Since 1995, a third of all clubs in the English Premier League and Football League have moved stadiums, including West Ham and Manchester City.

Today we speak to Richard Irving, who has investigated how supporters of both clubs felt about the 'mega event' of a move to their new stadium - one move broadly welcomed, while the other has been the cause of much protest and disappointment.

...all this and more in the fourth episode of the football and society podcast.

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If you like the podcast, please subscribe and give us a review via your platform of choice.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/footballsocpod

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Each week, Ash, Chris and Norman explore societal issues through the lens of the beautiful game.

From the ethics of gambling sponsorship and soccer’s relationship with nationalism to the experience of female officials and what a stadium move means for fans, we’ll be covering it all each week with expert guests from the worlds of sports journalism and sociology.

For many football fans, support for their team is linked to a local identity; the club, for them, represents a town or region with which they strongly identify. 

In 2016, Adriano Gómez-Bantel published an article focusing on clubs for whom regional identity has become a central aspect of the club’s management, both on and off the pitch.

Many fans may already be familiar with the emphasis on regional identity among supporters of FC Barcelona, which became a prominent symbol of Catalonian cultural identity during General Franco’s dictatorship, or Athletic Bilbao, whose team consists almost entirely of players born in the Basque region. While Adriano has explored these examples, his focus is on VfB Stuttgart, who have come to be recognised as the representative club of the Württemberg region in Germany within the German Bundesliga. 

...all this and more in the third episode of the new Football and Society podcast.

***

If you like the podcast, please subscribe and give us a review via your platform of choice.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/footballsocpod

***

Each week, Ash, Chris and Norman explore societal issues through the lens of the beautiful game.

From the ethics of gambling sponsorship and soccer’s relationship with nationalism to the experience of female officials and what a stadium move means for fans, we’ll be covering it all each week with expert guests from the worlds of sports journalism and sociology.

Goal celebrations have come to define some key moments for football fans, and we may even remember a player’s celebration more than the goal itself. We are familiar with certain players’ signature celebrations, and video games such as the FIFA series allow us to configure and perform our own celebrations when we play.

In this episode, Aníbal Mesa joins Ash, Chris and Norman to discuss the hidden (and not-so-hidden) language of goal celebrations - from Ronaldo's Hulk-esque roar and Messi's team huddle to Frédéric Kanouté's undershirt in support of Palestine:

Is football fast becoming an individual- rather than a team-sport?

Why are footballing authorities so desperate to clamp down on slogan-splashed undershirts?

And what happens when players use celebrations and the spotlight they bring as a form of resistance against oppression and prejudice?

...all this and more in the second episode of the new Football and Society podcast.

***

If you like the podcast, please subscribe and give us a review via your platform of choice.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/footballsocpod

***

Each week, Ash, Chris and Norman explore societal issues through the lens of the beautiful game.

From the ethics of gambling sponsorship and soccer’s relationship with nationalism to the experience of female officials and what a stadium move means for fans, we’ll be covering it all each week with expert guests from the worlds of sports journalism and sociology.

In November 1872, Scotland and England played each other in what is now recognised as the first-ever international football fixture. Nearly 150 years later, it remains one of the great rivalries of the footballing world and continues to produce classic encounters on the pitch. 

In this episode, Stuart Whigham joins Ash, Chris and Norman to discuss what the rivalry can tell us about national identity:

Are the Tartan Army’s kilts and tartan a performative exaggeration to draw a definitive line between themselves and the English?



What’s the experience like of being a Scottish fan living south of the border? 



And to what extent is media bias misrepresenting football’s oldest international rivalry?

...all this and more in the first episode of the new Football and Society podcast.

***

If you like the podcast, please subscribe and give us a review via your platform of choice.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/footballsocpod

Follow Stuart on Twitter: www.twitter.com/StuartWhigham

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Each week, Ash, Chris and Norman explore societal issues through the lens of the beautiful game.