Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen

Against the backdrop of the recent and renewed political and policy interest in the safety and security in European football contexts, this book examines the ways in which the regulation of insecurities in European football has been advanced by European institutions and organizations, and contested by football supporters, from the 1980s to the present day. This book therefore produces an updated empirical but theoretically informed account of how insecurities in football have been responded to and countered on a European level through expressions of power and counter-power. By drawing on material from interviews, and analyses of international legal texts, policy documents and historical football fanzines, Insecurities in European Football and Supporter Cultures uses European football as a window to understand wider processes of (in)security and the regulation of cultures, social groups and contested spaces. Utilizing perspectives from contemporary sociology and critical security studies, this book produces the argument that, as institutions’ risk-focused logics and precautionary principles have been embedded in the attempts to secure European football, it is simultaneously possible to observe a reflexive culture of contestation that has matured across four decades in European football. Insecurities in European Football and Supporter Cultures is an important, fascinating and timely reading for anybody with an interest in the sociology of sport, football, security studies, surveillance, social theory and sport studies.

Against the backdrop of the recent and renewed political and policy interest in the safety and security in European football contexts, this book examines the ways in which the regulation of insecurities in European football has been advanced by European institutions and organizations, and contested by football supporters, from the 1980s to the present day. This book therefore produces an updated empirical but theoretically informed account of how insecurities in football have been responded to and countered on a European level through expressions of power and counter-power. By drawing on material from interviews, and analyses of international legal texts, policy documents and historical football fanzines, Insecurities in European Football and Supporter Cultures uses European football as a window to understand wider processes of (in)security and the regulation of cultures, social groups and contested spaces. Utilizing perspectives from contemporary sociology and critical security studies, this book produces the argument that, as institutions’ risk-focused logics and precautionary principles have been embedded in the attempts to secure European football, it is simultaneously possible to observe a reflexive culture of contestation that has matured across four decades in European football. Insecurities in European Football and Supporter Cultures is an important, fascinating and timely reading for anybody with an interest in the sociology of sport, football, security studies, surveillance, social theory and sport studies.

This book explores social and political issues and trends emerging around the UEFA European Football Championships. It presents a contemporary sociology of the European Championships which, despite its significance as a mega-event, has been largely overshadowed by the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in existing literature. At a time when both sport mega-events and Europe are undergoing dramatic transformations, this book explores a range of case studies and important topics such as changing consumption patterns, new types of sport media, social media, environmental policies and emergency politics, public opposition and co-hosting. It also situates the European Championships within wider European projects and discourses of European identities, integration and enlargement. Drawing on data from recent and historical European Championships, and looking ahead to the next tournament in Germany in 2024, this book serves to open up new debates within the sociology of sport and the study of mega-events. It is a timely and ground-breaking text which will resonate with students, academics and readers who are interested in football, the sociology of sport, megaevents, digital sociology, European politics and culture or sports business.

This is the first book to look closely at the concept of ‘risk’ in elite and professional football from a social scientific perspective. Drawing on the wider sociological, criminological and management literature on risk, it shows how football helps us to understand global risk more generally in present-day society. The book explores how attitudes to risk have shaped the modern football business, and identifies those risks that pose a threat to the sustainability of football in the future. It draws upon the work of theorists including Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens and Michel Foucault, as well as digital media sources and policy documents, and covers a range of topics, cases and themes including political, environmental and terrorism risks, technologies, the governance of fans and risk resistance. In the context of the social, globalized and commercialized realm of football, as well as a global pandemic that has had a profound influence on attitudes to risk, the book argues that modern societies’ preoccupation with risk has transformed the ways in which modern football is played on the pitch, organized off the pitch, covered in the media and attended by fans. Including an extended case study of the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada, this is a thought-provoking read for any student, researcher or policy-maker with an interest in football, sport, events, sociology, criminology or risk management.

This book examines contemporary issues of security at sports mega-events (SMEs). It focuses on the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2020) - subsequently postponed to 2021 - the third biggest SME in the global sporting calendar and a unique multi-city, multi-country event that took place in the eye of the COVID-19 storm. Drawing on stakeholder interviews, policy documents, media sources and existing research, the book explores the constructions, meanings, and perceptions of security in the efforts to secure this football mega-event. It argues that Euro 2020 is a powerful case through which to better understand wider security governance and security-related processes in present-day societies, which are increasingly preoccupied with notions of ‘security’, ‘safety’ and ‘risk’. It assesses the precautionary logic and transnational knowledge transfer processes that guide security constructions surrounding SMEs in an uncertain and threat-conscious world, and captures the dramatic moments in which COVID-19 transitioned into a security threat with severe impacts on the world of football and well beyond. Sport Mega-Events, Security and COVID-19 advances existing debates in the sociology of football and sport, offering a critical understanding of security and safety in the modern world, and giving an insight into the changing ‘new normalities’ of security between 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of global sport. This is a fascinating reading for anybody with a professional or academic interest in sport management, event management, football, security studies, policing, risk and crisis management, the sociology of sport, the sociology of surveillance, or political science.

This book explores social and political issues and trends emerging around the UEFA European Football Championships. It presents a contemporary sociology of the European Championships which, despite its significance as a mega-event, has been largely overshadowed by the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in existing literature. At a time when both sport mega-events and Europe are undergoing dramatic transformations, this book explores a range of case studies and important topics such as changing consumption patterns, new types of sport media, social media, environmental policies and emergency politics, public opposition and co-hosting. It also situates the European Championships within wider European projects and discourses of European identities, integration and enlargement. Drawing on data from recent and historical European Championships, and looking ahead to the next tournament in Germany in 2024, this book serves to open up new debates within the sociology of sport and the study of mega-events. It is a timely and ground-breaking text which will resonate with students, academics and readers who are interested in football, the sociology of sport, megaevents, digital sociology, European politics and culture or sports business.

This is the first book to explore fully the connections between sport studies and criminology, opening up critical new frontiers in the study of sport and crime. Rooted firmly in established critical criminological traditions, the book also employs insights from emerging theoretical frameworks such as cultural criminology, governmentality theory and critical security studies to make better sense of a range of transnational and contemporary cases, events and trends that reveal, in different ways, the crimes and harms that are present in sport. Empirically grounded, including case studies of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, it explores emerging themes in contemporary sport, including but not limited to corruption, doping, youth crime, terrorism, violence and transgression, and human rights abuses. Sport and Crime consciously pushes the boundaries of what might be considered the critical criminology of sport. This is an essential text for any course on sport and crime, and invaluable reading for any student or researcher with an interest in the sociology of sport, sport development, sport policy, the politics of sport, critical criminology, or socio-legal studies.

This is the first book to explore fully the connections between sport studies and criminology, opening up critical new frontiers in the study of sport and crime. Rooted firmly in established critical criminological traditions, the book also employs insights from emerging theoretical frameworks such as cultural criminology, governmentality theory and critical security studies to make better sense of a range of transnational and contemporary cases, events and trends that reveal, in different ways, the crimes and harms that are present in sport. Empirically grounded, including case studies of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, it explores emerging themes in contemporary sport, including but not limited to corruption, doping, youth crime, terrorism, violence and transgression, and human rights abuses. Sport and Crime consciously pushes the boundaries of what might be considered the critical criminology of sport. This is an essential text for any course on sport and crime, and invaluable reading for any student or researcher with an interest in the sociology of sport, sport development, sport policy, the politics of sport, critical criminology, or socio-legal studies.

This is the first book to look closely at the concept of ‘risk’ in elite and professional football from a social scientific perspective. Drawing on the wider sociological, criminological and management literature on risk, it shows how football helps us to understand global risk more generally in present-day society. The book explores how attitudes to risk have shaped the modern football business, and identifies those risks that pose a threat to the sustainability of football in the future. It draws upon the work of theorists including Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens and Michel Foucault, as well as digital media sources and policy documents, and covers a range of topics, cases and themes including political, environmental and terrorism risks, technologies, the governance of fans and risk resistance. In the context of the social, globalized and commercialized realm of football, as well as a global pandemic that has had a profound influence on attitudes to risk, the book argues that modern societies’ preoccupation with risk has transformed the ways in which modern football is played on the pitch, organized off the pitch, covered in the media and attended by fans. Including an extended case study of the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada, this is a thought-provoking read for any student, researcher or policy-maker with an interest in football, sport, events, sociology, criminology or risk management.

This book examines contemporary issues of security at sports mega-events (SMEs). It focuses on the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2020) - subsequently postponed to 2021 - the third biggest SME in the global sporting calendar and a unique multi-city, multi-country event that took place in the eye of the COVID-19 storm. Drawing on stakeholder interviews, policy documents, media sources and existing research, the book explores the constructions, meanings, and perceptions of security in the efforts to secure this football mega-event. It argues that Euro 2020 is a powerful case through which to better understand wider security governance and security-related processes in present-day societies, which are increasingly preoccupied with notions of ‘security’, ‘safety’ and ‘risk’. It assesses the precautionary logic and transnational knowledge transfer processes that guide security constructions surrounding SMEs in an uncertain and threat-conscious world, and captures the dramatic moments in which COVID-19 transitioned into a security threat with severe impacts on the world of football and well beyond. Sport Mega-Events, Security and COVID-19 advances existing debates in the sociology of football and sport, offering a critical understanding of security and safety in the modern world, and giving an insight into the changing ‘new normalities’ of security between 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of global sport. This is a fascinating reading for anybody with a professional or academic interest in sport management, event management, football, security studies, policing, risk and crisis management, the sociology of sport, the sociology of surveillance, or political science.