This edited volume explores football as a social, cultural, and political arena, with particular attention to civic engagement and the diverse expressions of fan culture across Europe.

The chapters examine the interplay between team identification, the human need for belonging, and forms of civic participation, alongside a service-learning project that links football with social connectivity. Further contributions investigate the political activities of fan groups, ethical perspectives on hooliganism and moral citizenship, and the significance of stadium and football landscapes as spaces shaped by local attachment and global economic forces.

The volume also addresses questions of inequality and redistributive policies, the multifaceted notion of Heimat and its resonance within football culture, and identity transformations triggered by club privatization. Finally, it considers the civic activism of specific Ultras communities as well as the relevance of civic engagement in the university context, with football serving as a distinctive field of practice.

Dr. Dr. Olaf Kühne is a full professor of urban and regional development at the University of Tübingen, in the Department of Geography and the Institute of Political Science.

Marian Marin is Associate Professor PhD. at the University of Bucharest (Romania), Faculty of Geography, Regional Geography and Environment. He is specialised in the Geography of Europe, Regional Geography and Environmental Geopolitics. At the level of the University, he is an active member of CIVIS Innovative Learning and Service-Learning Expert Groups, where he collaborates with the other members to the development of a new pedagogical model, trying to connect academic learning with the community partners.

Radu-Daniel Pintilii is Associate Professor PhD. Habil. at the University of Bucharest (Romania), Faculty of Geography, Department of Human and Economic Geography. His fields of interests are Geography of tourism activities and services, GIS, Economic Geography and Natural Resources, Territorial Statistics and Systems. At the level of the University, he coordinated and implemented CIVIS projects, focused on service learning and civic engagement (Civic Engagement in Europe: A Transdisciplinary Approach) and he is member of CIVIS Innovative Learning and Service-Learning Expert Groups.

Anna-Maria Weber studied Geography and Human Geography/Global Studies at the University of Tübingen and is currently pursuing her doctorate on landscape‑related regional governance processes within the LEADER funding programme. Since 2021, she has also been working as a project researcher at the Chair of Urban and Regional Development at the University of Tübingen.