Abstract
Since the creation of the Premier League in 1992, English football has become increasingly marketized and commercialised. In the past thirty years, the price of tickets has skyrocketed, football on television has been put behind a paywall, and a select few have made a fortune from what was once a game for the working class. In this thesis I explore the various forms of resistance in Manchester against the commercialisation of football and the motivations behind those forms of resistance. The fans have various ways of showing resistance, from loud and disruptive riots to quiet and subtle acts of protest. Regardless, the fans further the same critique. This thesis a journey through moral economy of English football, from the crowds standing at the terraces of lower league games, having decided not to attend Premier League matches anymore. We follow the rioting masses after the failed attempt at creating the European Super League, and how social media plays its part in the critique. We’ll see how everyday forms of resistance are practiced out outside stadiums and in the streets. I argue that following this wave of protest, English football has arrived at a fork in road. There’s a chance top flight football will continue as self-regulated as it always has been, but we’re also now seeing the contours of a limit of how important money can be in a game that is proclaimed to be for the fans.