Speakers
Description
There is little empirical research on women’s football (WF) fandom in the literature. A better understanding of WF fandom serves to meaningfully engage fans, ultimately utilising it to the benefit of the sport and its stakeholders to develop social and commercial opportunities. In Ireland, and many other countries, the study of sport has been a ‘male preserve’, and women’s sports has been marginalised. Among the various overlooked subjects, are factors that shape contemporary fandom, the social media consumption patterns of the WF fans, and the absence of men in WF fandom studies. All these gaps highlight why identifying factors shaping WF fandom is important in order to reshape perceptions and achieve greater recognition in women’s sport. To fill these gaps, this research aims to identify the factors shaping contemporary WF fandom in Ireland and explore the issues and challenges that surrounds the fandom in this country. In this study, a series of semi-structured interviews with WF football fans and its stakeholders in Ireland, including FAI and clubs’ officials, sponsors, media, PR and Marketing agencies, will be conducted and the findings will be merged with field observations. A summary of the process and findings will be presented at the conference.
