| Abstract: | The paper presents the increasing prevalence of sports‐related violence in Poland, the distinctive characteristics of Polish football (soccer) hooliganism, and the psychosocial analysis of the phenomenon, based on a 3‐year prophylactic program geared toward boys from high‐risk groups. Football hooliganism may be described adequately in terms of coping with a sense of alienation. The article includes most of the important findings of the author's research pertaining to predisposing factors and mechanisms reducing the sense of alienation by one's affiliation with a group of football hooligans. The final part of the article touches on the consequences of the presented approach for the prevention of hooligan incidents. |
