Investigating Online Fan Responses to the Rooney Rule in English Football

Kilvington, Daniel; Cable, Joanne; Cowell, Sophie; Mottershead, Glyn; Webster, Chris

doi:10.1108/s1476-285420220000015008

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

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“…The forum has over 77,000 members and has been active for almost 20 years. As Kilvington et al argue, the study of forum posts is distinct from analysis of other micro-blogging social media sites, forum users ‘are more likely to offer considered judgements […and] forum posts tend to be longer and more nuanced than those found on certain social media sites’ (Kilvington, Cable, et al, 2022; Kilvington, Hylton, et al, 2022: 850). Additionally, the focus on a MCFC forum facilitated us solely examining discussion of MCFC fans concerning their club; narrowing our focus beyond general football discussion on major social media platforms would have been a more difficult and less certain approach.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Best run club in the world': Manchester City fans and the legitimation of sportswashing?

Kearns,

Sinclair,

Black

et al. 2023

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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The term sportswashing has been discussed and analysed within academic circles, as well as the mainstream media. However, the majority of existing research has focused on one-off event-based sportswashing strategies (such as autocratic states hosting major international sports events) rather than longer term investment-based strategies (such as state actors purchasing sports clubs and teams). Furthermore, little has been written about the impact of this latter strategy on the existing fanbase of the purchased team and on their relationship with sportswashing and the discourses surrounding it. This paper addresses this lacuna through analysis of a popular Manchester City online fan forum, which illustrates the manner in which this community of dedicated City fans have legitimated the actions of the club's ownership regime, the Abu Dhabi United Group – a private equity group operated by Abu Dhabi royalty and UAE politicians. The discursive strategies of the City fans are discussed, in addition to the wider significance of these strategies on the issue of sportswashing and its coverage by the media.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%