ABSTRACT
The question of an appropriate methodology for the study of fans and fandom has attracted increased attention in recent years. To some extent this seems surprising, as the answer to the methodological challenge posed by fans is in one sense straightforward: football fans are spectators. Whether inside a football stadium, in front of the television in their local pub, or at home listening to the match commentary on the radio, football fans are audiences. The study of football fans is thus by definition a study of audiences. In this sense the methodological framework of my study is derived from the long tradition of qualitative audience studies in Media and Cultural Studies that has developed following Hall’s encoding/decoding model (1980) and Morley’s pioneering study (1980) of the Nationwide audience. Drawing on recent trends in audience research, my method included different qualitative components such as participant observation and informal and semi-structured interviewing. These qualitative and partly ethnographic research methods enabled me to investigate mundane and recurring aspects of fandom and thus to assess the interaction between individuals and groups and their socio-cultural environment. The issues surrounding ethnographic research have been extensively discussed elsewhere (Clifford and Marcus 1986; Hammersley 1992; Alasuutari 1995) and I will abstain here from reiterating in further depth the various general theoretical debates surrounding ethnography.
