People

Prof. Dr Arne Niemann

Professor of International Politics at the Department of Political Science at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz. He is currently the director of the tri-national, interdisciplinary MA programme in European Studies and co-director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “Europe in Global Dialogue”. From 2013-2015 he was co-editor of the Sport & EU Review. His research focuses on the European integration process, European Union politics, and particularly the external relations of the EU. He was a principal investigator in the EUFOOT-project (‘The identity effect of Europeanised lifeworlds. Becoming European through Football?’). Arne Niemann held positions at the universities of Amsterdam, Dresden and Cambridge and was a visiting researcher for example at the European University Institute in Fiesole. He received a BSc (Econ) in International Relations from the London School of Economics & Political Science as well as an MPhil in European Studies and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Johannes Muntschick

Lecturer and post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz. His research interests include international and regional governance institutions, regionalism and external influence, EU-Africa relations, politics and conflicts in the Global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. He was inter alia associate researcher in the EUFOOT-project, where he focused on qualitative methods, interviews and IT-supported textual analysis (MAXQDA). Johannes Muntschick held positions at the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, Germany, and was a visiting researcher for example at the School of Global Studies in Gothenburg, Sweden. He studied at the University of Bamberg and the University of Namibia and received a Diplom in Political Science, a State examination for Gymnasien (high schools) as well as a PhD in Political Science from the University of Bamberg. He conducted numerous field research trips in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jonas Biel, M.A.

Research associate at Department of Political Science at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz. An alumn of Mainz University, he graduated with a masters degree in Empirical Democracy Studies with an emphasis on quantitative research methods in January of 2021. In his Master’s thesis, he focussed on determinants of inequalities in political participation across 27 European countries. He has also worked in Education for Sustainable Development with schools and extracurricular youth groups, highlighting among other topics problematic working conditions in the football industry and in the context of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Tobias Finger, M.A.

Research associate at Department of Political Science at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz. In May 2021, Tobias graduated from Humboldt-University of Berlin with a Master of Arts in Social Sciences, which preliminarily concluded his studies in this field that took him from Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf to Prague, Vancouver and Berlin. With a focus on democracy and transformation, his Master’s thesis investigated the interrelations of discourse, power and space in marginalized urban neighborhoods. Previously, Tobias also worked as a journalist for a variety of media outlets, focusing among other topics on the social embeddedness and political implications of football. He also held a position as research associate at the Deutscher Bundestag and worked for a private international foundation supporting human rights and strengthening democracy around the globe.

Vincent Reinke, M.A.

Research associate at the Department of Political Science at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz. Vincent graduated with a Master of Arts in International Sport Development and Politics at the German Sport University Cologne. An alumn of Mainz University, he graduated with a bachelors degree in Political Science with a focus on European politics. In addition to his academic career, he worked for different political and sports organisations.

Partners

The research project is supported by a variety of academic and practice partners across Europe. They provide expertise and insight into football fandom, especially the respective partner countries, but also on underlying theory and research methodology.

Academic partners

Practice partners

Academic advisors