Belonging to a community of European fans? European common in-group identity formation through football fandom (opens in new tab)

This paper investigates the emergence of a new category of belonging in European football—a shared European fan identity. Drawing on theories of social identity and the Common In-Group Identity Model (CIIM), it conceptualises European football fandom as a potential site of collective identification beyond typical, more proximate identifications at the club or national levels. Using survey data from four European countries (Germany, Spain, Poland, Norway), the study examines identification wit...