Abstract
Football clubs are a great cultural industry of our age. One of the main strategies of these clubs to provide social and economic capital is to create and expand a common identity with the fans. In this regard, fans’ products play an important role. In present study, the production and distribution of fans’ products of the most popular football clubs in Iran and Europe have been examined in order to identify how to create the common identity as well as to identify the most important differences between the Iranian and European clubs. For this purpose, the content of the website for selling fans’ products of the selected clubs has been studied through qualitative content analysis. The results shows that through the sale of fans’ products, the identity of the fans was bought and sold. The process leads to the commodification. According to Social Identity theory, individuals need social identity, which is formed through differentiation, to shape their identity. Fans’ products, using the color and brand of each club, make the distinction. In this way, the fan feels that s/he belongs to a group. So s/he feels self-esteem. In the process, the individual’s identity is tied to his or her favorite club, and so the club’s social capital expands. In other words, fans’ products act as a mediator between the individual identity and social or team identity. There is also a significant difference in the production and distribution of fans’ products for European and Iranian clubs.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
FOOTBALL, IDENTITY, SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY, FAN'S PRODUCTS, CULTURAL INDUSTRIES
