The main aim of this article is to present the history of football fandom in Poland in the context of Elias’s civilising process. The article is based on empirical research (in-depth interviews with football fans; content analysis of magazines and websites) and follows changes in the attitudes and behaviour of football fans. An analysis of fandom culture allows us to indicate the developing dimensions of this culture, its “professionalisation” and functional differentiation. Many aspects of this culture have become more “civilised” in nature, both in terms of regulating acts of violence and, for example, promoting engagement in social activities. The analyses show that the main building block of fandom culture is an antagonistically – or even predatorily – oriented identity, whose main components are in opposition to various social actors.
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