‘Playing on the break’: Karl Polanyi and the double-movement ‘Against Modern Football’

Abstract

While the popularity of English football increases worldwide, there has been a marked rise in the discontent expressed by a small but growing group of domestic fans. This dissent has led to the emergence of a movement broadly defined as being 'Against Modern Football' (AMF), a banner under which fans of rival clubs have gathered in an attempt to challenge the poor governance, commercialism and greed that has come to dominate the English game. This article offers a conceptualisation of what it means to be 'against modern football' based upon Karl Polanyi's analysis of the market society. Developing the dialectic of the 'double-movement' that appears in Polanyi's most famous work, The Great Transformation, this article demonstrates how these governing principles might be useful in explaining both the complex cultural political economy of English football and the possibilities that exist for the AMF movement to socially re-embed the modern game.

Football activism as political contention: Contextual determinants of membership in the association of supporters of Hajduk Split

“…The ties that bind football clubs to their communities – at least at the highest levels of the sport – are being profoundly transformed. On the other hand, many authors have also recognised the pushback to the consequences of commercialisation by a new class of supporters in a number of countries of different levels of economic development and football traditions – a kind of Polanyi’s ‘double movement’ Against Modern Football (Kennedy, 2013; Numerato, 2018; Webber, 2015). The commitment of these football supporters to the cause – from opposing takeovers of clubs by international investors (Dubal, 2010) to organising transnationally in order to enshrine the principles of supporters’ participation in football governance (Kennedy and Kennedy, 2012) – has clearly crossed the boundaries of fandom and shifted firmly toward activism, though here we have to note that football supporters are becoming increasingly nuanced in their views of the structures of football governance and of the role to be played by supporters (García and Llopis-Goig, 2019).…”

Sport and Neoliberalism: An Affective‐Ideological Articulation

“…Moxley concludes, “This fightback is an inspiration to all who want to organize against neoliberalism and gentrification, and all who want sports games for the people, not for profit.” The most prominent sport mega‐events, such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, are by no means the sole sporting targets for antineoliberal sentiment and activism (Boykoff, Celebration Capitalism ; Gaffney; Horne; Lauermann). David Webber outlines the amorphous, yet discernible, “Against Modern Football” movement, of which the FC Sankt Paul fan organization Mick Totten examines is a noted exemplar. In addition, Scherer highlights grassroots community opposition to the use of public funds to finance the building of an ice hockey arena and entertainment district in Edmonton, Canada.…”

Citizen, consumer, citimer: The interplay of market and political identities within contemporary football fan cultures

“…Their core argument is that the supporter identity within football is defined by deep forms of identification and senses of belonging towards a specific club and its community of fellow supporters, rather than by the market-based consumption of a club product or service (Giulianotti, 2005;Kennedy and Kennedy, 2007;King, 1998). This critical engagement is often articulated through 'Against Modern Football' initiatives (Hill et al, 2016;Numerato, 2015;Webber, 2015).…”