New Activists. Polish “Socios” Movement as a New Form of Relation with Football Clubs

Abstract

The paper is focused on the Polish “socios” movement which is a relatively new form of institutionalized football fandom in Poland. The presented analysis aims to: 1) investigate sociogenesis of the movement in Poland, 2) describe relations among fans within organizations, and 3) explore relations between “socios” and their football clubs. The study is based on two case studies—“Socios Górnik” Zabrze and “Socios Stomil” Olsztyn which are only two existing “socios” organizations in Poland. The results show that both “socios” organizations emerged as a response to serious and long-lasting financial problems of their clubs which threatened the supporters’ “sense of cultural ownership” of the club. What is more, both „socios” organizations were established by a new category of football supporters (described in the paper as „new activists”). The study also shows that these two organizations differ in their relations with the clubs—the relation between Stomil Olsztyn and their “Socios” can be described as an inclusive one, while Górnik Zabrze authorities have exclusive approach to “their” “Socios”. The main reasons of this difference can be found in a) different definition of inclusiveness in the club-supporters relations, b) politicization of the club authorities, and c) in different level of the financial dependence of the club from the municipal authorities.