Author's personal copy Starting with a clean slate: An analysis of member identification with a new sports team Daniel Lock *, Simon Darcy, Tracy Taylor University of Technology, Sydney, Australia 1. Introduction Professional soccer in Australia has undergone a significant period of change since 2003, which culminated in the replacement of Australia’s National Soccer League (NSL) with the A-League. National soccer competitions have ‘struggled to capture the national imagination’ in Australia (Australian Soccer Association, 2004, p. 13), despite high community participation rates at the grass roots level of the game (Standing Committee on Recreation & Sports, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006a, b). The failure of the NSL to attract greater spectator numbers during its existence (1977-2004) has been partially attributed to the predominance of ethnically based teams (Hughson, 2000; Mosely, 1997). Expressive ethnicity, although a strong facilitator of social relationships and support in migrant communities (Mosely, 1995), created an atmosphere that was perceived as unwelcoming to individuals outside of specific culturally constructed social networks (Lock, Taylor, & Darcy, 2008). Consequently, clubs struggled to attract and sustain supporters from outside of the cultural groups represented by ethnically based clubs in the NSL. The subsequent discontinuation of the NSL and the introduction of the A-League attempted to provide Australian soccer with a successful and viable domestic competition. The A-League, attempted to remove expressive ethnicity within clubs, employed a calculated and clearly defined strategy to reframe soccer as ‘‘Australian’’ and convert soccer to a ‘‘mainstream’’ sporting pursuit through the creation of five new clubs in Australia and the adoption of a one-club-per-city policy (Hay, Sport Management Review 12 (2009) 15–25 ARTICLE INFO Keywords: New sports team Member identification Identity strength ABSTRACT Soccer in Australia underwent a series of changes following a Federal Government inquiry into its future. A report into the Structure, Governance and Management of Soccer in Australia (2003) recommended a process of structural change, aimed at repositioning and re- branding soccer as association football. The restructure yielded the replacement of the National Soccer League with the A-League, five new Australian teams and a concerted attempt to separate soccer from its ethnic ties in the antipodes. This paper examines member identification in relation to a specific A-League club’s members. Using the Sports Spectator Identity Scale (Wann & Branscombe, 1993) to measure sport fan identity in a new team context, a survey of club members of Sydney FC (n = 510), was undertaken. Survey findings indicated that members of Sydney FC reported relatively strong team identification in the first year of the new competition, with some nuanced differences based on age and income. The SSIS demonstrated a good level of fit in relation to a new sports team, although it is evident that rivalries and identification with a new team need time to develop fully. ß 2009 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. University of Technology, Sydney, Kuring-gai Campus, PO Box 222, Lindfield, NSW, 2070, Australia. E-mail address: Daniel.Lock@uts.edu.au (D. Lock). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Sport Management Review journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/smr 1441-3523/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.smr.2008.09.001