Dream Factory : Magic and myth-making in football

Abstract: This thesis analyzes a local football club Malmö FF in its social context. In the previous research a lot of emphasis has been put into various aspects of football like hooliganism, globalization, financial issues, or tactics and physicality of the players. However, the intriguing question is what a football club actually is. The position and role that the club plays is investigated by using ethnographic methods. This thesis reinterprets the football club as a magical construction where local myths are being created in the context of football on a regular basis. By taking a broad perspective and including the management, players and supporters, this thesis investigates how the football club is constructed and understood by its users. The issues of co-creation, ownership, execution of power and a heterotopic character of the club is studied. Malmö FF is then analyzed through processes of magic and myth-making as a Dream Factory, where all the groups involved co-create the experience of local football and turn the collective phenomenon into individual interpretations.