The Effect of Team Identification and Sports fandom in Predicting Football Fan Aggression (Moderating Role of Fan Age)

Team Identification and Sports Fandom are among the most important predictors of aggression in football fans that their impact varies with the age of the fans. The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of age in relationship between Team Identification and Sports Fandom with aggression of football fans. The present study was descriptive and correlational that conducted in field method. The statistical population of study was Esteghlal Fans of which 211 persons were selected as the sample. The research instrument consisted of five standard questionnaires of Sport Fandom, Team Identification, Self-reported Aggressiveness, Physical Aggression and Verbal Aggression. In this study, the data were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling. The results showed that Team Identification and Sports Fandom have a positive and significant effect on self-report Aggressiveness, Verbal and Physical Aggression. Also Age has a significant effect on Team Identification, Sports Fandom, Self-report Aggression, Verbal and Physical Aggression, but these effects are negative and inverse. Also, the effect of Team Identification and sports fandom on self-report Aggressiveness, Verbal and Physical Aggression among the young fans was more than middle-aged and old fans, and the effect of Team Identification and Sports Fandom on self-report Aggressiveness, Verbal and Physical Aggression among the middle-aged Fans were more than old fans. According to the results organizers of the football matches in the country and the fan club of the teams can use the older fans to control the emotions of the younger fans and reduce the aggression of the fans.