Understanding the Outcomes of Associational Involvement in Football Fan Clubs: Assessing the Validity of Socialization and Selection Hypotheses

Abstract

This study examined how associational engagement within a football fan club renders influence on individual members’ extended civic participation. In order to present evidence whether such an effect actually occurs, the study first sought to determine the existence of prosocial outcomes that might arise from members’ involvement in their respective fan clubs. Then, by utilizing critical ethnography as the methodological base, the study next scrutinized whether acquiring such outcomes can be solely attributed to their associational life. An accurate assessment of these two research objectives (i.e. existence and attribution of prosocial outcomes) enables the authors to determine the appropriateness of two contending theoretical bases (i.e. the socialization hypothesis and the self-selection effect) in the context of football fandom.