Hello and welcome to my final episode on my podcast series on the social media use of the EPL and the A-League. I’m going to be honest as I probably set out to do 5 episodes instead of 4 however with time constraints, I have decided to only do 4 podcasts.
Just a recap on the series, Episode 1 was an introduction on what to expect, Episode 2 was on the EPL social media use and social and cultural transgressions of the league and Episode 3 was on the A-Leagues social media use, the adoption of premier leagues features and the negative side of being an Australian Footballer.
This episode will look at how the two compare and where both can adapt features from each other.
As mentioned in my introduction episode, I have experience with both leagues. Being a supporter since birth of both Liverpool and Sydney. I have also known the significant difference in talent and culture. EPL started hooliganism and ended it while the A-League with the emergence of new team Western Sydney Wanderers have brought it back into the game.
However, in terms of social media, the A-League has as mentioned adopted features from the EPL. These features are the photography elements, transfer talks and the ability to promote their teams on social media by personalising their accounts.
The A-League must adopt the ability to be more interactive with their audience. There is an obvious difference in feedback from the comment section. This may be due to the difference in overall followers; however, A-League still must be more interactive. Simple stuff like using more rhetorical questions and inviting audiences to comment on transfer news or any updates. A lack of fan art is quite easily seen which makes the EPL so significantly dominant when talking about audience interactivity.
The EPL could look at adopting a more cultural approach. The A-League posts Spotify sounds which is Australian-based, and this could be done by the EPL which such a prominent grime scene.
The EPL is known as an organisation which is promoting their stand for the fight against racism. The A-League of recent has had an issue with the battle with online abuse against players. Both prominent issues worldwide however its safe to say that the EPL are currently dealing with the issue of racism further than of the A-League. The EPL has culturally and socially trasngressed while the A-League is already culturally diverse and haven’t had too many problems with such an issue.
Social media accounts such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have the ability to maintain relationships between fans and their chosen team or idols. As technology continues to develop, fans have been given the allowance to discuss any news or latest gossip with the touch of a button.
EPL has formed a huge fan base online through the distribution of content allowing for discussion on any highlights, news or transfer talk. Teams in the EPL have been able to personalise their social media base to home in on creating an identity for fans to believe in and follow.
In a ethnographic study done by Geoff Pearson called, ‘An ethnography of English football fans Cans, cops and carnivals’, crowds are compared to carnivals. The similarity shared is the gathering aspect. Crowds gather together singing and drinking while watching the game and most of the time what happens off the field is more important than what is actually happening on the field.
Fans sometimes only really want to look at the news and gossip which happens off the field. This is why the social media accounts are so important. They welcome the carnival connotation portrayed in Pearson’s ethnographic study as fans sometimes draw a blind eye to the scores and what’s happening on the field.
Examples of this sort of content include FIFA posts and the fan art. The younger audiences may not watch the live games, however, play with their favourite players and teams on the Xbox, Playstation or the PC. Some audiences may enjoy the visual pieces uploaded more so than the actual game. These sort of fans have developed through the rise of social media in sport.
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE EPL AS A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE
“Racism came in the form of letters, chanting from the crowds, banana throwing, monkey chants, songs, and not just one or two but thousands singing racial abuse, chants, that kind of stuff, and letters through the post” –
Cyrille Regis- former West Bromich Albion player and England Striker,1998
Racism still places a dim and ignorant shadow of the world of football. Other leagues and countries more than the other, even though how vile and immoral it has become in the 21st century, it still remains.
In the 1990’s, the fight against racism in Britain developed. A ‘let’s kick racism out of Football’ campaign begun at the start of the 1993/94 football season. This kickstarted the conversation and also acted as a catalyst for change in many other aspects.
Stadiums begun to fill with female fans and ‘english hooliganism’ drew to a close. Crowd attendances increased through all four divisions, the EPL had started a renaissance which other leagues wished to follow.
Key components of an instagram platform is the ability to inform, distribute and persuade. Videos shown above have been posted as a way to inform their audience on the experiences famous players have had with racism. These videos are distributed and acted as a way to persuade people who have been racist or have heard racism in public that it is not ok.
The A-League started in 2005 as way to increase the competitive nature of football or ‘soccer’ in Australia. The NPL already existed as the premier football league but many critics believed there needed to be a major overhaul.
Due to Australia being such a diverse and multicultural country, the A-League makes its name for being a multicultural league. Through studying an ethnographic study written by John Hughson, ‘A Tale of Two Tribes: Expressive Fandom in Australian Soccer’s A-League’, I grasped the idea that there are two particular supporter ‘tribes’. These neo-tribal groups are seperated by their experience with their chosen club. One tribe is the ‘youth supporter groups’ which follow long and established clubs and are from ethnic-identifiable communities and the other is for the newer clubs and the non-ethnic communities. This concept shows that the A-League has become diverse through the development of the league.
SIDENOTE: I have included a segment in my podcast about the introduction of the A-League (if you want to know more about it).
Due to the A-League being so diverse, the social media must display the same connotations. Much like the EPL, teams must promote to their chosen audience.
A prime example is the fan base of the Western Sydney Wanderers. The team stands out from other A-League teams as it is arguably the most diverse team. Their infatuation for their team comes at a cost as they have brought ‘hooliganism’ (mentioned in 2nd episode) back into the game.
The ‘RBB’ fan group display their own cultural and social significance. This is key that their social media administrators emphasise such notions on their accounts. The Red and Black theme is used as well as images which show off their fan group and their personalised flags in the crowd. “It’s our resilience in the face of adversity that defines us”, is a quote mentioned in a post about an upcoming game. The quote is key in defining what kind of team they are. After starting as an organisation after Sydney FC, the Wanderers have always really been the ‘2nd Sydney team”. Posting this type of quote speaks to their audience and means more to them than any other teams fan base.
THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF BEING A FOOTBALLER – JOSH HOPE
For footballers on social media it is all about developing a profile or persona which will attract fans into following you. Social media offers great tools which allow for direct and indirect communication from celebrity to fan. We only really look at the positives of social media. A celebrity who posts a picture of themselves happy isn’t always going to portray the same connotations. But that is what social media has turned us into in todays day in age.
At the tender age of 22, Melbourne Victory footballer Josh Hope was only starting his career. After finding his feet gaining some appearances under his belt, Hope gave away a penalty playing for the Victory senior side. Thinking this would lead to nothing, Hope continued on with playing his own game. This was until he realised that he had come under the spotlight of online social media abuse.
“Hopesless” is the popular sledge thrown at Hope. An easy yet aggravating sledge and after being repeated over and over, it would become troublesome to his own mental state. Hope has only recently given up the game after “relentless targeted abuse” at the age of 24.
Through the development of social media and how powerful of a tool it has become, the allowance for opinion has drawn out the negative side of society. Known as a ‘multicultural league’, the A-League hasn’t had to deal with racism and online abuse much like other leagues such as the Italian league (where racism is prominent) and the EPL.
As a young Australian player, Josh Hope is the only player to date in the A-League to retire due to online abuse. I believe Australia’s culture is at fault. The 21st century is only starting to raise awareness about ones mental health. The NRL has seen it with former Broncos captain, Darius Boyd, opening up about the war he has had with his own mental health during a tough season where Broncos finished close to the bottom of the table. As a high profile athlete it is important to look after your mental health especially with the surrounding factors such as fandom and poor performances. These aspects creep into any athletes mind and are as significant as ever in the 21st century due to the development of social media.
Whether Hopes retirement acts as a catalyst for change or not, one thing is for sure that there must be change.
James Muggeridge 