Football Hooliganism in Britain before the First World War*

This paper summarizes some preliminary findings of a three-year research project carried out at the University of Leicester. It discusses and partially refutes the theoretical explanations of football hooliganism as advanced by Taylor and Clarke. Based on historical research and a content analysis of selected reports of football hooliganism before the First World War, the paper shows that, contrary to common opinion, football hooliganism is by no means an entirely new phenomenon. It also examines the sociological implications of this finding and suggests that the major sociological explanations of football hooliganism offered so far will have to be substantially revised. 1. Over the past two decades, football hooliganism has come to be regarded as one of Britain’s more serious &dquo;social problems&dquo;. It has been the subject of an enduring moral panic and has recurrently drawn forth demands from the media, politicians and a variety of self-appointed &dquo;moral entrepreneurs&dquo; for &dquo;tough action&dquo;. A number of attempts have also been made to explain it but, so far, popular &dquo;theories&dquo; on the subject have tended to outnumber their academi