The impact of alcohol sales on perceptions of security amongst Brazilian football fans

In 2003, the Estatuto de Defesa do Torcedor (Fans’ Bill of Rights Act) was introduced in an effort to curb fan violence, resulting in the prohibition of alcohol sales in Brazilian sports stadiums. This study uses Santos FC as a case study to explore football fans’ perceptions of the link between alcohol and violence, and investigate how introducing alcohol sales may potentially impact future attendance. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Ordinal Logistic Regression Models based on an online survey (n = 562) are used to identify factors influencing Santos fans’ decisions about whether to attend football matches where alcohol is sold. The main driver for a change in attendance is the perception of the link between alcohol consumption and violence. This relationship is mitigated by individual fans’ attitudes to alcohol and their likelihood of avoiding matches if violence increases.