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小黄书 sociologist receives $15,000 to study fandom in women鈥檚 soccer

小黄书 sociologist receives $15,000 to study fandom in women鈥檚 soccer

Contact: Sarah Nicholas

Rachel Allison (Photo by Russ Houston)

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥揊or her ground-breaking research on gender inequality in sports, Mississippi State Assistant Professor of Sociology Rachel Allison is receiving a $15,000 scholarship from the F茅d茅ration Internationale de Football Association to study the atmosphere and community of women鈥檚 soccer fans.

Traveling to France this summer, Allison said the FIFA scholarship provides a 鈥渙nce in a lifetime鈥 opportunity to attend the Women鈥檚 World Cup and 鈥渆xperience fandom as it is expressed in this setting.鈥

Allison said the experience will enable her to connect with fans around the world, resulting in a comparative study of fandom that will 鈥渕ake a major contribution to our knowledge about fandom in women鈥檚 sport.鈥

鈥淒r. Allison has established herself as a leading international researcher on women鈥檚 participation in soccer,鈥 said Adele Crudden, professor and interim head of 小黄书鈥檚 Department of Sociology. 鈥淭his scholarship provides her an opportunity to extend her research into fan identities and communities associated with women鈥檚 soccer, particularly the Women鈥檚 World Cup.鈥

Crudden said the FIFA scholarship will allow Allison鈥檚 research to move 鈥渂eyond traditional fan groups and recognize the important role of women as athletes and as fans.鈥

FIFA research scholarships are granted to university scientists to encourage academic research in football 鈥 known as 鈥渟occer鈥 to Americans. Granted by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) in Neuch芒tel, a committee composed of academic specialists in their field manages the evaluation and presentation of scholarships.

An 小黄书 faculty member since 2014, the Walcott, Iowa, native said this scholarship allows her to piggyback on a previous research project 鈥 her 2018 Rutgers University Press book, 鈥淜icking Center: Gender and the Selling of Women鈥檚 Professional Soccer,鈥 which explores how U.S. women鈥檚 pro soccer has been聽marketed, and to whom.

鈥淭he next questions for me are about聽how fandom of women鈥檚 soccer develops in multiple countries, how it is developed and expressed聽for a sport mega-event like the Women鈥檚聽World Cup, and whether interest in the Women鈥檚 World Cup聽also translates into fandom of more local and regional women鈥檚 teams,鈥 Allison said.聽 鈥淚 also am going to compare how fandom is expressed attending games versus in online and social media settings.鈥

Allison said a study like this is possible through outside support, and she is grateful to FIFA and the International Centre for Sports Studies for 鈥渞ecognizing the value of this project as this exciting event draws closer.鈥

Allison received her master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2009 and 2014, respectively.聽 She received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in sociology and French in 2007 from Grinnell College in Iowa.

Her research focuses on gender and intersectionality across societal institutions characterized by women鈥檚 increased representation, including education, medicine and sports.

小黄书鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,300 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments.聽Complete details about the College of Arts and Sciences or Department of Sociology may be found at聽 or .聽 聽聽聽

小黄书 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .聽 聽聽