Platformization, cultural practices, and patterns of (dis)continuity: the case of the Women’s World Cup

This article examines processes related to platformization in the case of 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. By focusing specifically on how this World Cup edition was produced and consumed on TikTok, we primarily are concerned with how World Cup-related content was engaged with by users who, in this case, are assumed also to be fans, or followers of football. By drawing together insights from digital sociology, the sociology of football, and the cultural production of platforms, this study argues that patterns identified on TikTok reveal how the (dis)continuity in the production and consumption of the World Cup affords multiple and distinct peaks of interests that does not necessarily align with the World Cup’s natural flow. Importantly, this showcases (i) the ways in which the World Cup is characterized by processes of platformization in modern societies and (ii) that this platform offers a culturally and socially important space for narratives, ideas and images to develop, relating to the World Cup.