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Identity as a concept and as a practice differs from what it was assumed in the past. The literature pertaining to this concept and its practices is very sceptical: identity is unstable and undergoing a continuous process of construction and reconstruction, and the modern‐postmodern individual must realize and accept this volatile situation. This essay deals with a relatively safer basis for identity: football fandom. Studies on global football fan behaviour conclude that supporting a football club is a life‐long project that begins at an early age and ends with the life of the fan. Such studies unequivocally indicate that football fandom is a way of life. The fan's daily and weekly agenda is determined by his relationship with the football club. Most importantly, football fandom is a significant component of identity: it is stable and effective. Using the results of a study of Israeli football fans, this essay suggests that fandom is indeed a critical component in the fan's identity profile. Hence, fans are at least partially ‘safe’ in a volatile world of unstable identities.
Amir Ben Porat (Tue,) studied this question.