Examining football fans' expressions of Englishness in public houses and online spaces, the author discusses the effects of globalisation, European integration and UK devolution on English society, revealing that the use of the St George's Cross does not signal the emergence of a specifically 'English' national consciousness, but in fact masks a more complex, multi-layered process of national identity construction. A detailed and grounded study of identity, nationalism and globalisation amongst football fans, English National Identity and Football Fan Culture will appeal to scholars and students of politics, sociology and anthropology with interests in ethnography, the sociology of sport, fan cultures, globalisation and contemporary national identities.
Dr Tom Gibbons is Senior Lecturer in Sports Studies in the School of Social Sciences and Law at Teesside University, UK.
Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Theoretical Approach for Understanding Contemporary English National Identity; Chapter 3 The Unintended Consequences of Global and European Forces on English Football Fan Culture; Chapter 4 Manifestations of Englishness in Pubs during World Cup 2006; Chapter 5 Fan Debates on Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics and the Almunia Case; Chapter 6 The Club versus Country Debate in English Football and the Diverse Use of the St George's Cross; Chapter 7 Conclusion: Diminishing Contrasts, Increasing Varieties in English Football;