Fan-Tastic Females: A Digital Exhibit on Women in Soccer Supporter Cultures

Women have claimed their space in stadiums since the game’s beginnings. But the fact is, it’s hardly women whose stories of “how did you come to soccer” get told, hardly them who get asked about their experiences when travelling away, in confrontations with the police, about participating in their own club and clashes with other clubs.An extremely well done exhibit wants to set the record straight. The exhibit’s title is Fan Tastic Females and it “wants to tell the stories of fan.tastic women … to illustrate the diversity and realities of female fan culture in European football (and beyond) – from the perspective of the protagonists themselves.” And that is, of course, right up the alley of The Assistant Professor of Football. Our visiting professor today is Antje Grabenhorst of Football Supporters Europe, and also of Werder Bremen’s Ultra fan Group Infamous Youth. She is one of the masterminds behind the exhibit. With her, we will go to those parts of the stands where supporters create their own choreography, their own drama, and meet the women behind the banners, flags and flares - from Istanbul and Tel Aviv to Rome and Marseille, to London and Portland. Research assistance for this episode came from Eleonora Gollner, who provided an overview and a best-of of many interviews of the exhibit.HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODEFan-Tastic Females, online exhibit - code/ticket to visit for a voluntary donationFSE - Football Supporters EuropeFSE YouTube ChannelF-In, Frauen im Fussball (in German)The Athletic, “Sexism, Abuse and Harassment: The Experience of Female Fans at Matches”NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup) Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. If you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, pleaseRecommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help. Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige LindInstrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/