An interesting correlation that needs to be examined in relations and for the true understanding of football hooliganism is the types of demographics involved between firms in England. Football firms are made up of a wide variety of people from all walks of life. The beautiful game is said to be consider a sports that can be enjoyed by the masses. A sport being enjoyed by the masses brings in all types of fans. People who involve themselves in soccer firms have a certain type of mind set that seem to always be ready to fight and get into trouble. The interesting aspect of the hooligans are that they are not all young in shape men, this blog will be analyzing all types of demographics of males that are drawn into this type of fanism.

The first and most obvious demographic that needs to be looked at is the male and female ratio in these English football firms. Football hooliganism has been seen as first occurring in the late 1960's, and peaking in the late 1970's. During these time periods having a woman in a firm would be unheard of, even unspeakable. Now, on the other hand, women are not only accepted but also welcomed. Women are much more emotional than men, and this shows in their actions for the football firms. They are willing to take more risks such as streaking, and are also used to lure other male firms into traps. Just this year, a 15-year-old girl was arrested for football hooliganism, which marks the youngest female hooligan in England. Even though there are still very few women in English football firms, they are gaining wide spread respect for their risks and actions for their football club.

Football hooliganism for the past 50 years has been seen as a juvenile crime and gave rise to delinquency. For a certain period this notion of youngsters creating mayhem was not a rumor, but fact. As the years passed and these young boys became men, a whole new dynamic was created concerning football firms in England. These middle-age men began to organize into structured groups and began to recruit young bucks ready for a fight. This progression brought the first organized football firms of England. There are no definite age statistics recorded, but from first hand accounts, about 30% of hooligans are over the age of 35. The older members of the firms take a more administrative role and keep the football firm functioning as a whole rather than brining the mob mentality into the group.

Racism is a very large problem in European football, but for some reason, the racism does not flow into the football firms. Racism is the persecution of a group or type of person due to their race, religion, skin color, or ethnicity. The largest type of racism seen in Europe is the racism against blacks that play and cheer for the football clubs. Football firms on the other hand, have no racial lines or creeds. Football firms are seen as a brotherhood where everyone is an equal because you fight right next to each other. There are no racial lines of borders, just brotherhood. For the past few years more and more ethnicities have been entering into the football firms. Some reasons might be just the pure love of the game or the simple fact of immigration into England. The simple fact of the matter is, racial demographics in football firms do not matter. Brotherhood is brotherhood just as long as the man or woman your fighting next to has your back.

References:

FOOTBALL HOOLIGANISM. (n.d.). The University of Liverpool. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from http://www.liv.ac.uk/footballindustry/hooligan.html

Girl, 15, becomes youngest female football hooligan. - Free Online Library. (n.d.). News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles and Classic Books - Free Online Library. Retrieved July 21, 2010, from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Girl,+15,+becomes+youngest+f

Marsh, P. (1978). Aggro, the Illusion of Violence. London: Dent, London.