Whether they helped bring down Jose Mourinho, led a march against their club owner or pushed back against plans to commercialize the game, fan protest stories remind us that football fans have a long history of using their passion as a weapon in the fight for change. Even if their demonstrations aren’t as grand as some tifos, they show that fan activism is more than just a passing fad.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Black fans turned their love for sports into a powerful tool of nonviolent protest. They boycotted professional sports teams that segregated seating and pressed city leaders to integrate their schools, clubs and communities. Black newspapers kept fans updated on boycott information, and famous columnists like Jim Hall, Marcel Hopson and Marion Jackson encouraged fandom to be a force for change.
More recently, supporters from LA Galaxy fan groups Angel City Brigade, Galaxians and LA Riot Squad stayed quiet for the entirety of the club’s home game against Vancouver in protest of their team’s silence about immigration raids in Southern California’s Latino community. Gloria Jimenez, a leader of the group who sits in sections 121 and 122 at Dignity Health Sports Park, says there isn’t a day that goes by without her thinking about the raids.
Often, news media coverage of people who participate in protests portrays them negatively. To avoid this trap, journalists should focus on framing stories about protesters in ways that promote positive attitudes toward them. They can do this by focusing on the person’s personality, hobbies and family to humanize them and make readers want to support their cause. This approach, called Activism of Care, is similar to strategies used in disability activism to destigmatize mental illness and celebrate neurodivergent participants.