Case Report
Volume 7 Issue 5 - March 2020
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports
Copyright © All rights are reserved by Kieran James
Football Supporter Alienation Associated
Commercialization in the Modern Game: A
Marxist Critique of English Football
Richie Bain, Norman Duncan, Michael Martin, James Moles, Michael Williamson, Blair Wilson and Kieran
James*
University of the West of Scotland, Paisley campus, Scotland
Submission: February 26, 2020; Published: March 09, 2020
*Corresponding author: Kieran James, School of Business and Enterprise, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley campus, Paisley PA1 2BE,
Renfrewshire, Scotland
J Phy Fit Treatment & Sportsl 7(5): JPFMTS.MS.ID.555723 (2020)
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Case Report
Football is evolving. From what was a working-class fan’s
weekly relief from the ills of capitalism, football has now become
the very embodiment of the system itself. The modern fan see the
hierarchy of their football club, especially at the very top level,
their values through the dirt as they seek to commodify their
A club’s identity is its heart and soul for many supporters and
traditions built upon 100 years of history in most cases, is being
lost in this transition into the new age. Capitalism cares nothing
for the beloved integrity or heart of a football club but conversely
seeks to rip that heart out of the institution, alienating fans and
communities from any sense of identity. For a communal feel
to return to football, it is vital that football morphs back to its
for fans to identify with their beloved game once more.
relation to the English Premier League (EPL) and its abundant
relevance to the movement football has undertaken as it
transitions to a capitalistic age. EPL football clubs have fell foul
important to address these issues as well as the fans’ resistance
in protecting their clubs from losing their identity. Looking at
three key cases studies focusing on Wimbledon AFC, Manchester
theories in action and how these theories reveal tarnished
football communities and their vision to what their club is. This
Premier League (EPL), in particular, that has occurred since the
early-1990s. Conn D [1] proposes that through this process of
become alienated from the clubs they adoringly support. Football
has undergone a process not dissimilar to that of an industrial
revolution with clubs, instead of being owned by a community
of supporters, are owned by private investors who may have no
emotional attachment to the club and its supporters. Goldblatt D
[2] argues that these owners use the clubs to generate surplus-
value for their own capitalist agenda, alienating supporters in a
alienation investigated in this report is one proposed by Penny
& Redhead [3] whereby fans become alienated due to stadium
Keywords:
Abbreviations: EPL: English Premier League; FA: Financial Power; PLC: Public Limited Company; ISA: Independent Supporters Association; SU:
Shareholders United
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
002
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
relocation, a trend that has become increasingly popular amongst
(EPL) clubs in recent years. Fans lose the historical sense of place
created within the old stadium as it is replaced by a new placeless
arena design, solely for the purpose of selling a higher quantity
Finally, the anti-neoliberal movement of fans, in response to the
by fans’ resistance to these growing trends within the English
game and their efforts to transition through this evolution of the
industry.
Commercialization
within which a new product is brought into the marketplace.
being transformed into a commodity. The product is sold to a
mass market of consumers in order to generate wealth for the
within a capitalist system of production as the transformation
of goods, services, ideas or even people into commodities or
object in question is assigned a new value, not its use-value to the
believing that some things shouldn’t have an economic value
their fandom with the cost of admission to games ever increasing
in today’s market. We argue that the act of supporting a football
team has a profound impact on the lives of fans as they use it to
construct relationships, memories, and individual identities. This
and integral to the way of life for so many people and hence results
that football was, once upon a time, a working-class sport, a game
used by the average man to relieve the monotony and hardship
of a working-class life spent in a factory or shipyard. A struggle
created by the advent of capitalism is removal of the human being
[4] further proposed that a “man’s game” is being turned into a
media event for mass consumption, the result being a resurgence
of hooliganism within football in the 1990’s in response to this
the formation of the (EPL). TV and media rights were sold to
Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and games shown through his
TV stations which fans were charged to watch. Ticket prices
increase over 20 years. Goldblatt D [2] further proposes that the
problem. Clubs are now being run as businesses for the purpose
of creating surplus-value for their owners rather than for the
good of the community of supporters [5]. Highlights an increase
in advertising within football grounds, not just those presented to
supporters all throughout stadiums but also on the strips of the
team. As more stakeholders such as media companies, sponsors,
private investors and governing bodies alike attempt to control an
further removed from their working-class roots. Goldblatt D
occurring in the past two decades, with players now being bought
and sold for astronomical amounts of money frequently and in
£100
of cash into the game, [1] argues that football has undergone its
erected all over the country, some in response to health and safety
regulations imposed by the Taylor Report and some to increase
the number of supporters that can be charged for attending
matches. This removes football from its communal roots, where
the game was run by the Football Association (FA) whose purpose,
was to maintain the integrity of the sport, keeping it separated
from politics or socio-economic issues. Through increased private
ownership a capitalist doctrine has emerged where football, like
so many other things, has become nothing more than a commodity.
Kennedy P [6] propose that through this change, football fandom
has also undergone a period of transformation, not unlike what
was witnessed through the bourgeoning of capitalism, whereby
feudal ties were ripped apart, replaced by only one measure of
value, commodity prices. The average fan is indistinguishable
from the pre- industrial revolution laborer in that his connection
to the production of his labour are removed. His only measure
of participation now is the money which he spends on the game.
develops through periods of class struggle; capitalism creates an
ever-widening gap between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
Football as an industry has become a tool of the capitalist system,
means of production.
Conn D [1] states that football, being at the heart of British
culture, once stood for passion, community, honor, and even
beauty. However, it is now in danger of losing these connections
for the traditional working-class community of supporters and
even, losing its soul. Conn D [1] argues that the role of the Football
Association (FA), having created the modern rules of football in
1863, was to protect the sporting values of the game. However,
the FA abandoned these principles in the 1990s after allowing the
creation of an English Premier League (EPL), due to pressure from
the biggest clubs in England at the time. They did this in order
to increase the amount of wealth that could be created from the
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
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Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
of English Football, identifying the key participants and their
the balance of power between the participants has changed
dramatically as clubs have shifted from having community
stakeholders to attaining public limited company (PLC) status,
thus shifting the balance of power away from fans and towards
the various television companies, shareholders of the clubs, and
make many critical decisions, in addition to media companies
or media companies. The players enjoy social status and may act
collectively through membership of the professional footballers’
association. Malcolm D [5] describes fans as being alienated, an
amorphous group with the least power of any stakeholder group.
of the (EPL), changing the landscape of English Football. Secondly,
an industry and the owners of the means of production then
worker is alienated from the products produced, the act of
producing, and from other workers. Alienation arises within the
capitalist mode of production as the laborer is forced to sell his
labour-power, this being the only commodity he has to offer as it
is not, he who owns the means of production but the bourgeoisie.
Malcolm D [5] addresses this alienation of fans in his article by
investigating the emergence of the Independent Supporters
Association (ISA) in the 1990s. The author argues that the growing
engaged in traditional “fan behavior” such as standing up, singing,
and protesting the establishment who have forced fan groups to
abandon their traditions in order to comply with the new rules of
the (EPL). Malcolm D [5] does, however, state that fan activism in
than socio-political, economic or regulatory factors. The author
transformation of football from a working-class community game
under different social and political conditions are constructed by
spaces are resources of power, the relationship between space
stadia on the alienation of fans in terms of a sense of place. They
describe traditional football stadiums as being historical social
spaces where people’s deep connection with the geographical
areas lead to identity formation and development of a sense of
place within the stadium. Several authors have investigated the
change witnessed in the use of sports stadia in recent years.
Austrian Z [8] investigate the economic development effects on
downtown American cities, arguing that the building of sports
stadiums was used to generate economic growth. The authors
show that clubs use sports stadiums as commodities for wealth
creation, not as a place of community or purpose of a team.
Austrian Z [8] argue that, if sports facilities do shift economic
development, the measure of success should not be economic
growth but whether the downtown environment was enhanced or
sustained. Ahlfeldt G [9] study the impact that three sports
facilities had on the value of land in Germany. A positive increase
Ahlfeldt G [9] also show that government subsidies often
contribute to the construction of stadia; however, it is often the
public that must suffer the consequences of reduced house prices.
These articles show the change from the traditional sporting
stadia constructed solely for the purpose of supporting a team
and the new government-backed construction of multiple
purpose-built stadiums used to generate wealth. Bélanger A [10]
in sporting spaces. The acquisition of this space by a global
corporation alienated users of the space in many ways. Bélanger A
[10] highlights how the change in Montreal from an industrial to
post-industrial space has altered the relations of production and
consumption, resulting in a reimagining of urban public spaces.
The author focuses on the power of the owners as a dominant
force to involve memories of the old space in the new stadia in
including the history of the team within the space, the owners
used the space to highlight the economic development that the
new stadium represented. This article highlights the use of
sport as a viewing spectacle rather than a traditional place of
sport, particularly football, is hugely important in terms of the
reproduction and construction of individual identities in a modern
society. [3] concur with [11] that little attention has been paid to
the importance of sporting spaces and how they contribute to
identity formation. [12] advocates a geographical approach to
analysis like that of Bairner A [11] identifying differing meanings
attached to football stadiums to different groups of stakeholders.
grounds has had both a negative and positive impact on the local
environment. However, this impact will change due to the new
pressures placed on clubs to relocate to new grounds, normally
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
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Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
well outside the city or town of the club. Bale J [12] shows that
football stadia in England have and are changing from traditional
inner-city grounds that engage with local communities to a
modern placeless area design. The supporters of team’s place
stadiums from local communities’ results in alienation for both
fans and the local community. Bale J [12] splits the community
into two groups: The urban community and the second community.
The urban community is the rough geographical area of the
ground itself or the town/city which the team is named after,
whereas the second community is situated near the ground such
as local businesses. [12] shows that both groups are alienated by
relocation to a new stadium, but it is those who live and work
closest to the ground itself, The Second Community, that are
alienated most. The distance between the club and community
and the location of the stadium itself are key factors in determining
the effect that a football club has on the local community. It is
therefore clear that the sporting stadia or space has an important
the club itself. Bale J [12] does, however, regard football as a
representational sport in that football clubs can metaphorically
represent all manner of places whether they are small towns or
entire nations. A Bohemian Praha 1905 FC, based in Vršovice,
the bigger club, Slavia Prague, has its stadium located only 1.0
kilometer away. The urban community as described by Bale
placed upon football stadiums by supporters of both Arsenal and
Manchester City Football Clubs. They investigate the reaction of
fans to stadium moves by both clubs and the alienation these
investigating Manchester City, highlighting several interesting
issues relating to the British football stadium and a sense of place.
environment” contained within the new Etihad Arena, particularly
as their traditional forms of fan behavior were outlawed by new
rules. Fans found themselves to be contained into one area of the
stadium unlike the old Maine Road where fans could congregate
as they pleased. Penny S [3] found that fans reacted to this
placeless environment by forming supporters’ groups in order to
try and bring the old to the new, to bring about the same sense of
place they felt at the old Maine Road. This shows the power that
fans have when they collectively form to try to reduce their own
compared that of those who own the club or sponsor the team.
Church A [13] focus on the building of new stadiums as a means of
meeting new health and safety regulations, following the Taylor
Report, and as a means of increasing revenue generation. Church
owners. Arguing that materialistic and spatial environments are
used by both owners, to generate more economic wealth and
control crowd behavior, and fans, to resist the power imposed on
them by owners in the form of new practices. Both articles show a
great resistance from fans opposing the move to a new stadium as
being for the good of the owners not the fans. It is, therefore, clear
supporters. Fans view these stadia as areas whereby identity can
be formed, power resisted, and traditions of community and club
upheld. The relocation of football clubs from inner-city locations
supporters and the local community surrounding the club. This
desire of football club / stadium owners, TV companies and
sponsors to meet new regulations, promote economic
Alienation of football supporters
the human being becomes estranged from his/her natural essence
due to a distancing of social classes. The distancing of economic,
social, and political power occurs because the bourgeoisie own
value, in the form of unpaid labour hours, from the proletariat,
the laboring class. This results in the laborer’s losing the ability
relationships with others and own the value created via their
becomes alienated in four ways: from the products produced: the
laborer no longer determines what products to produce, this is
determined by the bourgeoisie. The act of labour changes from a
natural activity whereby products are created with use-value to
for the consumer. The act of producing: labour consists of a series
of repetitive actions that provide the worker with no satisfaction.
The worker must sell his/her labour-power in order to survive
and in this case, labour becomes compulsory not desired.
From their true nature: naturally human beings have a desire
to engage in activities that contribute to the improvement of
human survival and quality of life. Through capitalism people are
unable to satisfy this most natural of desires by creating products
that they themselves imagine and then create. They inevitably
for the bourgeoisie. From other workers: capitalism results in
the transformation of labour being an activity conducted for
the betterment of society into a simple commodity that can be
competitive labour market whereby workers are forced to labour
for the lowest possible rate in competition with other workers.
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
005
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
Thus, labour becomes an activity used to create more and more
surplus value for the ruling class rather than an activity conducted
to achieve the wants and desires of all people.
nothing new; as far back as the 1880s, English clubs illegally
paid their players whilst the game was still played on a strictly
to early 21st-century has been the impact upon football fans.
ever- greater number of consumers have rushed to purchase
the commodity of football. Dubal S [14] states that these new
fans place a different meaning upon fandom, resulting in clashes
with traditional supporters who try to renegotiate the power
relations and meanings they attach to their beloved clubs.
from a stakeholder perspective, identifying the key participants
recent years the balance of power between the participants
has changed dramatically as clubs have shifted from having
community stakeholders to attaining public limited company
(PLC) status thus shifting the balance of power away from fans
and towards the various television companies, shareholders of
substantial wealth make many critical decisions, in addition to
near that of the owners or media companies. The players enjoy
social status and may act collectively through membership of the
professional footballers’ association. Malcolm D [15] describes
fans as being alienated, an amorphous group with the least
identify several instances where clubs and governing bodies
have attempted to impose business logic upon fans, to bring
about a change in the way fans identify with football. [12] writes
that alienation results as fans witness their own transition from
supporters to consumers. Once key stakeholders and participants
within the club, fans now become faceless customers; clubs
care not for their cheering unquestionable support but for the
in the sense that fans are alienated from their own true nature;
team in a manner which has been the norm for more than 100
years. Their ability to participate in a club, which they at times have
forces of capitalism. A new force now dictates to fans the way in
which they must support the team, not through the historically
cherished loyalty, but through cash payments. Traditional fandom,
once so important, now becomes meaningless in the face of a new
breed of supporters. Willing to pay higher prices for corporate
desire their money over the loyalty of traditional fans as surplus-
value creation becomes the goal for football clubs. The traditional
takes hold as the decades of support become meaningless to
clubs; the lifelong supporter and the “prawn sandwich brigade”,
as dubbed by Roy Keane, become one and the same. They both
provide the clubs with the only input desired, money.
Alienation from a sense of place
Football fans are clearly alienated from clubs in many ways,
[3]. Through investigation of Manchester City’s move to the new
Etihad Arena, the authors discovered that fans lost the sense of
place they had established through many years of attending the
club’s original home, Maine Road. Hirst P [7] found that different
geographical spaces, under different social and political conditions,
Hirst concludes that physical spaces are resources of power and
meaning, although the relationship between power and space is
stadium, this identity is torn away from them when clubs relocate
to new stadiums. Clubs and governing bodies argue that these
moves are necessary to maintain health and safety regulations;
this is true - however authors such as Penny S [3], argue that these
for the purpose of increasing the number of seats available for
All three articles agree that sport, particularly football, is hugely
important in the construction and reproduction of individual
identities in a modern society. The use of physical stadia in the
creation of identities, power relationships, and meanings shows
just how precious stadiums are in the average supporter’s way
of life. Bairner A [11] state that traditional football stadiums in
physical space for an imagined Ulster amongst young working-
class men, in a sense, a way for these men to live out a fantasy of
current climate of inclusion and political correctness, a purely
brief hours each week, live within the imagined political dynamic
which they desire.
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
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Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
resulted in football undergoing a process not unlike the industrial
of new stadia throughout the country. [16] along with authors [3],
sponsorship, such as the naming of the Emirates Stadium which
resulted in millions of pounds in advertising rights from Emirates
Airlines. Advertising is rife within the stadiums themselves,
according to [16], as fans are bombarded with merchandise
their consumption. Fans who previously formed a sea of people
within stadiums, choosing to stand in the same areas, with
supporters as new rules have banned traditions such as standing,
due to these new stadiums, not only from the club but from the
physical stadiums. Leaving behind the history, memories, and
relationships created within the old hallowed grounds, supporters
not necessarily to support the team. Again, the destructive forces
of capitalism dominate and destroy the communal ties of the
the destruction of traditional grounds in pursuit of even greater
their homes and motley feudal ties and shifted to inner-city areas,
with no history or meaning to the people, and all done so that the
from fans’ consumerism and the destruction of the old way of life.
Anti-neoliberalism
societies develop through periods of class struggle. In the case of
capitalism, a widening of the gap between the social and economic
power available to the proletariat and the bourgeoisie will occur
proletariat will undergo a process whereby they develop class
consciousness leading to unionist protest and activism from the
proletariat as they seek to restore the more natural ways of life by
overthrowing capitalism and progressing towards a new political
lead to this revolution.
Webber (2017) found that, during the period 2000-
2014, the popularity of English football steadily increased
amongst many supporters in relation to the corporate greed and
Webber proposes that the creation of an anti-neoliberal movement
called Against Modern Football (AMF) is a result of this process.
Under this banner, fans of many rival clubs have come together
in protest at the new capitalist agenda being played out within
football. This could potentially represent the kind of revolutionary
global doctrine capable of enacting hegemonic structural change
within society. Originally, neoliberalism took the form of a political
theory but, due to a shifting of social responsibility from the state
mode of governance. Harvey (2005) suggests that, having been
proposed in order to curb periods of recession by increasing
and is beginning to reshape the values and meanings within
many aspects of life, including sport. [14] attempted to form an
fans’ reactions to the new free-market-driven governance. In
many fans becoming unable to attend matches. Kennedy P [6]
proposed revolution against the capitalist forces by the proletariat
may in fact be playing out in front of our eyes. As fans have
become increasing alienated from football clubs, stadiums, and
players, there is a new desire to unwind some of the capitalistic
changes and return to the communal ways of football in the past.
However, whether the force behind this revolution will ever be
strong enough to impact the modern game in any substantial way
fans in recent years could potentially signal the beginning of the
end for modern football as we have come to know it.
Fan resistance
Supporters from all levels of football are beginning to resist
is seen in the form of increased ticket prices, overpaid players,
soulless stadiums, set up out-with their historical communities,
and the redesign of stadium interior and fan conduct leading to a
feel, is a main driver behind their sense of alienation from
their own history, traditions, and clubs [18]. With the media’s
can now attract from other cities and from abroad in the ‘tourist-
led to English football supporters putting aside club rivalries and
banding together in their common interests [18]. This is obvious
in the Against Modern Football movement, a subculture created
by fans that stand against the commercial direction the industry
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
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Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
has moved in and want to see traditional supporters as more of
a priority in clubs’ eyes. Though Against Modern Football has
core values which it follows such as: the importance of supporter
engagement in order to make fans feel more connected with their
clubs; the issue of increased ticket prices, alienating those who
can no longer afford to attend; the need for governance reform;
to create an atmosphere which, has been lost in their redesign
[19]. This set of values created by the movement has evolved to be
the interests of English and Welsh football supporters and to
campaign about the issues previously discussed. One notable
campaign of theirs is the Twenty’s Plenty for Away Tickets. This
is a supporter call on football clubs at all levels to get together
and agree an across-the-board price-cap of £20 on away tickets.
This campaign stemmed from the understanding that, for a lot
of supporters, football simply wasn’t affordable anymore. This
is especially true for away fans, which, aside from match tickets,
still need to contend with increasing food, drink, and travel costs
(fsf.org.uk, n.d). Through activism, though, like the weekend of
action protests, where supporters’ groups from every club in the
ticket prices (fsf.org.uk, n.d), and through lobbying and petitions,
the Twenty’s Plenty campaign has managed to save 68,000 fans
a total of £738,000 (fsf.org.uk, n.d). Their crowning achievement
was when the Premier League clubs agree to a £30 price-cap on
away tickets at the beginning of the 2016/17 season which was
that a lot more needs to be done to reduce ticket prices and to
As well as the weekend of action protests, fans are taking to
‘#stopthegreed’ campaign where fans protested outside their
home, Craven Cottage, against ticket prices. This was spurred on
as Fulham has some of the highest ticket prices in the Premier
League which, according to a recent survey by the Fulham
games as a result (fsf.org.uk, n.d). As well as this, during a match
a walk out on the 77th minute in protest high ticket prices. It is
estimated that over 10,000 people participated in this protest,
highlighting the growth of the movement (Press Association,
Premier League headquarters in the summer of 2014. This was the
a Freedom of Information Act request revealed attendance for
seats empty over the course of the season. This only led to a
greater feeling of resentment and alienation amongst supporters
as, though they could no longer afford match tickets, they had
to witness them remaining unsold anyway. This march is a good
it wasn’t supporters of a sole club, but of many clubs, putting their
club rivalries aside and banding together to protest everything
its leaving them behind.
Corporate social responsibility
be paramount for football clubs, it is widely regarded that
most clubs still have a strong obligation to serve their fan
bases and community [20]. In the 1990s, football’s increased
on the stock market and the increasing importance of the game
Warby). This, as Smith argues, brought unprecedented wealth into
inequality has resulted in a disparity of resources with the top-tier
elites having access to vastly more funding and resources than the
Holdings Plc rose from £159,100,000 to £419,916,000 in the ten
years from 2008 to 2018. In that same period, the Scottish Premier
League’s Ross County Football Club Ltd saw a reduction in their net
assets from £3,034,951 to £624,372. The success seen by football’s
elite clubs is, unsurprisingly, accompanied by an increase in
media and political attention which, in turn, saw Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) steadily move its way up the agenda. Groups
like the Football Association (FA) have teamed up with individual
clubs and poor treatment of supporters as stakeholders. The FA
has a strong belief in football’s unique place in British society and
its ability to act as a power for good off the pitch (The FA, 2005).
With social and community responsibility more important today
than it ever has been, it’s vital that professional clubs in England
have the same vision as the FA in this case in order to protect their
image and brand identity James & Guo [20].
has, admittedly, led to great success for some clubs, has also
led to the feeling of alienation amongst their supporters, or
‘customers’ as they’re more often seen. Arguably, one way in
which clubs can reduce this alienation is by allowing fans to see
a proportion of their surplus-value distributed into communities
amongst the supporters, but, on the other, the club has put an
array of CSR projects in motion to reduce this. Firstly, and a good
a programmed led by Arsenal London Club and Arsenal Stadium,
providing after-school, holiday, and school-time classes for
improving children’s literacy and numeracy. As well as this, since
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
008
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
1985, the club has had an ‘Arsenal in the community’ department
which delivers sport, social, and educational programmes to over
consistent references to the capitalists “boundless drive for
must therefore never be treated as the immediate aim for the
surplus-value, to absorb the greatest amount of surplus labour”
value is therefore the determining, dominating and overriding
purpose of the capitalist; it is the absolute motive and content of
his activity” (p. 990). With this in mind, CSR, and business ethics
is an impossibility due to capitalism’s nature of producing greedy,
overreaching, and unethical business behavior with a sole view
on a business’s ethical or unethical behavior will distract one’s
attention from the systematic vices of capitalism (Shaw, 2009).
So, it would be naïve to assume club’s social efforts are motivated
through shareholders’ moral conscience. More likely, they are
argued that, in today’s era, consumer groups are quick to respond
to corporate behavior they perceive to be “harmful, unethical
or irresponsible” and the vast majority of companies wish to be
portrayed as good, socially responsible, and positive contributors
to local communities. Therefore, it’s in a company’s self-interest to
at least appear socially responsible and not single-mindedly bent
company’s image of social conscience.
Fans have used a basic stakeholder strategy to implement
their concerns by creating public pressure through mass media
(Beckmann et al., 2006) and have effectively reduced their own
alienation by coercing clubs into being more socially responsible.
criticism but revolution is the driving force behind history”. This
may be true. CSR projects by clubs are far from being radical and
still fair to say, though, that, for today’s business-centric football
clubs, CSR is a useful tool. This is for two reasons: as clubs operate
can be used to re-establish faith that the clubs have not forgotten
their historic links to the areas or their original fans. And, for fans
who are not historically or locally tied to the club, but are brought
in as potential new business to further the club’s success, CSR, as
a selling point, will only help, and can be a win-win situation for
both clubs and fans.
Case Study 1: Wimbledon AFC
in the English game is the case of Wimbledon AFC and the vast
to relocate geographically on a scale which was unprecedented in
football. In 2003, Wimbledon FC’s relocation to Milton Keynes was
approved by the Football Association (FA). It is widely regarded
as the most disputed decision in the modern game, instigating
their cherished, community driven club was transformed into
a modern-day football franchise [16]. Formed in 1889, and
enjoyed reasonable periods of success in the latter years of their
history. Their remarkable surge from the fourth division to the
prominent victory over Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final [22].
attendances as low as 8,000 and, after the Hillsborough disaster
in 1989, the Taylor Report highlighted that Plough Lane failed
the newly implemented safety regulations, therefore, leaving
Wimbledon without a stadium until major upgrades were
completed. Consequently, the club began sharing a stadium with
Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. It can be viewed as a great success
as, on average, attendances were double to what they had been
the turn of the century. Charles Koppel was appointed chairman of
for the struggling club [22]. As these events with Wimbledon
were unfolding, a consortium led by Peter Winkelman was on
the search to relocate an already established football club to
Milton Keynes. Wimbledon was viewed as the consortium’s main
target, despite the locations being 70 miles apart. Milton Keynes
lacked a distinct football team; however, Winkelman was far less
concerned about this but had a great interest in the fact that the
town didn’t have an Asda supermarket and how football stadiums
Winkelman’s plans rejected implicitly all the core values of what
Wimbledon was as a club. In fact, a community-based football
supermarket franchise. Koppel claimed to have requested to every
council within a 25-mile radius for planning permission to build
a stadium and was denied by all of them. However, just three
months later, he accepted an offer from Winkelman’s consortium
to move the club to Milton Keynes. The general feeling amongst
Wimbledon supporters was about Koppel’s callousness by
moving the club 70 miles away from their home and his indolence
at not attempting to make a deal with local councils for planning
permission. Peter, a former member of Wimbledon Independent
Supporters’ Association (WISA), states “Koppel signed a contract
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
009
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
with the MKSC committing the club to seek permission to move,
with a view to demonstrating that it was impossible. The idea of
staying at Selhurst Park was ruled out because the current lease
[22]. Winkelman’s consortium and Koppel’s counterarguments
included that due to Wimbledon’s recent relegation and their
to build a new stadium in the London borough of Merton
(Wimbledon). Granted, the club was producing operating losses
of £10
as ominous as once suggested. The club had recently sold several
players for around the price of £5 million, resulting in Wimbledon
fans questioning why a decrease in playing staffs’ wages wasn’t
discussed. This further reiterates the feeling of alienation among
supporters; staff members were more concerned about retaining
appreciated by the supporters.
“Koppelgate” by Wimbledon supporters. By January 2002,
many fans believed that Koppel was actively against the idea of
Wimbledon returning to Merton and was interfering with any
to move to Milton Keynes being rejected by the Football League
in 2001, the case was appealed by Koppel and it was agreed by
both parties that the result of the appeal would be legally binding.
Koppel and Dan Trench, an employee of his public relations team,
met with residents in Merton who opposed the building of a new
stadium at Plough Lane. Several recordings verify that Koppel and
Trench harassed residents for witness statements to enhance the
case against building a stadium in Merton. Quotations from Koppel
and Trench included: “Please sound reasonable in your statement,
so that fans can forget the idea of the Plough Lane site” and how
WISA associates need to “get it through their thick heads” that
a move to Plough Lane is not feasible [22]. Plough Lane was the
essence of Wimbledon, and it was being disregarded by the club’s
hierarchy, those who should be dedicated to saving their club’s
culture. The club’s supporters were being mocked and insulted
apathy and lack of respect Koppel and Trench displayed towards
the club. In May 2002, the three-man commission ruled 2-1 in
favour of permitting Wimbledon FC to relocate to Milton Keynes.
The commission stated that they strongly opposed franchising
becoming normality in football, but they believed Wimbledon FC’s
without a home stadium for over ten years, resulting in losses of
£4 million per annum for every year they shared stadiums with
Crystal Palace. They believed that this factor, combined with
the club’s recent relegation from the Premier League, would
have resulted in the liquidation of the football club; therefore,
repositioning to Milton Keynes was the only feasible option to
rescue the club from collapsing [23].
Since their club had been stolen from them, within a month of
the commission’s verdict, members of WISA and The Dons Trust
initiated a new club named AFC Wimbledon. At the start of the
concluding season in Wimbledon FC’s grand 115-year history,
campaign by the club’s supporters. Feeling aghast, dejected, and
isolated, holders of Wimbledon FC’s season tickets cancelled their
reserved seats in abundance. Meanwhile, support for a club that
remained loyal to its heritage grew with profuse support, AFC
Wimbledon [16]. At present, AFC Wimbledon has risen from
the ninth tier of English football to League One, currently in the
same division as MK Dons. Most AFC Wimbledon supporters feel
way through the Football Leagues (contrasting to MK Dons, which
was gifted a league position) and are competitive with the club
that was responsible for the theft of their identity and culture
Plough Lane after its completion in 2020/21. Therefore, relating
back to Koppelgate, if planning permission has now been granted
in Merton, could Koppel and his staffs have achieved an agreement
if they had had a greater degree of respect towards the history of
the club and its supporters? The honors won by Wimbledon FC
were disputed for four years after the commission’s approval of
the relocation in May 2002. AFC Wimbledon supporters believed
that they were keeping the identity of Wimbledon FC alive, and
it was only fair that the honors remained in the community
where they were once celebrated and still cherished to this day.
Winkelman strongly opposed this claim and stated that AFC
Wimbledon supporters were traitors of Wimbledon FC and that
MK Dons were the real holders of their history. He also rejected
the idea that AFC Wimbledon deserved any replicas of Wimbledon
agreed to negotiations with the Football Supporters Federation
(FSF) in July 2006, and it was settled by both parties that MK Dons
would renounce any claim to Wimbledon FC’s honors and that all
trophy replicas would belong to the London Borough of Merton
(Potter, 2018).
In conclusion, a community that was subjected to spite and
detachment from its football club’s hierarchy overcame these
barriers. It rejuvenated its spiritual hub and deservingly earned
the right to Wimbledon FC’s honors as well as now gaining the
advantage over the franchise that caused it so much pain. The case
of Wimbledon’s relocation to Milton Keynes demonstrates that if
Case Study 2: Manchester United FC
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
0010
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
United is England’s most successful football club with 68 trophies.
local businessman John Davies, who in turn changed its name
to Manchester United and eight years later moved the club to a
the stock market and was subject to a takeover bid from Rupert
Murdoch which was accepted but blocked by the Monopolies and
success manifesting in record revenues of £627,122 in 2019. More
recently, however, United has not repeated its past successes yet
early-2000s, the United fans were more than content with their
progress, having recently won the treble - Premier League, FA Cup,
of United in late [25], and, by the end of 2004, he owned much
gained control of United by literally using the club as the liability.
The United Supporters Trust was aghast, stating that “the fans
will effectively be paying for someone to borrow money to own
their club”. United, which was debt-free for so many years had,
was a very well-run club which regularly invested in the squad
takeover required immense levels of borrowing, and then placed
that debt onto the club, really angered match-going fans, most of
whom began to protest. Alienated fans who felt that the heart of
the club they had grown up with had been ripped away created
a new club, FC United of Manchester. Even today, in 2020, United
still has a massive debt and it has paid out over £750m in interest
payments. However, it has only repaid £44m of the original debt
[27]. At the current rate of repayment, it will take United 158
06 season, and they oversaw United winning three leagues in
a row, and the Champions League. However, in 2009 they sold
the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, to Real Madrid, and
didn’t properly replace him. This resulted in more fan backlash
encouraged match-going fans to wear green and gold, the colors
the club in 2010 but didn’t meet the valuation of the club [28].
culture caused even more fans to feel alienated. The club would
host worldwide watch-along events in countries like China,
India, United States and Singapore, yet wouldn’t provide ones for
poorer fans in Manchester whom the club ought to serve. This
sort of globalism, of the worst kind, is one of the reasons the fans
Salford City or FC United’s home matches as a coping mechanism.
Some rioted outside Old Trafford, clashing with police, trying to
from the state; their defeat was the last straw for many of them.
It was the hardest-core supporters which in mainland Europe
would be termed ‘ultras’ that decided to take action. Mostly all
Shareholders United (SU)” (Brown, 2007). Manchester City fans
would often portray themselves as ‘fans’, whereas United had
‘customers’ and not ‘fans. This was perhaps the seed being sown
for these fans, who would attempt to combat these accusations of
not being ‘true fans. When a massive globalist came in and bought
the club, turning its history and traditions into a simple commodity,
being sell-outs. They also started turning on each other; if some
were, or even if they attended games, they would be verbally
alienates the worker from the products being produced, the act
of producing and his/her species-being or true nature [20] which
directly applies in this case study. Hyper-capitalism, which has
question the true nature of the club and the hierarchy controlling
capitalism poisoning the club at its heart.
Case Study 3: Manchester City FC
Manchester United’s city rivals Manchester City focusing on
the alienation factors which arise during the transition from a
in this case, the Etihad Stadium in 2006. Again, it is the view that
City tried to really create sporting tophilia within the new stadium
come to compromises [3]. The major worry for a club relocating is
that fans don’t connect to the new structure with the authenticity
threatened as they transition to a ‘placeless’ stadium which
possesses fewer tangible landscape elements which a passionate
spectator can relate to [3]. The new stadiums, which have the
will be a hard pill to swallow for your die-hard supporters.
Uniformity of stadium redevelopments in the past 20 years has
(Bale, 2000) [29]. These structures are perceived to have a real
lack of identity as a result leaving fans remembering the good
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
0011
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
times in smaller, simpler locations [29]. A traditional football
stadium such as Maine Road is a historical social space in society
and within the city of Manchester itself - it gave many individuals
a place where they felt like they belonged and where they could be
among people of their own [3]. Socially, it was the meeting point
for many of the working-class to connect with people that they
wouldn’t otherwise be able to see during the week. This is still the
been able to accelerate their own understanding of technology
compared to the pace the world is changing in that regard. With
Manchester City fans being heavily priced out of the match-day
rising, since the stadium relocation in 2006, many traditionalist
fans have been lost in the transition and left behind with Maine
Road. Instead, they have been replaced with tourist supporters or
encountered within the stadium, and the all-important sensory
surrounding the development of the sporting tophilia or a
sense of place within the traditional stadium is important when
performing an analysis of the new stadiums built in the post-
Taylor Report era (Penny & Redhead, 2009, p. 757). Relating
back to the ‘tradium’ concept, clubs such as Manchester City have
found it important to diversify the use of their home stadium in
Barnsley FC’s Oakwell due to the fact the pitch was in unplayable
condition after a Bon Jovi concert which took place in the off-
season. Aspects such as these are especially frustrating for fans as
atmosphere of dissatisfaction with supporter groups fragmented,
ball was even kicked (Penny & Redhead, 2009). Maine Road was
more … personal. Obviously because it was the place, we all grew
up with City. The stadium itself was a real mishmash of designs,
but that’s what gave it character. Blue watch Manchester City
soften the blow of leaving a spiritual home behind, many modern-
day clubs try to incorporate old references into the new structure
in an attempt to bring fans around to the venture. With a new
stadium such as the Etihad having no identity or history, it was
pivotal to appease fan activist groups such as the Bluewatch and
of this is the recent unveiling of the Vincent Kompany statue
outside of the Etihad, a dedication to a player who is the epitome
of the memories the Etihad has garnered since its opening and
the new memories which have been created during City’s recent
success in the top-tier. It is these new memories which are the
key in building character within a ‘placeless’ structure such as
the Etihad Stadium and encouraging supporters to begin to look
forward to the future instead of looking back at traditions of
old. However, no matter the success a club may have, alienation
of supporter communities in Manchester will always be present
with both city clubs becoming dissimilar to how traditionalist
the past are celebrated by fans and these traditions are what are
all important to these alienated communities [20].
As purpose-built stadiums are a rising trend as we move into
the future, fan communities concerned about the maintenance of
their clubs’ identity through transition will grow across the world
and generally become more prevalent in football fan culture [3].
how hierarchical greed and capitalism have consumed a football
club to the point where traditional supporters don’t identity with
marquee signings every transfer window, and a state-of-the-art
positives from a business standpoint. Capitalism can be a natural
killer for atmosphere as real Manchester City fans fail to identity
with the club and take their business away after feeling alienated
club in English Football League history has arguably undergone
City. Sparked by the move away from Maine Road to the City of
Manchester Stadium, and the Sheikh Mansour takeover in 2008,
the embodiment of capitalism (Sheik Mansour himself) has
entered the club’s structure and rotted the traditional identity
which was beloved to the core. Unfortunately, with Manchester
class City supporter returning to the stands on a regular basis
anytime soon [30-43].
Personal Reections & Final Conclusion
of alienation is portrayed perfectly in the rise of capitalism in
English football. The beautiful game has suffered in this evolution
of huge clubs such as Manchester United and Manchester City to
the core, creating alienation amongst supporter communities as
consolidate traditional football clubs. Capitalism in the EPL has
only created an ever-growing greed which has been nothing but
destructive to the true meaning of what it is to support these EPL
teams. Football club hierarchies have relocated geographically to
purpose-built stadiums, raised ticket prices to unaffordable levels,
and rebranded their football clubs in ways in which communities
How to cite this article: Richie B, Norman D, Michael M, James M, Michael W, et al. Football Supporter Alienation Associated with the Growth of
Commodication and Commercialization in the Modern Game: A Marxist Critique of English Football. J Phy Fit Treatment & Sports. 2020; 7(5): 555723.
DOI: 10.19080/JPFMTS.2020.07.555723
0012
Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports
have been left divided as their beloved football clubs have become
alienation is widely relevant to the case of English Premier
League’s capitalist revolution, with the traditionalist supporters
being made an outcast by the club within due to surplus-value
ticket prices and the true identity of the club being ripped apart in
It is important that, in the future, these clubs work to rectify
the alienation of their supporter communities and look to harness
football clubs are businesses before anything else and sustainability
is vital; however, there is an element of overabundant greed that
clubs are relocating geographically to new communities, which
have no correlation to their traditionalist roots; and boundaries
are being moved which should never be disturbed in order for the
English game, and the match-day product becoming paramount
to club hierarchies, the league is very much becoming a ‘tourist
league’ where attendances are made up of spectators who have no
emotional attachment and are merely there to consume a product
rather than support a football club. This is while the working-class
person who lives and breathes the football club sits at home on a
left feeling alienated by the transition that their football club has
change in the business plans of EPL football clubs in the future
which will see the return of traditionalist supporters to grounds
around the country and alienated communities will begin to mesh
as football tries to save itself from capitalism.
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