Whether they helped bring down Jose Mourinho, led a march against their club owner or pushed back against plans to commercialize the game, fan protest stories remind us that football fans have a long history of using their passion as a weapon in the fight for change. And while their demonstrations may not be as grand as a tifo, they are nonetheless a force to be reckoned with.
In a recent study, Christian Brandt, Maryna Krugliak and Robert Warnecke found that fans’ glocally motivated activism is often rooted in the desire to express their devotion and protect figures of fandom (see ‘Crazy Fangirls’). The activists also act out of a sense of protectiveness for the clubs they support, as well as a desire to maintain the integrity of the game.
Fans’ glocally motivated activism is shaped by local contexts and varies across the world. As a result, it can be difficult for journalists to understand and report on the phenomenon.
Rookwood and Hoey have argued that the most effective way to report on fan protests is to tell a story with the five W’s: who, what, where, when and why. They also suggest reporting on the personal details of people involved in the protest, including their hobbies and family, to help humanize them.
This type of reporting can lead to greater engagement from readers, as shown by a recent experiment involving a teenage football fan protester. Researchers found that newsrooms’ reports that humanized the teenager led Democrats and those with Democrat-leaning views to have more positive attitudes toward the protest and the protesters. However, those reports that dehumanized the teenager had the opposite effect, with respondents viewing them as less credible.