Euro 2012, the ‘civilizational leap’ and the ‘supporters United’ programme: a football mega-event and the evolution of fan culture in Poland

ABSTRACT

The objective of this article is to evaluate the social and cultural significance of the ‘Supporters United’ programme, an unprecedented initiative combining fan culture, institutional actors and local authorities. The idea of this initiative was born during the preparation for Euro 2012 – first Mega Sport Event which Poland had organized since the system transformation in 1989. The organization of the European Championship was a milestone in the implementation of fan projects in Poland. The article discusses various activities undertaken by supporter centers, which provide evidence of the ‘civilizing’ evolution of fan culture. Importantly, such terms as ‘civilizational leap’ dominated Polish public discourse in the context of Euro 2012. Although the event generated infrastructural rather than social changes in Poland, the implementation of ‘Supporters United’ is its important legacy. This article also considers future possibilities for the development of fan initiatives in Poland.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. All data presented in this article are based on research conducted thanks to UEFA Grant Research Programme (2015/16 edition) and Sonata Grant funded by Polish National Centre of Science (grant no. 2013/09/D/HS/6/00238). During the study, nine cities with ‘Supporters United’ local centres (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Kielce, Legnica, Poznań, Tychy, Warszawa, Wrocław, Zabrze) were visited to conduct interviews with centre coordinators, supporters of local clubs, journalists, representatives of local authorities and beneficiaries of fan activism. Study visits also involved ethnography of the activities of the centres and desk research (articles, websites and forums, fan pages).Quotations from interviews are marked as follows: Polish Football Association: [PZPN]; Ministry of Sport and Tourism: [MST]; Supporters United: [city_SU]; supporters’ association: [club_SA]; supporters: [club_supporter]; local officials: [city_City Council]; journalists: [city_journalist]; beneficiaries: [city_beneficiary].

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43. Ibid.

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