Against Modern Football is a movement that emerged in “Continental Europe” (VICE) as an expression of discontent with the modernisation of football and to reclaim football back from the economic forces that had taken a hold over the game (Leander Schaerlaeckens 2015).  British based Stand Against Modern Football (Seb (last), Dan, and Mark n.d.)developed from these ideas; “StandAMF is a network of British football fans who protest against commercialisation processes designed to generate more manageable and profitable ways of ‘consuming’ sport.” (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018, p.3)In this post I aim to outline the reasoning behind the movement, how it operates-, the authenticity and achievements of the movement and finally highlight issues of intersectionality and gender politics that seem to overlook the women’s game not only as a source of football which this social movement is attempting to bring back, but through being ignored runs the risk of being lost. 

The StandAMF movement arose through discontent. In ‘Against Modern Football: Mobilising Protest Movements in Social Media’ (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018), Millward is quoted highlighting the “common frames of discontent”; commercialisation, “sanitization” and increased prices are to name but a few. (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018, p.9). These shared issues are seen as “objective conditions (problems in society), Fuchs refers to Castells work on “Book Networks of Outrage and Hope. Social Movements in the Internet Age” (Fuchs 2012)which I refer back to in order to highlight why the movement emerged. “the perception of a mass of people that the objective conditions are unbearable and that society therefore needs to be changed by them and that this requires their collective political action (Fuchs, 2006.)”  (Fuchs 2012,p.779). This is where StandAMF can act as the collective political force, as it has no ties with a particular football club. To unify these people by expressing their similar desires for change StandAMF has the potential to break down barriers to allow for a stronger social movement to emerge.  “StandAMF’s successes begin with the dismantling of entrenched supporter rivalries” (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018, p.18). This is a big step in gaining support for a common cause. 

It cannot be ignored that if one is following a linear model of progress and regress, then to go back would be to return to more racism, more hooliganism and unsafe stadiums.  StandAMF mention that this aspect of the game is not something that they wish to return to. 

“What are we not? We do not want the return of a game blighted by hooliganism, racism and deathtrap stadiums. The game had to change but the scale of change has and continues to take the game away from the many who so enjoy it.” (Seb (last), Dan, and Mark n.d.) 

This highlights how this social movement is recognising that the call for a return to football before modernisation, is not a return to football before modernisation as we know it to be. 

This highlights the negative aspects of footballs past, therefore not viewing it as an “authentic” version of football. A term that is problematized by Sherry Ortner in “Resistance and The Problem of Ethnographic Refusal.” (Ortner 1995)“it seems to presume a naive belief in cultural purity, in untouched cultures whose histories are uncontaminated by those of their neighbors or of the west.” (Ortner 1995,p.176). The problematic aspects are highlighted but refused in their strive for change. 

One of the ways in which StandAMF operates and spreads its message is through its publishing of its zine. Their website offers access to their zine both electronically and through material subscription. 

We’re a fanzine that gives the opportunity for like-minded people to take a considered look at the state of the game. We attempt to introduce and investigate alternatives to negative aspects of modern football and to bring together disaffected fans. (Seb (last), Dan, and Mark n.d.)

A key aspect of what StandAMF offer is a collection of zines from across the country from football fans who share the same ideals. In Against Modern Football: Mobilising Protest Movements in Social Media it is outlined how through studying the content of fanzines this shared anger can be recognised, some of which are described below. 

Exploring football fanzines from the late-1980s through to 2010, Millward (2011) discovers common frames of discontent: clubs prioritising commercial development ahead of on-the-pitch performances; a ‘sanitisation’ of match atmospheres; rising ticket prices…(Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018,p.9)

However, this anger and frustration lay limited and stagnant within singular teams’ own fanzines, “fanzine consumption remained constrained within the club-specific reach of these media” (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018,p.9)this led to the need for a space to arise which addressed these issues in a way that would be open to fans of all UK football teams, something that StandAMF has achieved. I have collected this information and created an interactive map which covers the UK, including all the information about said zines, in order to emphasise the geographical coverage of teams with the same values.

StandAMF as a movement and zine breaks down the barriers of rivalry and competition to align common values which many football supporters feel strongly about. StandAMF’s online presence helped to foster feelings of unity and strengthened the togetherness felt by fans. Christian Fuchs quotes Shirky to highlight this point “social media are “long-term tools that can strengthen civil society and the public sphere“ (Shirky 2011, 32).” (Fuchs 2012,p.778). This strengthening is something that is felt by a Liverpool fan interviewed in “Against Modern Football: Mobilising Protest Movements in Social Media “StandAMF produces a “feeling of hope that the way football is being run at the moment can be changed.” ” (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018,p.13)

In order to see this movement grow and develop, it is important for the movement to attempt to be more intersectional. Whilst reading through this overwhelming desire for a return to an older version of the sport, “with nostalgic recollections of more ‘traditional’ football culture”(Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018, p.10)I couldn’t help but make a direct comparison with my own experiences of Women’s football, something that is completely left out of the movement. I could see direct similarities between the harking back to a more traditional football and the current state of Women’s football. 

‘Football used to be this local event that everyone had access to…. Everyone knew one another … Money has had a huge impact on this… Truth is many working, ordinary people – not just teenagers – don’t get to go” (Tom, Interview, 29 June 2013) (Hill, Canniford, and Millward 2018, p.10)

Through my own experiences of watching women’s football at both an international and club level within the UK as well as online research, it is clear that the current women’s game, if recognised by against modern football movements could be seen to fulfill the desires and aims of these groups. “It’s football in its purest form. (Matt Strudwick 2019)Women’s football is often seen as a purer more traditional form of football that- according to the European Club Association-  is “more accessible for fans” (Susie Rushton 2019). This lack of recognition and intersectional thinking is where the movement stagnates in its progression. Christian Fuchs quotes Harvey as he highlights the way in which social movements gain momentum and strength through this “co-revolution”; “The trick of revolutionary politics would be that movements … act as co-revolutionary movements that “keep the political movement moving from one moment to another in mutually reinforcing ways”(Fuchs 2012,p.793). 

Not only can Women’s football be seen as an answer to some of these problems that fans have with the modern game, but at a pinnacle turning point, Women’s football is under threat from the same issues that the AMF movement is trying to banish from the game. The drive to commercialise and monetise women’s football, aims to boost salaries and encourage involvement from brands and sponsors, this is highlighted in a Marketing Week online article. “When brands see fans paying to engage with the sport they begin to see the value, which elevates women’s football as a commercial proposition.” (Charlotte Rogers 2019).However, there is a real risk here of Women’s football following suit with the men’s game, as ticket prices rise, the accessibility and therefore, authenticity that the Women’s game is still clinging on to, runs the risk of being lost. This division of subalterns as Ortner puts it (Ortner 1995)means that there is gender division and a lack of an intersectional outlook “ that subaltern groups are internally divided by age, gender, status, and other forms of difference and that occupants of differing positions will have different, even opposed, but still legitimate, on the situation.” (Ortner 1995, p.175). This is where the outlook of the movement would benefit from widening its gaze and collaboration to further the movement, and protect Women’s football from the issues that have swept the game out from an ordinary person’s feet, into corporate, modern hands. 

https://maphub.net/hanbashev/map

Charlotte Rogers
 2019   Women’s football must value match days to capitalise on post-World Cup buzz, September 18. https://www.marketingweek.com/womens-football-sponsorship/.

Fuchs, Christian
 2012   Some Reflections on Manuel Castells’ Book “Networks of Outrage and Hope. Social Movements in the Internet Age”. tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society 10(2): 775–797.

Hill, Tim, Robin Canniford, and Peter Millward
 2018   Against Modern Football: Mobilising Protest Movements in Social Media. Sociology 52(4): 688–708.

Leander Schaerlaeckens
 2015   Against Modern Football, the Controversial Movement to Reclaim a Sport from Capitalism Gone Mad. VICE. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8qpj5x/against-modern-football-the-controversial-movement-to-reclaim-a-sport-from-capitalism-gone-mad.

Matt Strudwick
 2019   Women’s Football Is Better than Men’s. And It’s about Time We All Realised. Get Surrey, June 30. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/sport/football/england-women-world-cup-france-16509479.

Ortner, Sherry B.
 1995   Resistance and the Problem of Ethnographic Refusal. Comparative Studies in Society and History 37(1): 173–193.

Seb (last), Dan, and Mark
 N.d.    StandAMF. https://www.standamf.com/about-stand/.

Susie Rushton
 2019   For the Lionesses to Bring Women’s Football Home, They’ll Need Our Support. Opinion. The Guardian.

 

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