Spectator Behaviour and Hooliganism
What crowds do to sport: the good side of atmosphere and home advantage and the bad side of pressure, safety costs and hooliganism, the causes of hooliganism, and the strategies used to keep grounds safe.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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The crowd, for better and worse
A big crowd is part of what makes sport exciting, lifting the home team and filling the ground with atmosphere. But crowds also have a dark side: they can pile pressure on players, cost a fortune to keep safe, and at worst turn to hooliganism. This module works through the good and bad effects of spectators, why hooliganism happens, and how it is tackled.
Crowd words to know
Learn these before you read the stands.
The good crowd against the bad
Spectators bring benefits and problems to a sporting event.
Split the effects, match cause to cure
In the exam, split spectator effects into good and bad, then handle hooliganism by cause and cure. A crowd brings atmosphere and a home advantage, but it can also pressure the players, turn violent and cost a fortune to police. Hooliganism grows from things like fierce rivalry, too much drink and anger at officials; it is tackled by pulling rival supporters apart, seating everyone, capping drink and barring known offenders. Match a cause to a sensible cure.
Match the term
- spectator
- home advantage
- hooliganism
- segregation
- a person who watches sport
- the boost from playing before your own fans
- violent or disorderly fan behaviour
- keeping rival fans apart
Match cause to cure
- too much alcohol
- rival fans clashing
- travelling troublemakers
- standing crowds surging
- restrict alcohol at the ground
- segregate the rival fans
- give out banning orders
- build all-seater stadia
Which is a positive effect?
Which of these is a positive effect of spectators on a match?
- They create a lively atmosphere
- They cause hooliganism
- They pressure players into mistakes
- They raise the cost of safety
True about spectators
Select the TWO true statements about spectators and hooliganism.
- Home advantage is a positive effect of a home crowd
- All-seater stadia help reduce hooliganism
- Hooliganism is a positive effect of spectators
- A crowd never puts any pressure on players
Staff the stadium
A stadium is split into 6 segregated zones for safety, and each zone needs 4 stewards. Multiply the number of zones by the stewards per zone to find the total stewards needed. What is the answer?
Order the safety plan
Put the steps of tackling a hooliganism problem in order, earliest first.
- Identify what is causing the trouble
- Segregate the rival fans in the stadium
- Restrict alcohol and improve security
- Ban known troublemakers from grounds
Complete the rules
A person who watches a sporting event is a _____. The boost a team gets from its own fans is home _____. Violent or disorderly behaviour by spectators is _____. Keeping rival fans apart to prevent trouble is _____.
Spot the anti-hooliganism steps
Tap the TWO strategies used to reduce hooliganism.
- keeping rival fans in separate areas
- restricting alcohol at the ground
- letting everyone stand together
- selling far more alcohol
Read the crowd
Read each case and choose the best answer.
- A loud home crowd lifts the team and unsettles the visitors. What is this an example of?
- Rival fans keep clashing in the stands. Which strategy would help most?
- Why are known troublemakers given banning orders?
Explain spectators and hooliganism
Explain the effects of spectators on sport and how hooliganism is tackled.
- Explain one positive and one negative effect of spectators
- Explain two causes of hooliganism
- Explain two strategies used to reduce it