Preserving and Extending the Commodification of Football Supporter Relations: a Cultural Economy of Supporters Direct.

The article investigates the role of Supporters Direct, a sports policy initiative developed by the British Labour government in 2000 in Great Britain. Supporters Direct aims to democratize football clubs by intervening on the unequal relationship existing between supporters of football clubs and private shareholders who have control on clubs. The program facilitates mutual forms of ownership and control of clubs through supporters' trust. This paper concluded that Supporters Direct initiative is an integral part of a social policy that aims on the preservation and extension of commodified social relations.