Ordinary football supporters in extraordinary times: Ukrainian fandom at home and abroad

Ordinary football supporters actively shape how fandom endures under conditions of crisis. This article examines how Ukrainian supporters have adapted their practices since 2022, comparing those who remain in Ukraine under martial law with those displaced abroad. Drawing on qualitative interviews with supporters, it explores how football fandom is reorganized amid displacement, restricted mobility, and institutional transformation. Building on Lestrelin’s concept of supportérisme à distance and Hognestad’s work on mobility and belonging, the article shows that distance – whether spatial or situational – does not weaken fandom but reshapes its practices and meanings. Mediated engagement, diasporic stadium gatherings, and symbolic performances of loyalty sustain identity, belonging, and emotional continuity. The findings highlight football’s role as a cultural resource through which ordinary supporters negotiate rupture, displacement, and uncertainty in times of war.