Scope and determinants of multisupporterism: the case of Union Saint-Gilloise supporters

While research on football supporterism has extensively examined attachment to a single club, less attention has been paid to multisupporterism, i.e. the partisan attachment to more than one team. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining the prevalence of multisupporterism and identifying factors associated with it, on the basis of an online survey conducted among supporters of Union Saint-Gilloise, a Belgian club. The results show that multisupporterism is widespread and concerns 62.3% of Union supporters. Contrary to what the literature suggests, neither the intensity or duration of involvement nor geographical proximity or performance motivations are linked to multisupporterism. Instead, exclusive Belgian nationality and the importance attached to family tradition are negatively associated with multisupporterism. These findings suggest that multisupporterism does not necessarily reflect weak or volatile loyalties and highlight the need for investigation, including conceptual reflection on what it means to ‘support’ clubs in contemporary football.