Football club communications and identity leadership: A framework analysis

Football club engagement in identity leadership has been found to positively contribute to fan-club relationships and spectator feelings of safety at matches. However, limited research has explored how clubs show identity leadership in their communication with fans. To address this, we conducted a Framework Analysis of Facebook posts and emails to supporters from two football clubs (Hibernian FC and Liverpool FC) across three weeks of the football season (N = 780). Our analysis identified that football club communications often use content from players and managers to define what it means to be a group member (i.e., a ‘Red’ or a ‘Hibee’) (entrepreneurship), to acknowledge and demonstrate delivering on the opinions and expectations of supporters (advancement), and to promote the importance of supporters to the club (impresarioship). We conclude that football clubs illustrate identity leadership via official communication channels, but that the content of these messages predominantly come from players and managers (i.e., those who can be considered prototypical group members). These insights are key for the development of club communication guidance designed to promote positive fan-club relationships.