Skip to main content

Supporters’ Trusts as Collective Action: Swansea City in Focus

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Collective Action and Football Fandom

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Relational Sociology ((PSRS))

Abstract

This chapter illustrates the emotions, tactics, and successful collective mobilization of Swansea City supporters in late 2001 and early 2002 that led to the formation of a Supporters’ Trust. In particular, it focuses on the relationships between people in online and offline space and how these modes of interaction come together when the club’s future was threatened. It then considers some of the challenges now facing the ownership model of the Supporters’ Trust at the club as a result of the takeover of a majority of the shares by an American consortium in 2016.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alinsky, S. (1971). Rules for Radicals. London: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, D., & Kennedy, P. (2007). Preserving and Extending the Commodification of Football Supporter Relations: A Cultural Economy of Supporters Direct. Sociological Research Online, 12(1). http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/1/kennedy.html

  • Weber, M. (2001 [1930]). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1990). Rational Organization. Rationality and Society, 2(1), 94–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumer, H. (1951). Collective Behavior. In A. M. Lee (Ed.), Principles of Sociology. New York: Barnes & Noble.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. E. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory of Research for the Sociology of Education. London: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. (2008). ‘Our Club, Our Rules’: Fan Communities at FC United of Manchester. Soccer and Society, 9(3), 346–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burkitt, I. (2014). Emotions and Social Relations. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Castells, M. (2013 [2009]). Communication Power. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castells, M. (2015 [2012]). Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J. (2010). From Passive to Active: The Changing Relationship Between Football Clubs and Football Supporters. Soccer and Society, 11(5), 537–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J. (2015a). A Sociology of Football in a Global Context. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J., & Cashmore, E. (2016). ‘Football Fans’ Views of Racism in British Football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 51(1), 27–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J., & Dixon, K. (2015). ‘Black and Whiters’: The Relative Powerlessness of ‘Active’ Supporter Organization Mobility at English Premier League Football Clubs. Soccer and Society, 16(4), 540–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1973). Resources for Social Change. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, R. (2004). Interaction Ritual Chains. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Conn, D. (2002 [1997]). The Football Business: The Modern Football Classic. London: Mainstream.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, N. (2011). Towards Relational Sociology. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, N. (2015a). Relational Sociology and Culture. International Review of Sociology, 25(1), 65–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, C. (2017). The Impact of the Supporters’ Trust Movement on Women’s Feelings and Practices of Their Football Fandom. Soccer and Society, 18(4), 462–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frink, B., & Prinz, J. (2006). Crisis? What Crisis? Football in Germany. Journal of Sports Economics, 7(1), 60–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gamson, W. A. (1990 [1975]). The Strategy of Social Protest. Belmont: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, B., & Welford, J. (2015). Supporters and Football Governance, from Customers to Stakeholders: A Literature Review and Agenda for Research. Sport Management Review, 18(4), 517–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giugni, M. G. (1998). The Outcomes of Social Movements: A Review of the Literature. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 371–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, T., Canniford, R., & Millward, P. (2016). Against Modern Football: Mobilizing Protest Movements in Social Media. Sociology. First published online August 9, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516660040

  • Hirsch, E. L. (1990). Sacrifice for the Cause: Group Processes, Recruitment, and Commitment in a Student Social Movement. American Sociological Review, 55(2), 243–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, J. (2015). Bourdieu and Social Movements. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, J. M. (1997). The Art of Moral Protest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, J. M. (1998). The Emotions of Protest. Sociological Forum, 13, 397–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiernan, A., & Porter, C. (2014). Little United and the Big Society: Negotiating the Gaps Between Football, Community and the Politics of Inclusion. Soccer & Society, 15(6), 847–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kossakowski, R. (2017). From Communist Fan Clubs to Professional Hooligans: A History of Polish Fandom as a Social Process. Sociology of Sport Journal, 34(3), 281–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kriesi, H., Koopmans, R., Duyvendak, J. W., & Giugni, M. (1995). New Social Movements in Western Europe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lomax, B. (2000). Democracy and Fandom: Developing a Supporters’ Trust at Northampton Town FC. Soccer & Society, 1(1), 79–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luhmann, N. (2017 [1979]). Trust and Power. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. (2007). Football, Community and Cooperation: A Critical Analysis of Supporter Trusts in England. Soccer & Society, 8(4), 636–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAdam, D. (1986). Recruitment to High-Risk Activism: The Case of Freedom Summer. American Journal of Sociology, 92(1), 64–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (2001). The Enduring Vitality of the Resource Mobilization Theory of Social Movements. In J. H. Turner (Ed.), Handbook of Sociological Theory: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Boston: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michie, J., & Oughton, C. (2005). The Corporate Governance of Professional Football Clubs in England. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 13(4), 517–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millward, P. (2011). The Global Football League: Transnational Networks, Social Movements and Sport in the New Media Age. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, G. (2012). An Ethnography of English Football Fans: Cans, Cops and Carnivals. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, C. (2015). Loyal to What? FC United’s ‘Shaping Walk’ Through Football’s ‘Muck of Ages’. Sport in Society, 18(4), 452–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosie, M., & Gorringe, H. (2009). ‘The Anarchists’ World Cup’: Respectable Protest and Media Panics. Social Movement Studies, 8(1), 35–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. (2000). Strengthening the Voice of Supporters. Soccer & Society, 1(3), 13–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smithey, L. A. (2009). Social Movement Strategy, Tactics, and Collective Identity. Sociology Compass, 3(4), 658–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumbler, P. (2013). From Graveyard to Ambition: The Official History of the Swansea City Supporters’ Trust. Stroud: Amberley Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sztompka, P. (2003 [1999]). Trust: A Sociological Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. (2017). “Football Without Fans Is Nothing”: Contemporary Fan Protests and Resistance Communities in the English Premier League. In R. Elliott (Ed.), The English Premier League: A Socio-Cultural Analysis. New York/Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walters, G., & Tacon, R. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport: Stakeholder Management in the UK Football Industry. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(4), 566–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Cleland, J., Doidge, M., Millward, P., Widdop, P. (2018). Supporters’ Trusts as Collective Action: Swansea City in Focus. In: Collective Action and Football Fandom. Palgrave Studies in Relational Sociology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73141-4_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73141-4_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73140-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73141-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics