Researchers and analysts have ignored female fandom in sports and other activities. However, it is an area that when thoroughly emphasized, can create much interest with lots of benefits for the sporting world. The universe believes that there are little fun and pleasure from the female side to offer in the sports and therefore no need for support (Dunn 2014, p.50). Therefore to structure an understanding of the findings in the research the research question
Thesis Statement
‘An exploration into Manchester City Football Club’s Female Fans, examining how the clubs culture has affected their participation and what the club needs to do to improve the Female Fan experience.’
Objectives of the Research
To examine whether the culture in sport and football has affected the MCFC fans participation using relevant frameworks to further the answers (Clarke, Apostolopoulou, and Gladden., 2009, p. 170).
Identify and segment MCFC female fans into relevant fan typology frameworks using the research carried out (Giulianotti 2002, p.31).
How Manchester City can improve their Female Fan engagement, potentially changing the culture of the Sport/Club (Harris and Elliott, 2007, p.560).
The Scope of the Study
The researched is achieved through fan segmentation frameworks. As from fanatics, regular, casual, carefree casuals, and committed casuals. Analyzing culture frameworks of the fans and supporters. To achieve the research objectives, a qualitative analysis is used. Quantitative research aspect is applied to contrast numerical data and predict the probabilistic futures of the female sports fan (Chiweshe 2014, p.216). Therefore, with the statistics and methods applied in the achievement of the aims of the study, an intensive breakdown of the research is conducted to identify the challenges females face as football fan supporting Manchester city football club.
Theoretical Framework
Manchester City is one of the top football clubs in the world, choose it since it has many fans, has won the championship matches, and is well conversant with the subject. Other scholars to further the research and apply to other teams and fun activities might use the findings from the club.
The research is vital to business in a sports arena; promoters need more attention in the events. Screen and shows need increased sports view by the female group. Last, the players both male and female look forward to increasing their fan base numbers. The numbers can be achieved through the intensive research with well-analyzed result providing a report of what needs to be to attract more female fan. The recommendations of the research need to favor all the aspects, which is the players, management, and the female fandom. Fanatic culture is created from the environment; a child sees the parents listen to music, becomes a lover of the songs, and spreads the habit to friends (Dixon, 2013, p.337). The same applies to football; the traits are passed from generation to generation with a variance of players and teams. Since women are the majority population and most of them being unoccupied, fanatic cultivation and morale in football might increase attendance twice the records.
Conceptual Framework
The research has been conducted directly from the attendance records of every match game with Manchester City football club. Gathering the lists of female attendance and participation from the late 1990s up to 2018. In 2016, only 25% of people who watched the English Premier League EPL are a woman that is out of 13.7 million attendance, 3.5 million are women. The discouraging facts like hooliganism, stereotyping (Florez et al. 2016, p.110), the general masculinity, culture, and sexism within football towards women (Pope 2017, p.849; Dunn 2014, p.60).
The Next Chapters of the Research
Chapter Two contains the review of related literature, chapter three covers the methods and procedures used; chapter four includes the presentation, analysis, and interpretation of Data. Chapter five, summary, conclusions, and recommendation of the research.
References
Chadwick, P., Strauss, C., Jones, A., Kingdon, D., Ellet, L., Dannahy, L. and Hayward, M., 2016. Group mindfulness-based intervention for distressing voices: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Schizophenia Research.
Chiweshe, M., 2014. One of the boys: Female fans’ responses to the masculine and phallocentric nature of football stadiums in Zimbabwe. Critical African Studies, 6(2–3), 211–222.
Clarke, J., Apostolopoulou, A., and Gladden, J., 2009. Real women watch football: Gender differences in the consumption of the NFL Super Bowl broadcast’. Journal of Promotion Management, 15, pp. 165–183.
Dixon, K., 2013. Learning the game: Football fandom culture and the origins of practice. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 48(3), pp.334-348.
Dunn, C. (2014) Female football fans: community, identity and Sexism.
Hampshire : Palgrave Pivot.
Elliott, R. and Harris, J., 2011. Crossing the Atlantic from football to soccer: Preliminary observations on the migrations of English players and the internationalization of major league soccer. Working USA, 14 (4) 557-570.
Florez, A., Schulenberg, E., and Stewart, L., 2016. Meaning and automatic stereotyping: Advancing an agenda for research’ Logotherapy and Existential Analysis,
1(1), pp.107-124.
Giulianotti, R., 2002. Supporters, followers, fans, and flaneurs: A taxonomy of spectator identities in football’ Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 26(1), pp.25-46.
Kantar Media. (2015). FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 television audience report. [Online] Available at: https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/zw1vubsz9gaxziwfh60s.pdf
[Accessed April 11, 2018]
Lewis, R., 2009. Our lady specialists at pikes lane: Female spectatros in early English Accessed professional football, 1880 – 1914. International Journal of the History of Sport, 26(15), pp. 2161–2181.
Pope, S., 2017. Female fan experiences and interpretations of the 1958 Munich air disaster, the 1966 World Cup finals and the rise of footballers as sexualised national celebrities. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 51(7), pp.848-866.
