This book is an investigation into the
identifications and stories told by football
supporters about some ill-defined entity
called Europe . The core aim is to
consider whether the experiences of football fandom
(and the ways in which these are recounted) may be
developing identifications with Europe and whether
this may legitimate the EU or assist in reducing
intra-European xenophobia. So, the book is
concerned with the consumption of football in
English and European competitions, with more than
one eye on fan perceptions of transnational
developments in the sport and its possible socio-
political resonance. The research is also centrally
interested in the development of European
identities, particularly in respect to the
way Europe is consumed. It is concerned with the
tensions of discourses which, on the one hand,
present Europe as abstract and almost ill-definable
and, on the other, with a Europe situated
within 'everyday' and lived practices.