Football Fandom, Sexualities, and Activism This is the first book to examine the growing movement of organised networks of LGBT+ football supporters, exploring activists’ biographies and the meanings they ascribe to participation in identity politics-centred social movements. The book draws upon in-depth original research into the Pride in Football LGBT+ football supporters’ network in the UK, alongside comparative mate- rial from other countries. It is also the first book to apply a cultural relational sociological framework to the study of football fans and supporters’ groups, mark- ing an important theoretical step forward that opens up new perspectives in the sociology of sport, the sociology of collective action and social movements, and the sociologies of genders and sexualities in the twenty-first-century world. As the struggle for cultural rights and recognition of LGBT+ communities contin- ues, with football fandom providing an important site for understanding these issues given its historically embedded hegemonic masculine culture, and in the aftermath of gay male football player Jake Daniels’ ‘coming out’ in May 2022, the book offers timely insights into new social movements, the consumption of sport, and the experiences of people from a diversity of sexualities. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in the sociology of sport, football, fandom, gender, sexualities, social theory, or social movements. Peter Millward is Professor of Contemporary Sociology at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. I got fully involved with challenging discrimination in football in 2006. I thought it could be hostile to LGBTQI+ people and in many ways, it was, and still is. Back then there were no LGBTQI+ fan groups in the UK, and there wouldn’t be for a few years. So, there was no visibility and because of that it was hard convincing people in football that an LGBTQI+ community exists in football – because they were just invisible. […] And people thought homophobia in football was a victimless crime, in that if someone was hurling homophobic abuse at a player, everyone assumed there were no gay people in football, so it didn’t matter. Lou Englefield (Personal Interview, 2 September 2020) For a long time, the question I’ve been asked has always been: ‘When is a male player going to come out?’ But that just isn’t our priority and we [Arsenal fan group Gay Gooners] thought a better question was: ‘When are the fans going to come out?’ We wanted visibility because that’s key for inclusion and that means the dialogue between clubs and their LGBT fans has rapidly become constructive and productive. Dave Raval (Personal Interview, 11 August 2020) Critical Research in Football Series Editors: Pete Millward, Liverpool John Moores University, UK Jamie Cleland, University of Southern Australia Dan Parnell, University of Liverpool, UK Stacey Pope, Durham University, UK Paul Widdop, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK The Critical Research in Football book series was launched in 2017 to showcase the inter- and multi-disciplinary breadth of debate relating to ‘football’. The series defines ‘football’ as broader than association football, with research on rugby, Gaelic and gridiron codes also featured. Including monographs, edited collec- tions, short books and textbooks, books in the series are written and/or edited by leading experts in the field whilst consciously also affording space to emerging voices in the area, and are designed to appeal to students, postgraduate stu- dents and scholars who are interested in the range of disciplines in which critical research in football connects. The series is published in association with the Football Collective, @FB_Collective. Available in this series: Football and Risk Trends and Perspectives Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen Diego Maradona A Social-Cultural Study Edited by Pablo Brescia and Mariano Paz Critical Issues in Football A Sociological Analysis of the Beautiful Game Edited by Will Roberts, Stuart Whigham, Alex Culvin and Daniel Parnell The UEFA European Football Championships Politics, Media Spectacle and Social Change Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen and Renan Petersen-Wagner Football Fandom, Sexualities, and Activism A Cultural Relational Sociology Peter Millward https://www .routledge .com /Critical -Research -in -Football /book -series /CFSFC Football Fandom, Sexualities, and Activism A Cultural Relational Sociology Peter Millward First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Peter Millward The right of Peter Millward to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Millward, Peter, author. Title: Football fandom, sexualities and activism: a cultural relational sociology/Peter Millward. Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2023. | Series: Critical research in football | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022050879 | ISBN 9781032447018 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032447032 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003373490 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Soccer–Great Britain–Sociological aspects. | Soccer fans–Great Britain. | Sexual minorities and sports–Great Britain. | Sexual minorities–Great Britain–Social conditions. Classification: LCC GV943.9.S64 M59 2023 | DDC 796.3340941–dc23/eng/20221116 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022050879 ISBN: 978-1-032-44701-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-44703-2 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-37349-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003373490 Typeset in Goudy by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India This book is dedicated to the memory of Llewellyn Richard Johnson (1946–2022). To Anna, Dad. To Layla and Jack, Grumps. To me, Lu. A generous family man who will be forever in our hearts and minds. Contents Acknowledgements x 1 Introduction 1 2 LGBT+ Communities’ Experiences of Following Football 21 3 The History and Emergence of the Supporters’ Network: Putting Pride in Football 46 4 The Protagonist LGBT+ Supporter Clubs in the Pride in Football Movement 73 5 Pride in Football as a Relational Social Movement Organisation 113 6 Pride in Football’s Social Worlds of Conventions and Resources 137 7 The Outcome and Tactics of Visibility: Forms, Politics, and Relationships 169 8 Pride Events: Urban Spaces to Be Proud in Football 192 9 The Geographies of Pride in Football: A Britain Beyond England, a Movement Beyond Britain? 214 10 Conclusions: Football Fandom, Sexualities, and Activism 249 Index 271