Reclaiming the Kop? Analysing Liverpool supporters’ 21st century Mobilizations

For at least the past three decades, the sociology of football and its supportedcultures has been responsive to the social issues which have emerged within it. Today, the fact that fans rejoice and protest at overseas purchases of their club means that the time has come for research to reflect on elite-level English football’s position in a transnational space. In this context, this article focuses on the football supporters’ protests connected to Liverpool FC, centring on the Spirit of Shankly mobilization, and uses Manuel Castells’ theories to understand them. The argument that emerges is important for sociologists understanding the contemporary world because it illustrates the connections between local sites around the world, the internet as a tool through which collective action takes place, and discusses what ‘power’ means in these contexts.