1 SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT: UNITED KINGDOM 12 April – 6162 words 1 John Horne & Dominic Malcolm 1. ABSTRACT Sociology of sport in the UK is as old as the subdiscipline itself but was uniquely shaped by the prominence of football hooliganism as a major social issue in the 1970s and 80s. While it remains a somewhat niche activity, the field has been stimulated by the growing cultural centrality of sport in UK society. This quantitative and qualitative development has been recognized in recent governmental evaluations of research expertise. Current research reflects this expanded range of social stratification and social issues in sport both domestically and on a global level, while the legacy of hooligan research is evident in the continuing concentration on studies of association football. Historically, this empirical research has largely been underpinned by figurational, Marxist/neo-Marxist , or feminist sociological theories, but there is now a greater emphasis on theoretical synthesis and exploration. As a consequence of the expansion of the field, allied to its empirical and theoretical diversity, there is a burgeoning literature produced by UK sociologists of sport which spans entry level textbooks, research monographs and the editorship of a significant number of specialist journals. The chapter concludes by noting the future prospects of the sociology of sport in the UK in relation to teaching, research and relations with other sport- related subdisciplines and the sociological mainstream. Keywords: figurational sociology, neo-marxist theory, football hooliganism, Leicester School, Chelsea School 1 Revised and accepted chapter for K. Young Ed. RESEARCH IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT Volume 9 Working Title: SOCIOLOGY OF SPORT: A GLOBAL SUBDISCIPLINE IN REVIEW Bingley: Emerald Press.