ABSTRACT
The chapter describes the history of Polish football fandom that has been deeply embedded in local culture, reflecting the social, political and cultural transformation of Poland. Its aim is to familiarise the reader with the Polish context to allow a better understanding of the process of Polish stadiums’ ‘feminisation’. The chapter distinguishes and explores three major phases of development during the unfolding of Polish football fandom: (1) rebellious beginning – the emergence of football fandom as a form of subculture, (2) phase spanning from the late 1980s until the early years of the twenty-first century characterised by internal functional differentiation, the professionalisation of hooliganism and the rise of ultras and (3) the evaluation of football fandom since the announcement of Poland as co-host of Euro 2012 marked by the rapid modernisation of football culture.
