Loughborough University are hosting a conference to critically discuss the involvement of supporters in football governance. The programme will be balanced to appeal to policy makers, academics and supporters themselves, and will provide an excellent opportunity for networking and dialogue across these fields. We would welcome proposals for papers that address one or more of the following themes:
Models of club ownership: What does club ownership at football clubs look like across Europe? Specifically, which different forms of ‘supporter ownership’ can be found? What are the challenges?
Supporter action & networks: What do supporters do in relation to football governance? How and why do they get together, both in the physical and virtual spheres? Can fans go beyond traditional club rivalries and work together?
The future of football governance: What challenges are there for football governance and the supporter ownership movement? Is there a role for the EU or the European Model of Sport in the game’s governance? Papers within this theme should have a policy dimension.
Methodological considerations: Given the dearth of research in the area, how should supporter involvement in football governance be researched?
We welcome paper proposals from both academics and practitioners and will value those that include a focus on one or more of the following:
- Supporters who belong to minority groups (be that racial minority, cultural minority, LGBT groups etc.)
- Proposals that look beyond this level and at the wider football structures (for example governing bodies, international support networks)
- Papers that include a focus on Eastern or Southern Europe, East-West or North-South football dialogues
Please note that including a focus on the above is NOT a precondition to be accepted.
Send your proposal (max 1.5 pages, font size no smaller than 12pts, 2.5 cm margin) by 31 March 2014 to the conference organisers, Dr Borja Garcia and Dr Jo Welford (B.Garcia-Garcia@lboro.ac.uk). Paper proposals should include:
- Name, affiliation and contact details of the author(s)
- Title
- Abstract, containing your research question, methodology and brief discussion of results (if applicable)
- Keywords
- Conference thematic area to which you submit your paper
Papers will ONLY be accepted and allowed to be presented under the condition that a working paper (not power point or other type of presentations) version is submitted to the conference organisers by 3 October 2014 at the latest. All working papers will be published online on the FREE project website and a selection of the best papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume of the Football in an Enlarged Europe book series published by Palgrave Macmillan or a special issue of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.
Please feel FREE to submit your proposal by 18 May 2014 to Dr Borja Garcia
FREE – Football Research in an Enlarged Europe – is an FP7 project funded under Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities
