Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

`We've All Got The Bug For Euro-Aways'

2006; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 41; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/1012690207077706

1461-7218

Peter Millward,

Sports Analytics and Performance

It is well established that sport helps to produce and maintain national identities. However, the relationship between football and European identities has received only limited attention. This article questions whether football assists the production of European identities. To test this, data were collected from RAOTL e-zine (found at www.raotl.co.uk/), which is an Internet messageboard used by Liverpool Football Club supporters. From this data, a random sample consisting of 107 days of fan comments — collected over a 14-month period — was analysed using a frame analysis technique. The unfolding argument is that, in the sense of football competition, Liverpool supporters gave favourable narratives which related to UEFA club competition, which constituted a form of European identity and transnational fan experiences enchanted supporters' discourse.