This chapter draws on expert interviews with European football officials and practitioners. As described in Sect. 4.3.3 , the interviews cover the four study countries plus the European level and include all relevant stakeholder groups from the European football sphere. The interview data serves to validate our theoretical concept as well as supplement the quantitative survey data with qualitative data points. The interviewees’ extensive expertise especially helps to reflect on the existing structures and practices in football and their potential to strengthen identification with and social cohesion in Europe. In addition to comparing and discussing best practice examples in current fan work in the study countries, this qualitative approach also enables us to identify the shortcomings of these structures and practices. Both aspects help to reveal the so far unexploited potential of football fandom for identification processes and cohesion in the European context. Furthermore, we address issues of transnational networks, relations, and interactions among fans, as well as national particularities that potentially hinder connection and exchange. Lastly, interview data especially enables us to look towards the future of professional men’s club football in Europe and the role that fans might play in it. Consequently, we focus on identification, cohesion, and attitudinal changes in fans (Sect. 7.1), organisation and representation structures for fans (Sect. 7.2), obstacles for football’s positive potentials (Sect. 7.3), and possible trajectories for the future development of European club football (Sect. 7.4).

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Expert Interviews

  • Jonas Biel,
  • Tobias Finger,
  • Arne Niemann,
  • Vincent Reinke

摘要

This chapter draws on expert interviews with European football officials and practitioners. As described in Sect. 4.3.3 , the interviews cover the four study countries plus the European level and include all relevant stakeholder groups from the European football sphere. The interview data serves to validate our theoretical concept as well as supplement the quantitative survey data with qualitative data points. The interviewees’ extensive expertise especially helps to reflect on the existing structures and practices in football and their potential to strengthen identification with and social cohesion in Europe. In addition to comparing and discussing best practice examples in current fan work in the study countries, this qualitative approach also enables us to identify the shortcomings of these structures and practices. Both aspects help to reveal the so far unexploited potential of football fandom for identification processes and cohesion in the European context. Furthermore, we address issues of transnational networks, relations, and interactions among fans, as well as national particularities that potentially hinder connection and exchange. Lastly, interview data especially enables us to look towards the future of professional men’s club football in Europe and the role that fans might play in it. Consequently, we focus on identification, cohesion, and attitudinal changes in fans (Sect. 7.1), organisation and representation structures for fans (Sect. 7.2), obstacles for football’s positive potentials (Sect. 7.3), and possible trajectories for the future development of European club football (Sect. 7.4).