given players a
platform to interact and reach out to fans; and enabled the instant gratification of fans seeking
updates from their team. Someone living outside the UK can now follow their Premier League team
on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, then login to fan forums and Twitter to discuss what they have
seen and heard with fellow supporters globally. The dot-com generation needed no second invitation:

19. 18
by the end of 2012 Liverpool had already launched native-language Twitter accounts in Indonesia and
Thailand. The rest of the Premier League didn’t take long to catch up, with teams recognising the
power of instant communication to help develop their brand (Dima, 2015; Steen, 2014).
Manchester United fan, Kyle Diller, who lives and works in America as director of social media for
One United USA, illuminates the power and connection social media can afford the faraway fan
(cited in Dyson, 2013):
The last time I travelled to watch a match, I actually stayed with a fellow fan I had met from
connecting with United fans on Twitter…Every supporter I’ve met via social media has made
me feel welcome as a supporter, which reinforces that feeling as a fan.
Supporters no longer need to travel to the game to share their thoughts, feelings or experiences with
others. They can interact and become a part of online communities that “exhibit many aspects of
contemporary social life” (Popp & Woratschek, 2016: 7). There are countless football forums online –
a social setting where members can acquire fulfilment through the ‘‘knowledge of their membership
in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership’’
(Tajfel, 1982: 255). Regardless of what era a supporter finds themselves in, they continue to seek a
sense of belonging through the club they support. Social media is an incredibly powerful tool to
provide a community - that for some, is truer than anything they can relate to in the ‘real world’.
Without question, the smartphone has been the driving force for social media connecting the world.
Spectators at sports events are using their smartphones at stadiums more and more, with two thirds
Figure 1.2 – Use of Smartphones at Live Sports Events
(Mintel, 2015)

20. 19
of sixteen to thirty-five year olds using their phones to share content via social media (Figure 1.2).
This trend could be blamed on the ‘inauthentic fan’ discussed before, but it would be too easy (and
depressing) to dismiss this number of spectators as inauthentic simply for using their phone. In the
majority of instances, spectators are utilising social media tools to share evidence or opinions of their
experience. The spectators who are using these tools for further meaning and engagement are the
twenty-first century’s version of the traditional supporter. Why they fail to be entirely engaged by the
servicescape of the stadium that surrounds them is an issue, but less of one if their phone-using
activity halts when the match begins.
Those instead looking for instant gratification from social media, follow a growing trend of fans
following a match virtually, but in real-time and immersing themselves in what Philip Auslander (2002:
21) describes as "a relationship of simultaneity". The 2015 introduction of Facebook Live
demonstrates this trend, making real-time broadcasting available to all users. Users can comment and
‘react’ to the broadcast as it is happening, which has caught sports broadcasters’ attention. The BBC’s
first use of Facebook Live featured Gary Lineker on Match of the Day (MotD), revealing the running
order of that evening’s matches, which managed to generate over 1.3 million views. A recognition that
fifty-three per cent of the MotD Facebook page followers were “aged 24 or under” prompted the
BBC’s decision to utilise “new and inventive ways to reach younger audiences through social media”
(TheDrum, 2016).
With fear of missing out on the immediacy and closeness of experience offered by Facebook Live, Sky
was quick to follow suit. They used Live to show exclusive content such as a discussion on the England
squad with Soccer AM presenters, which generated 150,000 views in one hour (TheDrum, 2016). It
brings another dimension to the way they engage with their audience, supplemented by a deal with
Twitter (Sky, 2016) to show highlights of Premier League games on the social media site. The
immediacy social media offers, with recent innovations providing supporters with integrated live
broadcasting and real-time interaction, overcome fears that the modern football fans’ appeal of live-
ness is waning with the growing use of view-on-demand services (Whannel, 2014: 771). Broadcasters,
who serve the demands of a paying public, will continue to influence the direction of future social
media innovations. All signs point to an embracing of social media to enhance the virtual match day
experience.
Research Methodology and Ethical Considerations
An initial inquiry into football spectatorship and online media habits is superseded by a more valuable
objective for this research: to discover the existence and potential of communities and mental health

21. 20
benefits for football supporters across England (rather than the UK, with a focus on Premier League
coverage). A clear intended purpose to gather research into the ability of digital, social and broadcast
media outlets to replicate the match day experience acted as a basis for judging whether these
mediums can be used to promote community and well-being for post-fandom football enthusiasts.
The unobservable qualities of well-being and the subjective nature of community justifies a qualitative
approach for the gathering of data. Feelings, perceptions and personal experiences were valued over
any information that can be quantified for the purpose of this study. Objective truths for a social
research investigation of this type are unattainable in their absolute form (Winter, 2000: 9). Mindful
of this, a questionnaire with open-ended questions was sent out to respondents who could contribute
their unique views and experiences without particular direction or categorisation (Ruane, 2016: 172).
This method allows for greater sensitivity towards social context (Mason, 2002: 3), whilst
simultaneously eliciting the strong opinions and personal insight that help validate a research project
of this size.
To avoid dangers of a bad response rate and impersonal, or rushed answers, a relationship was
established with respondents via e-mail. A personable initiation of dialogue ensured the receptive
attitude of all participants. Conscious of maintaining impartiality from respondents, the objectives of
the research were not disclosed and any communication remained neutral and professional in its
manner (Ruane, 2016: 169). In line with the ethical standards of UWE Bristol Code of Good Research
Conduct (UWE, 2015), participants were given assurances that all answers will remain confidential, for
their initial intended purpose - as research towards the completion of a dissertation as part of a MSc
degree in Events Management. The questionnaire, that had no need to attain any personal
information beyond age and location, was conducted online, with reminders of confidentiality that
encouraged the confident and honest answer of the respondents. All participants were informed of
“anything that reasonably and foreseeably might influence the decision” (Gregory, 2003: 37-50) to
participate in the study, with an agreement that contact details would be retained to acquire further
permission if the paper is used externally.
The online questionnaire consisted of twelve questions that participants were able to answer within
five minutes, on their phone, tablet or computer. The only inconvenience, as some feedback
suggested, was the ambiguous and “double-barreled” nature of some questions, that can often lead
to answers which “are inherently vague and contribute imprecision to the measurement process”
(Ruane, 2016: 168-70). It is important that respondents are clear about what they are answering, but
an awareness of the limitations of this research provided liberation to construct the wording of each
question very deliberately and open the question up as much as possible to elicit the vital personal

22. 21
experiences that can direct future research. The slight room for interpretation afforded by a few
questions encourages the broad range of responses that, once interpreted, can function as a useful
tool (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2001: 67-72) to judge the likelihood of indicating more widespread
trends. These interpretations can then function as a basis for future market research of resource-laden
digital, social and broadcast media giants, as well as football clubs.
The data was collated to establish trends that could help ascertain working models for supporters who
want, or need, certain qualities, values and experiences from their football team. A mixed directed
and summative content analysis methodology (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005: 1286) has been adopted to
generate themes for this research. Keywords were identified before and during the process of
analysing data, which ensured an initial review of football fandom literature, social theory research
and media trends were all taken into account. Questionnaire responses were also scanned for
keywords to ensure the comprehensive coding of themes relevant to the paper, as well as unpredicted
responses that inevitably occur with open-ended questions.
The systematic selection of words or short phrases that captured the essence of a belief, or
experience, were coded alongside language that related in tone or meaning to the secondary research
already presented. The lengthy responses to open-ended questions made the decision to analyse
codes manually, rather than with the assistance of computer software, very time consuming (Brace,
2013: 43; Basit, 2003: 153). Keywords and phrases were clustered together according to similarity and
frequency, which facilitated the development of categories (Saldana, 2009: 3-8) that could be collated
into tables and graphs. The suitability of certain graphics were dismissed, with importance being
placed on the ability to display the information in a clear, honest and persuasive manner (Freeman et
al., 2008: p.9-16). A box presenting each theme lists the corresponding questionnaire number next to
each response, on the left-hand side. A sample of relevant and indicative responses are displayed,
with repeated answers omitted to help display the data in a clear, concise manner.
Sample
The sample for this research needed to represent supporters of Premier League football teams who
preferably had a strong online presence – via fan forums, social media, blogging, or as a key opinion-
former. This necessary component for a sample that indicates a representation of significant post-
fandom communities, overcomes issues of representation for non-Internet users (Ruane, 2016: 184),
who are not the focus of this study. This specific approach to finding a suitable sample was
supplemented by a careful selection process, with a proportionate number of supporters for each
Premier League football team being contacted directly. A purposive, or judgment sampling process
enabled a utilisation and constant reworking of a quota that produced relevant answers for the

23. 22
research (Mason, 1996: 101). Despite efforts to use a sampling frame that represented every team
from the Premier League, the difficulties in attracting participants meant that there must be an
interpretive logic (Emmel, 2013: 47) for the twenty-five respondents, who are varied, but not evenly
distributed.
Seven participants were born before 1986 and eight of the respondents were from London. Despite
attempts for more responses from older generations and football supporters in the north of England,
the practicalities of gathering representative data (Seale, 2004: 405) meant some compromises were
made. As the research aims to discover where new communities and perceived mental health benefits
might arise, the youthful sample selected will help elucidate patterns of football consumption, that
enlighten strategies that benefit the football fans of the future, rather than the past. With a suitably
large sample size considering the depth of answers (Rea & Parker, 2005: 142), a concentrated sample
can ensure the quality of a subsequent analysis remains high (Robson, 1993: 125-6). It is worth
reiterating the function of this research, that acts as an indication of current and future trends of
spectatorship, community and well-being amongst football supporters. Further areas for research will
be suggested in concluding remarks, that state the strengths and limitations of the data presented.
Quality of Data
The objective to gather responses from a variety of football supporters across England prevented a
straightforward collection of data via the preferred initial method of using semi-structured interviews.
Online questionnaires were a compromise that were compensated by a formation of professional and
receptive relationships with the participants, who were in general, very helpful with their thoughtful
and thorough answers. The opportunity to assess social context and generate further meaning by
interviewing participants in person, was sacrificed, with the benefit of any “social desirability bias”
(Ruane, 2016: 166) being removed with a more impersonal and confidential approach improving the
validity of responses received. The resultant data is more likely to represent the actual thoughts and
experiences of supporters, with any potential untruths, misjudgement or fabrication overcome by a
thematic coding that gauges the majority consensus for each subject matter.
The relatively broad appeal for respondents, coupled with the open nature of questions sent out, has
the potential to undermine any findings (Patton, 1999, p.1189-90), especially when compromises have
already been made, with an interpretive part to the study. The quality of data is rich in content and
anecdotal in style. The unobserved accounts of respondents are more reliable than traditional
supporters whose memories can be selective and blinded by misplaced nostalgia. Responses are not
immune from fabrication or misjudgement, but they acquire validity by being based in the present. As

24. 23
this research makes no attempt to decipher objective conclusions from its data, it manages to remain
honest, relevant and useful in its current form.
Results and Discussion
Twenty-three out of twenty-five, or ninety-two per cent, of responses, agreed that digital and
broadcast media outlets do not presently manage to replicate the experiences of the ‘traditional
supporter’. Whether they are trying to replicate the ‘authentic’ match day experience, or indeed need
to, are further points raised for critical reflection by the data. An even larger twenty-four, or ninety-
six per cent of responses indicated a demand for experiencing a football match live, rather than via a
catch-up service. This highlighted the importance of immediacy and unpredictability for the authentic
live experience, which contrasted with respondents’ conception of the authentic fan, or community,
which elicited far more liberal and open-minded responses. Anecdotal evidence of the perceived
mental health benefits for football supporters was a consistent theme throughout the data. It was
social media that evoked the most debate, with positive and negative attributes levelled in equal
measure at its substantial impact on supporting a Premier League football team.
An indicative sample of responses are listed under six thematic subject headings: ‘Inability to Replicate
‘Match Day’ Experience’; ‘Intensity of the Live Experience’; ‘Emergent Communities Outside Football
Stadiums’; ‘Mental Health Benefits for Football Supporters’; ‘Positive Influence of Social Media’; and
‘Negative Influence of Social Media’. The first two themes are discussed together – critiquing the
intentions and potential of digital and broadcast media companies to readjust preconceptions of the
experience economy, using a clear demand for immediacy as a basis for authenticity. An acceptance
of new and emergent footballing communities spark discussion of the nature of traditional, imagined
and symbolic communities and their post-fandom repercussions. The suggested mental health
benefits of the traditional supporter are then re-evaluated, in relation to the needs of this new liberal
perception of post-fandom communities. Finally, the adoption of social media is debated, with a focus
on how innovations in this field can coexist with the maintenance of quality information and discussion
between football journalists, clubs and communities.
The Authentic Match Day Experience
There was an overwhelming rebuttal of evidence that digital and broadcast media companies manage
to replicate the match day experience. The emotional, interactive and immersive atmosphere of a
football stadium were said to be irreplaceable in terms of the all-encompassing view and sense of
togetherness and camaraderie that are unique to ‘being there’ (Box 1).

25. 24
Box 1 - Inability to Replicate ‘Match Day’ Experience
6 “I feel that they get 75% of the way there, the other 25% is the atmosphere, which they can never
achieve fully”.
8 “I don't think there's anything that can replicate the experience of attending a live match and, to be
honest, I don't think the broadcasters try to do that”.
12 “Going to a game will always be better than watching a game on TV. The production value supplied
by Sky and BT are impeccable but they can’t replicate the atmosphere of being on the terrace,
chanting and urging on your team”.
13 “It enhances certain aspects (examples replays and pre/post game analysis), however it is very
difficult to replicate the Stadium match day experience”.
16 “These are different experiences. The TV experience is more a cognitive one, while the stadium one
is more an emotional and interactive one”.
19 “Other than the inane commentary and obvious failure to replicate the atmosphere and sense of
camaraderie, you also can't see the entire pitch at all times, which can be a very useful tool in fully
understanding a player”.
21 “No a live broadcast can never really replicate the experience of attending a live football match”.
22 “One man’s enjoyable stadium experience with pints and fights and another’s quiet observance of
the game are two viewpoints not really conducive to producing television/streaming”.
With only one season ticket holder amongst respondents (Figure 1.3), there was a resigned acceptance
that the valuable in-stadium experience manifests itself in a different guise with the mediated form of
television. An appreciation of enhancing effects such as replays and analysis were the saving grace for
broadcasters whose success continues as a ‘next-best’ alternative, rather than the preferred avenue
for watching a game.
A fairly dismissive tone dominates the opinion of respondents rejecting the possibility of reproducing
the match day experience, but it is not clear whether media companies recognise the same limitations.
Recent digital technology innovations, coupled with a propensity of broadcasters to push boundaries
create a probable division between mindsets of consumer and producer. For a football supporter to
revaluate their judgment of the TV experience from purely “cognitive”, there must be a shift in their
perception of authenticity. It is the task of broadcasters to fund subtle and immersive digital
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Never Once a
season
2-3 times 4+ times 10+ times 15+ times Season
ticket
Number of Supporters
Frequency
Figure 1.3 – Attendance of matches in a season

26. 25
technologies that remove awareness and manage to create the same transformative liminal
experience of physically attending a match: "Authentication is a process whereby emotions and
feelings emerge through the ongoing interaction between individual agency and material elements"
(Zhu, 2012: 1500). The ability to manipulate the physical servicescape of a football stadium means the
mediated experience could foreseeably surpass the in-person experience as the most authentic way
to experience a match (Nekvasil, 2014). At present, the consumer is still exposed to the subjection of
broadcasters’ ulterior motives, but it is the human agency of post-fandom supporters to determine
the validity and purity of experience in the future.
The data presented corresponds with media trends that value ‘live-ness’, or immediacy, as a crucial
aspect in the authentic experience of a football match (Box 2):
Box 2 – Intensity of the Live Experience
4 “Try to always watch live. Highlights and catch up are pointless as everyone knows what's happened
because of how accessible goals are online”.
6 “I always try to watch live, as watching highlights loses the feeling that 'anything can happen'”.
12 “I do prefer to watch a game live but if that’s not possible I’ll try to follow the game on radio or on
social media”.
13 “Intensity/anticipation is not nearly as high when watching a highlights programme”.
15 “It's much less interesting watching highlights, I find I tend to watch highlights while doing other
things, where as live I'm more engaged”.
16 “I have noticed that when I watch the replay I tend to get impatient and fast forward to get the most
exciting bits and the goals, even if I do not know the result”.
18 “I HAVE to watch a game live. There is no other way to watch it and recreate the same feelings and
emotions. The intensity is definitely not the same in a highlights package”.
19 “I watched the Burnley game late last weekend; usually I would have been tense late in the second
half when we began to retreat…but the knowledge that we weren't going to concede (and in fact
were going to score again) completely removed any tension”.
22 “Catch up doesn’t do it for me. The immediacy, the excitement just isn’t there. I feel a little empty”.
It is the unpredictability of watching a match live that makes it such a spectacle. But what kind of
‘spectacle’ is it exactly? It is an interesting point at which to return to Debord’s (1967) contention that
modern society has replaced authentic social life with representation. A rise in media usage has
resulted in social actors basing themselves on appearance rather than anything authentic. What does
not change, is the purity of experiencing a live football match, that (focusing solely on the game) pits
eleven men against eleven, without a script, or corporate interference. Anything can happen. This sets
it apart from the pre-determined, standardized performance forms of film, theatre, opera and ballet,
which are all spectacles creating a culture industry (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1944) that manipulate
mass society into passivity.
Heavily commodified art forms such as theatre and opera were once exclusively in the realm of the
mega-rich, but are now being broadcast to cinemas throughout the globe (Berwick, FT, 2014). This

27. 26
contrasts to football spectatorship, which was once a working class pursuit and now another hobby
for the mega-rich. These conflicting consumption patterns might indicate the strength and
authenticity of experience for sport over pre-meditated performance. German philosopher and
sociologist, Theodor Adorno (1959: 36), singles out bourgeois opera as the ultimate illusion, or
spectacle, for the market-oriented consumer: “In the nineteenth century, the bourgeois yearning for
freedom had successfully escaped into the representative spectacle of opera”. Large sections of post-
fandom football supporters wilfully participate in what Adorno and Horkheimer termed the culture
industry. Whether football can escape with its purity intact, will be contingent on the game itself
remaining unpredictable, which is not guaranteed by consumers who want certain experiences and
club owners, who are willing to give them what they want.
The ability for football spectatorship to transcend Debord’s spectacle and the culture industry of
Adorno and Horkheimer, is accidentally supported by Walter Benjamin’s (1936) seminal work on
authenticity, ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’. He defined the "aura", or the
"one-timeness" of an experience as being key in determining the authenticity of an event. If
broadcasters are replicating a football match, that happened elsewhere, then for Benjamin, the "aura"
and authenticity has been sacrificed. Benjamin believed that the "aura" of a live performance was
premised on the spatial relationship (or proximity) to the viewer, as well as the immediacy and
intimacy (or seeing something as it happens) (Finn & Somdahl-Sands, 2015: 812). These requirements
for an authentic experience far preceded the birth of 3D, virtual reality and holographic technology
and it could be argued that digital technologies that mirror a live football match both in time and
spatial proportions, can claim their own "aura" and pass Benjamin's test of authenticity. It is clear at
least, that the unique qualities of attending a live match, where ‘anything can happen’, is a consistent
marker for authenticity in a society overtaken by consumerism.
The trends of media companies represent a growing demand for immediacy and live-ness. Facebook
Live enables supporters to interact with a live stream; Twitter now supplements real-time opinion
with key moments and goals; and this year Sky have centred their marketing campaign on the
unpredictability of the Premier League - with ‘more games than ever before’ – a hefty 126 live matches
(Gee, 2016). The growth and influence of media in football has conventionally been blamed for lost
football supporter traditions (Ruddock et al., 2010: 325), but it is fully aware and committed to the
unpredictability that is its biggest selling point. Football as a business, is part of the culture industry,
but the game in its purest sense only flirts with the idea of the spectacle, for now.

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Footballing Communities
The sample selected to collect data is unlikely to be representative of many traditional supporters,
who stereotypically would not engage with online media and hence would not have been selected for
this study. This might explain the general acceptance and sanctioning of new footballing communities
by respondents (Box 3):
Supporters who had created online communities for themselves were proud of the togetherness they
felt and were thankful for the quantity and availability of online content and like-minded fans. Some
responses highlighted the necessity of a physical dimension and collective of supporters for a
footballing community, such as a pub, or at a ‘screening’ of the game. A larger majority were receptive
Box 3 – Emergent Communities Outside Football Stadiums
1 “I know of Liverpool fan clubs who meet in American bars at ridiculous times to watch games. That
must feel like community”.
3 “I'm proud of the community feel we've created on KUMB.com over the years”.
6 “If there are enough people involved, at least a group of six or more passionate fans”.
7 “I think communities develop in many different guises, whether that’s online or Manchester United
fans gathered around a television in America, Australia, Africa or Asia. It’s different to the match-
going community, of course, but it’s a community nevertheless”.
8 “I've done a lot of minute-by-minute commentary (for the Guardian, Times, AOL and others)
and sometimes it feels like the MBM commentator is a kind of hub for discussion about the game,
with people emailing/tweeting in. But none of this "replicates" the experience of going to a match
per se; it's a different type of community”.
12 - “I produce a sport show for a radio station in Wolverhampton and have spoken to the
Wolves USA Supporters Club. They have a Facebook page where they interact constantly
throughout the week and even more so on match days, all this being with extreme detail
about certain players and referring to the club’s history. Arguably they know just as much as
any season ticket holder at Molineux”.
- “The outlets I subscribe to, including podcasts and fanzines, have a great following with
followers in their thousands so, when you realise that a large number of people are seeing
the same post as you and commenting opinions that you have, it does create a community
feel”.
13 “Having ‘club exclusive’ pubs on Match day is probably the closest one can get without attending the
game”.
15 “If it's in a physical shared space, like a pub or a living room. It's impossible without being in the
same
location though”.
16 “Community experiences do not only happen in the stadium. Even for those who go the stadium, it
starts somewhere else, private or public place, and continues after the game. I knew many people
who would not go to the game but would share the same post-game place and moment with people
who attended”.
18 - “Often, we have to stay up till late hours just to watch our club play and I feel that is as
much a sacrifice as "traditional spectators" make to go to the stadium. In India, we also
have the concept of screenings and I have been to many Liverpool screenings where we sing
our hearts out and support the team we love”.
- “I think for a fan living abroad the amount of material online has made it possible for us to
keep our connection with the club we support and has definitely enhanced my football
community”.

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to the alternative guises a community might embody, but were clear in their understanding that they
represented something different to the match day community. Equally valid, but different
nonetheless.
This paper began by studying the working class communities of traditional football supporters. Their
football team was their identity and they could derive a state of well-being through the success,
togetherness and emotional release of contributing vocal support as part of a collective, or tribal spirit.
Post-fandom footballing communities exist less out of necessity, as there is often a decision made to
support the team that they do (Blackshaw, 2010: 123). Modern fans often have community, success
and other emotional outlets outside of the football stadium. On top of this, they have lighting; sound
effects; half-time entertainment; better quality of football; and intellectual conversations with their
half-time “prawn-sandwiches” (Keane, 2000). They nevertheless continue to associate themselves
with the traditional community, that served a clear social purpose. Dan Knox (2008) utilised an
understanding of spectacle and banality that helps explain why modern stadiums can be more heavily
infused with meaning (McKee, 1997), but suffer from imitating, rather than living authentically. There
are “tensions involved in presenting the spectacular as though it were banal” (Knox, 2008: 269) and
the modern day supporter should realise that their meaningful, authentic community experience, is
contingent on respecting, but not copying what has gone before them. It is an interesting distinction,
as post-fandom supporters can be even more exposed to and ‘heavily infused’ with meaning (and
understanding), but lack an authentic experience of the banal traditions that their club insist they
represent.
Football clubs and broadcasters will try to exploit and market the traditions of former communities,
as they are an obvious starting point from which to build a brand. The support this generates fosters
communities for the inauthentic, or consumer fan. A lack of authenticity does not mean a community
cannot exist, but to generate meaning and well-being, one should assess their own needs and acquire
the knowledge and understanding they need to build, find, or realise their own community. By
recognising the earlier discussed “utopia-in-the-gaps” (M. & K. Tyldesley, 2015) that the temporary
autonomous zone (TAZ) of a football stadium still manages to create this begins to become achievable.
It is even more plausible with Benedict Anderson’s (1991) idea of ‘imagined communities’. The
development of print media, for Anderson, and the modern day equivalent, the Internet, means that
communities would now “be distinguished not by their falseness/genuineness, but by the style in
which they are imagined (1991: 6). The mass communication of new technology means physical
proximity is no longer a necessary component for knowledge, understanding and meaning. This
rationale complements the data presented and signals a reassessing of football communities. Once

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based on territory, they can now be found in the semiotic space of the imagined community
(Blackshaw, 2010: 122).
The online communities created by fan forums and social media platforms are incorporeal in nature,
but permanent in existence. Their permanence and accessibility position them above the match day
communities that reassemble fortnightly and spend ninety minutes situated amongst a variety of
supporters, many of which they have nothing in common with. These disjointed communities who
attend a match are united together for a collective experience, but it is perhaps a more vacuous reality
than the meaningful exchanges and burgeoning friendships of the imagined communities online. By
pricing the traditional supporter out of their local team’s stadium, a deterritorialization of support
occurs, with football rivalry losing all context. The lines become more blurred for ‘smaller’ clubs, lower
down in the English football leagues, whose communities were built by attending matches and have
been reproduced virtually on fan forums. The relation of this physical contingent of support to the
virtual forums they utilise questions the distinction between ‘real’ and ‘cyber’ communities (M. & K.
Tyldesley, 2015: 108). These more organic existences are more representative of the traditional
supporter, with Premier League communities in the post-fandom era in danger of losing any trace of
their own heritage and becoming part of the brand that made them.
In order to save post-fandom communities from further subjection to the capitalistic gain of the
culture industry, there needs to be a synthesis of authentic traditional support; belief in the collective
imaginations of alternative communities; and an acceptance of inauthentic and consumer fans. A
symbolic construction of community can make room for inauthentic fans, whilst utilising the
knowledge and historical understanding of the unremarkable realities of traditional supporters. It links
working class people and the bourgeoisie – all based on an appeal to a shared commonality: “Whether
or not its structural boundaries remain intact, the reality of community lies in its members' perception
of the vitality of its culture” (Cohen, 1985: 118). Using symbols and their communication, Cohen
manages to merge a sense of place and space with local customs, habits and rituals signifying shared
and common experiences. (Blackshaw, 2010: 126). Regardless of social status; location; knowledge;
or any other prior social facts; the “appeal to tradition serves to highlight their shared contemporary
experiences and understandings” (King, 2001: 708-9). Football can therefore embrace the diversity of
its post-fandom communities, that all speak a common language of football. It promotes integration
where most societies fail. For supporters, there is no room for prejudice, and for players (although
overpaid), it works on a system of meritocracy. Each and every footballing community offers a
different meaning and experience, that together, place football at the heart of a very progressive
social construct.

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Perceived Mental Health Benefits
Having established a basis for new and old footballing communities to prosper together, it becomes
easier to analyse how mental health benefits develop for traditional supporters and whether there
are similar, or alternative benefits available for post-fandom communities. The perceived mental
health benefits of football supporters taking part in the questionnaire (Box 4) confirmed advantages
associated with the traditional supporter and also elucidated the support networks of post-fandom
communities.
Box 4 – Mental Health Benefits for Football Supporters
3 - “Generations of our family have followed WHUFC. The only change in my lifetime is that my
own son now follows that tradition too”.
- “The KUMB Forum, for example, has provided plenty of occasions on which fans have come
together to help others - whether that be to support charitable concerns or just individuals
who've fallen on hard/difficult times”.
7 “I still take pride in supporting my home-town club and want them to make their mark nationally as I
feel they represent part of who I am”.
10 - “I and my two sons had season tickets throughout their school years and have many many
happy memories of home and away matches. It was our ring fenced ‘dad and son time’”.
- “I think it helps grow a sense of togetherness”.
18 - “I gain a sense of camaraderie and interaction and also get a platform to express my
feelings and frustration”.
- “Watching the game with like minded people is always enjoyable”.
19 “I consider being a Chelsea fan to be a fundamental part of my personal identity. This has been the
case for as long as I can remember (i.e. since I was a small child)”.
Response 3 reveals the ability of online fan forums to provide support for fellow fans. The friendships
made possible by these communities of like-minded people provide the sense of togetherness, social
life and camaraderie that helped traditional supporters and continues to contribute to the well-being
of post-fandom communities. Authentic fans support their team both through traditional ways such
as match attendance and in non-traditional ways such as Internet forums. They too, provide a close-
knit virtual community (Fillis & Mackay, 2013; Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2002), but they fail to replace the
match day attributes indicated by other responses, such as identity; parent-child relationships;
interaction; and cathartic release.
One of these themes, identity, is more open to interpretation for imagined communities looking to
promote alternative routes to well-being. Response 19 regards being a Chelsea fan as a “fundamental
part of my personal identity”. A critical element of most people’s sense of well-being is an ability to
clearly define their own sense of identity. Attaching oneself to the global fanbase of any Premier
League team, provides a clearly defined identity characteristic that is recognised worldwide. If
someone lacks traditional identity traits such as a strong family unit, or connection to the place they
live, then they might seek to utilise the vast fan base of teams in the English Premier League. Personal

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identity is therefore subjective to circumstance, but what this fails to take into account, is the unique
history that makes a person. French philosopher, Régis Debray (2007), insists “tradition, language,
even the clothes you wear, will always take precedence over ideas”. The personal identity of the
traditional supporter is connected by the fact their team plays in the same place they have always
lived. It is a more powerful, double-barrelled source of identity that imagined communities cannot
match. It is questionable at best whether Premier League teams represent their local communities in
the same way they used to. Continuing trends of foreign investment and staffing place the personal
identity of football supporters further into the realm of the imagined, rather than the physical.
The ring fenced ‘dad and son time’ described by respondent 10, is hard to recreate outside of the
football stadium. By travelling to, and entering the liminal zone of a stadium, there is a very deliberate
designation of time and attention by the parent, towards their child. Many parents enjoy quality time
watching football matches with their child from home, but the distracting iPads, excitable siblings and
casual nature of this experience, make it less valuable as a method to develop relationships. The
shared experience between generations becomes even more important when viewed in terms of
sustaining well-being for future footballing communities. It links the traditional supporter (grandads)
and post-fandom supporters (grand-sons/daughters), which helps create a synthesis of meaningful
and authentic experience felt by old and young. It is those personal relationships that help educate
one community, or generation to another, and this fusion breeds the understanding that informs the
“temporal stages of development” (Knox, 2008: 256) that nurture footballing traditions.
The interaction of a match day experience is compensated in many ways by media outlets, who
provide analysis; different camera angles; ‘behind-the-scenes’ footage and forums to express opinion.
What they fall short of replicating is the breath-taking intensity of an arena that sanctions the cathartic
release of stress and frustration built up by supporters outside the stadium (Steen, 2014; Blackshaw,
2010; Pringle, 2004). The therapeutic value of catharsis is not proven as a long-term solution for
limiting aggressive outbursts, but the ‘carnival environment’ at a football stadium permits
communication that is “cathartic in structure and impossible in everyday life” (Pringle, 2004: 125-6).
The data collected suggests that supporters value collective behaviour and interactions (what
sociologist Georg Simmel termed ‘Wechselwirkung’) such as shouting at match officials, or talking with
fans nearby (Fillis & Mackay, 2013: 338). This raises questions of the appropriateness of behaviour
amongst an increasingly diverse crowd, as well as the relationship between these fleeting behavioural
traits and their longer-term mental health effects. Before further research, it is best practice to avoid
yelling at the television ‘for your own well-being’.

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Utilising Social Media
Technology – primarily television, the Internet and the mobile phone – has done its best,
and worst…social media and websites offered a ready release for loathing.
This quote from Rob Steen’s (2014: 60) 531-page history of spectator sport encapsulates the mixed
feelings of football supporters, who love and loathe social media in equal measure. There is a fantastic
inter-supporter battle at play, with increasing tensions between a huge diversity of supporters, and
football teams attempting to satisfy everyone. Visibility appears to have won the opening rounds over
quality of dialogue in a battle of commerce versus community. Premier League clubs are rectifying
this tension by adopting targeted communication strategies to better suit the needs of a
global fanbase. These strategies are developed by essential feedback from supporters - both
good (Box 5) and bad (Box 6):
Box 5 – Positive Influence of Social Media
1 - “I suppose that [connection to club] has increased over time thanks to social media and the
club’s online content”.
- “Any form of media that you’re interested in will enhance your feeling towards the sport”.
4 “People are getting better at sharing the right thing which resonates with fans. The more outlets
resonate with fans the better in my opinion”.
7 - “I’m not sure about well-being but it all enhances that sense of immersion in the game”.
- “Only 20 years ago, supporters were reliant on the local paper or a conversation with a
friend to get their fix on a non-matchday. Now there are forums that can allow people to
indulge themselves 24/7”.
10 “It helps because of the ease of access. Last week I read the Mansfield Town website from a hotel
room in Glasgow at 1am”.
12 - “As a child I would read up on everything about Liverpool, their players and its history, as
well as watch videos to increase my knowledge. Due to this I felt a strong connection to the
club, something that has increased over time with the interaction between club and fans on
social media and their official website – more information being readily available”.
- “In an age where anything can be written about the fortunes of a football club, it’s good
that different opinions can be posted online which causes great debate amongst
supporters”.
17 “Twitter is brilliant for football”.
19 “Apart from it giving me the opportunity to gauge the opinions of some people whose take on
football I respect a great deal, I feel like a site as popular as this one [The Shed End}, which crosses
several generations of Chelsea fans, is a fairly effective barometer of what the fanbase is thinking as
a whole”.
20 “Despite the huge sums of money creating a disconnect between players/clubs and their fans over
the last 20 years, social media - especially in the last two years - has done a decent job of narrowing
this gap”.
22 “Some fans of my podcast I met online first, I now go to games with”.
It is hardly surprising that ‘social’ media generates positive themes of connection, interaction and
friendship. It is not equipped to replicate the match day experience by itself (this is not its purpose),
but it does a tremendous job in enhancing the experience of supporters watching a game from home.
The positive influence of social media on the Premier League functions beyond its ability to connect

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like-minded supporters – it creates a dialogue, where before there was only monologue. Response 20
acknowledges this, highlighting the post-fandom disconnect between players/clubs and fans, that
social media is beginning to rectify. There is direct contact between players, journalists, fans and clubs
on networks such as Twitter. An open public space makes everyone accountable for their actions and
as response 19 suggests, it “is a fairly effective barometer of what the fanbase is thinking as a whole”.
Problems arise when the conversation is killed by ‘white noise’ drowning out anything valuable:
Box 6 – Negative Influence of Social Media
3 “’When I were a lad’ (I'm in my 40s now) we had to survive on a diet of Shoot, one weekly episode of
MotD and no live football bar Cup Finals - that was until the mid-to-late 80s. We're better off for
more coverage although journalistic standards are generally lower”.
8 - “The Tottenham forums and/or Twitter can be pretty busy during matches, with people
piping up with comments on the game as it happens. Sometimes it's interesting, but usually
it's just white noise”.
- “I get pretty irritated by inexpert opinions and the kind of offensive gibberish that some
football fans think is funny, so it annoys me when I see that online”.
12 - “It’s all opinion and I think some fans go too far in trying to prove that they’re ‘right’. This is
where…a conversation one on one slightly has the edge”.
- “It’s when they over step the mark and criticise someone for having an opinion is when it
does hinder the connection with their football community”.
14 “Follow progress more closely but with less enthusiasm”.
19 - “Probably gets more people thinking about deeper aspects of the game but gives a far more
shallow and frankly dumb portrayal of it”.
- “I find almost every single open access internet discussion on football to be incontrovertibly
filled with morons and ill-conceived opinions gleaned from lowest common denominator
sources”.
20 - “There is a bit of a saturation these days meaning you can often miss the valuable
content/material”.
- “I also find that my attention often drifts during live games (unless at the pub) these days.
Probably a symptom of highlights / goals apps / Vines etc becoming so widespread and
easily accessible at any time of day so my attention span is being diminished as a result”.
22 “So much chatter, most of it imbecilic, but as the Sartre misquote goes, hell is other people…”.
Perhaps a knock-on-effect of hooliganism, or the alternative portal to release stress and frustration.
Maybe the conflict and animosity is simply a reflection of society as a whole. Online disagreements,
or rivalries, appear to be even fiercer than the passionate roar of opposing fans at a game. This is a
problem for many respondents, who lament the ‘imbecilic’, ‘white noise’ of a ‘saturated’ social setting.
There is a demand by supporters for richer content and portals that cater to particular needs.
Manchester United, who enjoy the biggest presence of any Premier League team on Facebook (70m
likes) and Twitter (8.8m followers), realise a need to develop targeted communication strategies. With
eighty-five per cent of their supporters living in developing economies around the world (BBC, 2015b),
they are largely catering to fans that will never step foot in Manchester, let alone Old Trafford.
Different cultures, languages and Internet speeds create a problem for clubs looking to exploit the
‘brand-communities’ of consumers across the globe. They represent the greatest financial draw for

35. 34
short-term revenue streams, such as merchandise and advertising, but a balance needs to be struck
with traditional, or ‘non-consumer’ supporters, who are more likely to provide long-term loyalty for
their team (McCarthy et al., 2013: 181). Emerging research suggests brand-communities are only likely
to become more important for football clubs in the future (Popp & Worathschek, 2016; Zaglia, 2013)
and if cultivated properly, they could become key stakeholders above the local communities and
supporters in England.
Parganas & Anagnostopouls (2015: 72) warn Premier League clubs of engaging through social media
purely for commercial gain. Consumer fans who have no innate attachment to their team can switch
brands in an instant, risking the long-term success of the club. A removal of conversation and trust
between club and supporter has a damaging effect for respondent 14, who follows “progress more
closely but with less enthusiasm”. Despite the ‘ease of access’ and plenitude of content, the
connection is more hollow. There is a strong positive correlation between a club’s digital reach and its
revenues (Dima, 2015: 126) and money is inevitably going to have the final say for ‘big business’
Premier League teams. It therefore falls on the shoulders of fans, bloggers, journalists and
representative media channels, to utilise social media to create their own communities and
meaningful connections. Twitter and Facebook might be too saturated for this purpose, but a diverse
range of fan forums mean supporters are able to locate platforms that meet their needs. Respondents
part-blamed ‘everyone having an opinion’ for falling standards of journalism and it might be a task for
media companies to become the custodians of quality, in the same way record companies fly the flag
for good music. With established newspapers struggling, there is at present, a lack of authoritative
presence directing the show.
The creative ways Premier League clubs are currently using social media provide a good indication of
the way supporters will be able to interact with football matches in the future. More data is being
collected each year and it will not be long before players’ fitness levels and ball-striking-velocity are
uploaded to devices which supporters can match themselves against. For the start of the 2016/7
season, Manchester City ‘Yankeefied’ their in-stadium experience by installing a large digital wall
displaying player statistics from previous games. They also set-up a crowdsourced timeline using the
hashtag #citystories, which provided an easy-to-digest history of the club for its unfamiliar supporters,
with images and stories submitted by fans. Liverpool go a step further, encouraging supporters to
upload their own match day images and videos – actively encouraging the use of smartphones in
stadiums. However, neither rival Manchester United, who control their own social media hub that
synchronises all activity, and using the hashtag #MUFrontRow, enabled fans across the globe to
‘watch’ a game via Google Hangout – appearing on the digital boards at the side of the pitch (Moth,
2014). Techniques like this make the virtual match day experience a truly immersive and interactive

36. 35
one, and a young, twenty-four year old post-fandom era, will soon be confronted with artificial
intelligence that blurs the line between ‘social media’ and ‘real life’. Encouragingly for Luddites,
Manchester United's group managing director, Richard Arnold, revealed a modest campaign that let
fans wish players happy birthday "turned out to be one of the most engaging pieces of content you
can do" (BBC, 2015b).
Social media was the fastest marketing and communication channel to evolve from “unique and
modern to mandatory” (Dima, 2015: 117). Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
Snapchat continue to invent innovative new ways of connecting fan, club and player. Premier League
teams have used their financial clout to implement their own techniques to reach new audiences. This
emphasis on cultivating lucrative brand-communities has harmed important relationships closer to
home. Whilst overlooking valuable support, social media is, by its incorporeal nature, unobtrusive,
and participants in this study, whilst able to detect negative symptoms, are rarely unwillingly
subjected to them. Traditional supporters will argue that the inauthentic fans, all looking intently at
the blinking screens they hold in their hands, are an intrusive presence that further dilute the match
day atmosphere. For better or worse, there is no turning back now. Social media has cemented itself
as a staple source in the diet of football supporters, that with some focus, can cater to all their
spectating needs.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Summary
This study set out to discover the existence and potential of new communities and mental health
benefits for Premier League football supporters across England. Previous football fandom literature
(Davis, 2015; Guilianotti, 2002; Redhead, 1997) helped establish a distinction between the
stereotypically ‘local’, ‘working class’, traditional supporter, and the inception of a post-fandom era,
with the formation of the Premier League in 1992. An analysis of current and future predicted media
trends guided an initial inquiry into football spectatorship and the ability of digital, social and
broadcast media outlets to replicate the match day experience.
Further secondary research into the authenticity of experience (Novello & Fernandez, 2014; Pine &
Gilmore, 2011; Getz, 2008; Benjamin, 1936) and fandom (Mozaffaripour, 2015; Sandvoss, 2004; Wagg,
2004) helped elucidate subtleties of belonging, identity and well-being, that were key themes
throughout the questionnaire responses of twenty-five football supporters. A utilisation of Anthony
Cohen’s (1985) symbolic construction of community enabled an integration of traditional, consumer
and imagined communities (Anderson, 1991). This synthesis was supplemented by data that
presented ‘live-ness’ as a crucially authentic experience attribute, that transcends Debord’s (1967)

37. 36
spectacle and positions football spectatorship, in its purest form, away from Adorno and Horkheimer’s
(1944) culture industry.
The data provided by this study is anecdotal, but the recent nature of respondents’ experiences
limited inaccuracies. They produced themes that matched secondary research, providing conviction
to a logical set of recommendations for football broadcasters, teams and media outlets in the UK; as
well as further areas for research. Three sub-headings indicate implications and recommendations,
firstly evaluating the capability, potential and demand for media outlets to replicate, or enhance the
experience of a live football match; secondly, a communication strategy for Premier League clubs that
is both sensitive to local communities and commercially effective for global audiences; and finally, a
strategy to change the perception of authenticity for supporters in the post-fandom era that promotes
community and well-being.
Limitations and Recommendations for Further Research
The research presented should act as an indication of post-fandom spectatorship habits, trends and
needs for footballing communities. An appeal for football supporters with a strong online presence
overcame issues of representation for non-Internet users, but an interpretive logic was used for the
twenty-five questionnaire respondents, who are varied, but not evenly distributed in terms of age,
location and Premier League team supported. Intentionally open-ended questions elicited broad
personal accounts of experience, that are not immune from fabrication or misjudgement.
Unobservable qualities of well-being and the subjective nature of community are thematically
analysed, with data that is rich in content, but anecdotal in style. These interpretations should be
matched against other secondary research, which can then function as a basis for future market
research of resource-laden digital, social and broadcast media giants, as well as football clubs.
A focus on promoting community and well-being directs future research away from quantitative, or
business-focused studies, that regard profitability as a priority. Instead, these directives are aimed
towards promoting a corporate social responsibility amongst well established football clubs and media
companies. Premier League teams should explore sensitive ways to represent their local and
footballing heritage by seeking feedback from traditional supporter groups. Beyond this, clubs should
develop netnography as an online research technique that focuses on interactions between fans,
clubs, players and journalists. This should expose the problems online communities face on saturated
forums and help provide new strategies to promote healthy communication portals.
Football broadcasters and digital media companies should seek further feedback from customers who
do not believe in the possibility of virtually replicating a live football match. Innovations in the virtual
viewing experience should be introduced at exhibitions, or pop-up tents, outside football stadiums, to

38. 37
gauge the receptiveness of supporters whose demands do not currently correlate with predicted
media trends. Case studies of the perception of authenticity for consumers introduced to new
immersive technology in other industries, such as music, performance and extreme sports, should
help formulate successful blueprints for implementing new digital technology into football broadcasts.
Social media companies are doing well to meet supporters demands for immediacy of information
and engagement and should direct future research into the importance of unpredictability through
‘live-ness’ to preserve the authenticity of experience.
Implications for Digital, Social and Broadcast Media Outlets
The results of this study help identify a clear imbalance between football supporters who reject any
possibility or need to replicate the match day experience, and media trends that indicate aspirations
to do exactly that. The enhancing effects of replays and analysis are well received, but only as a next-
best option for supporters who cannot attend the game. Broadcasters must assess whether a
replication of the match day experience should be prioritised above the enhancing effects of new
virtual experiences. A focus on replication will require a shift in the perception of authenticity for
football supporters. An ongoing process of authentication for football broadcasts is achievable using
subtle and immersive digital technologies that remove awareness and manage to create the same
transformative liminal experience of physically attending a match.
The data presented instead helps advocate the enhancing of experience, but broadcasters should
proceed with caution and consider the benefits of continuing to mimic the trends of American
broadcasters, who cater to customers who are more comfortable with consumer culture. It is the
human agency of post-fandom supporters, rather than the short-term revenues of brand-
communities, that will determine the validity and purity of experience in the future. The servicescapes
of technology-friendly football stadiums are in danger of undermining the authenticity of experience,
which opens the door for broadcasters attempting to shift perceptions. The viewing habits and needs
of football supporters all reveal immediacy and unpredictability as key aspects for an authentic
experience. A liberal attitude to the future match day experience (physical or virtual) should be
grounded by a lack of interference on the pitch. The purity of the game will be maintained by
developing digital and social media technologies that preserve its unpredictable excitement.
Implications for Football Clubs
The money involved in the Premier League has made it difficult for football clubs to maintain an aura
of authenticity based around the traditional values of supporters and local communities. There has
instead been an emphasis on cultivating lucrative brand-communities in emerging markets across the
globe. Clubs that undervalue the importance of focused communication strategies risk sacrificing the

39. 38
trust and loyalty of supporters, who have been overlooked for the commercial gain of consumer fans.
Supporters, rather than clubs, have been innovative in creating fan forums or portals that foster online
communities. More needs to be done by Premier League teams to promote meaningful engagement
between clubs, players and groups of like-minded supporters. The money is readily available to
implement social networks that are more specific to different demographics and employ ‘community
angels’, or moderators, to limit ‘internet trolls’ and the ‘white noise’ that respondents from this study
held accountable for their lack of online engagement.
The argument that social media is an unobtrusive platform for supporters that can opt in, or out, is
weakened by secondary research that highlights the increase in smartphone usage in stadiums, as well
as investments by football teams to make their stadiums more technology-friendly and socially
engaging as a servicescape. Consumer-based decisions to alter the in-stadium match day experience
will not go unnoticed by increasingly disenfranchised sections of support. To enable an integration, or
respect amongst diverse sets of supporters, there should be more tactful approaches to new methods
of interaction. Modest communication strategies have yielded engagement amongst older
generations of support and football clubs should work together with social media companies to
develop inclusive campaigns that indulge a variety of spectating needs.
Promoting Community and Well-Being
Football spectatorship started as an expression of community with traditional, working class
supporters, who generated a sense of meaningful collective place and belonging. Their football team
was their identity and fellow spectators formed their tribe. They derived a state of well-being through
the success, togetherness and cathartic release of passionate vocal support. The notion of post-
fandom as an inevitably inauthentic pursuit (Guilianotti, 2002; Redhead, 1997) was rejected based on
historical accounts of traditional supporters (Davis, 2015; Jones, 2001; Taylor, 1971), rather than often
selective and nostalgic anecdotal evidence (Williams, 2006; Redford, 2000; Buford, 2001). Further
examples of hope and belief amongst modern football communities gave credence to the idea of
football stadium servicescapes as temporary autonomous zones (M. & K. Tyldesley, 2015; Bar-On,
1997; Bey, 1991). A conscious effort to acquire the knowledge and understanding to preserve
authentic footballing traditions of older supporters, or generations gone by, can be reinterpreted to
create new meanings for emergent communities.
Without nostalgia for the past there can be no dream of an authentic future. In this sense,
utopia will be Romantic or it will not be.
The sentiment of the quote above (Löwy & Sayre, 2001: 264) symbolises the synthesis of authentic
traditional support; belief in the collective imaginations of alternative communities; and an

40. 39
acceptance of inauthentic, consumer fans. This is possible with a liberal perception of what defines an
authentic fan or community. Respondents from this study indicated a willingness to embrace all types
of footballing community as authentic in their own unique ways. This appeal to a shared commonality
of a love of the game, in its purest sense, enabled a symbolic construction of community (Cohen, 1985)
to transcend prior social facts and pave the way for community and well-being for anyone who seeks
it. Football supporters’ sense of identity with the team they support was one characteristic of the
local, traditional supporter, that was hard to replicate with the same potency. Post-fandom
communities have different needs to traditional supporters, and the diversity of a global supporter
base means there is no guaranteed blueprint for achieving well-being. By championing a liberal
definition of authenticity, this paper encourages football supporters to navigate their own way to
community and well-being by pursuing the ‘utopia-in-the-gaps’.

41. 40
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