Football stadium relocation and the commodification of football: the case of Everton supporters and their adoption of the language of commerce

Abstract

David Kennedya* a Glasgow Caledonian University , Glasgow , Scotland * E-mail: dkennedyd@hotmail.com To what extent have supporters surrendered to the view that football is just another business to be understood in terms of the power of money? This question is posed by looking at the recent debate between supporters of Everton Football Club concerning their club’s proposed ground move from Goodison Park, Liverpool to Kirkby in the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside. What comes to the fore is the tension between fans manifested in the contradictory ways supporters are now approaching the game: at once concerned with football as an emotional asset and mindful that, as a business, their club must place heavy emphasis on commercial strategies. We posit the point of view here that an emerging commonsense appears to be eroding the traditional feelings of emotional solidarity between supporters in their collective attachment to the club whilst encouraging more individualistic, instrumental and quantifiable forms of attachment. The findings are contextualized by drawing on the work of Jürgen Habermas, in particular his concept of a ‘systems world’ colonizing and corrupting the ‘life world’.

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