Groups Of Fans from Brazil and Colombia: Exploring their dynamics and sociability.

• Grant number: 24/17109-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Felipe Tavares Paes Lopes
• Grantee: Fábio Henrique França Rezende
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Educação Física (FEF). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The proposed research seeks to deepen the understanding of the dynamics of confrontation and forms of sociability of organized fan movements in Latin America, by comparing the Comando Máfia Azul fan group of Cruzeiro (Brazil) and the La Guardia Albi-Roja Sur fan group of Independiente de Santa Fé (Colombia). This comparison is justified by the following reasons: 1 - comparative studies between Latin American fan groups are still rare, especially considering the Colombian context; 2 - it is consistent with the type of research that has been developed by the Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa sobre Futebol (GEF); 3 - its results can serve as a basis for the re-elaboration of public policies on sports, leisure and fan groups in the contexts studied; and 4 - because of the access I have to the groups. The general objective of this research is to compare the ways in which members of Comando Máfia Azul and La Guardia Albi-Roja Sur experience, organize and interpret their relationships and fan practices, and to understand to what extent and how these modes represent forms of deviation from the hegemonic models of fan support. Its specific objectives are: 1 - to (re)construct the social and historical conditions of formation of these groups, focusing on their sets of rules, resources and relationships with other social institutions; 2 - to analyze the profile (age, sex, profession, education, etc.) of its members and the ways in which they interact with each other; and 3 - to investigate the ways in which they describe, explain and evaluate violent confrontations against rival fans and the police, as well as the policies for preventing such confrontations. To achieve these objectives, the study will rely mainly on Le Breton's analyses of risk behavior and Howard Becker's analyses of deviance. Regarding the method adopted, this will be qualitative and will involve the following procedures: bibliographic review, application of questionnaires, participant observation in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Bogotá and semi-structured interviews with both fan groups.