A quick reminder of a piece I wrote a couple of years ago on the Man City case #ManCity #MCFC #PremierLeague #FAPL sportlawmusings.com/post/the…

Has social media created a new type of football fan? ⚽📱 For 20+ years, Giulianotti's taxonomy of Supporters, Followers, Fans and Flâneurs has shaped how we understand football fandom. But in an era of Messi, Ronaldo, influencers and personal brands, does it still tell the whole story? In my latest article, I argue for a possible fifth category: the Individual — a fan whose primary loyalty is to a person, not a club. Put simply: The Flâneur is mobility without attachment.The Individual is attachment without institutional permanence. As social media reshapes football culture, are clubs losing their place as the primary focus of supporter identity? #Football #SportsSociology #FootballFans #SocialMedia #SportsBusiness #FanEngagement #FootballCulture #DigitalMedia #SportsResearch #PremierLeague Are Players the New Clubs? Football Fandom and the Rise of the Individual open.substack.com/pub/markon…

Check out my latest article - Who were the first owners of English football clubs? Not hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, or American private equity. In the earliest days of professional football, clubs were often owned by ordinary local people: tradesmen, shopkeepers, workers — even a lion tamer, a bandmaster, and an ostrich feather manufacturer. My latest article explores how English football clubs evolved from community-run associations into incorporated companies, why professionalism transformed the governance of the game, and whether modern football has lost something important along the way. It also examines: ⚽ the rise of incorporation after professionalism ⚽ FA’s attempt to limit profit-seeking through Rule 34 ⚽ the social class of early shareholders ⚽ how local communities once literally owned their clubs At a time when debates about regulation, fan ownership, and financial sustainability dominate football governance, the history of who first owned clubs may matter more than ever. markoneill468207.substack.co…