Date of Award
8-2001
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Timothy Diamond
Second Advisor
Dr. Ronald Kramer
Third Advisor
Dr. Gregory Howard
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
This study is an investigation of European football fans, known as hooligans. For this research, I went to the European Football Championships in the summer of 2000. During a two-month field research project, I observed the soccer games and the many fans who gathered for the tournament. In the course of the research, I spoke with several individuals and explored the existing literature in the sociology of sport. This work has been created through a combination of my own ethnographic work, and an extensive literature review. I have attempted to interweave both my own experiences and those of others to help me in the exploratory process.
I concluded from my research that the sport of soccer and the wider world within which the game is situated are very much connected. My research also showed that the locale of the violence has shifted from the arena to the much larger cities. Policing hooligans has become a major issue for those interested in holding soccer events; and many distinctions can be made between hooliganism within countries and hooliganism internationally.
Recommended Citation
Gerkin, Pakky M., "Football Yobbery: The Social Organization of European Soccer" (2001). Masters Theses. 3339.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3339