Cooperativism and soccer: Shared or dissimilar identities in the portland La Cruz Azul cement producer cooperative?

Abstract

 The Cruz Azul professional soccer team has a long tradition of more than six decades, during which it has managed to become one of the most popular clubs in Mexican football. Both its origin and financial support throughout all this time have come from the Sociedad Cooperativa de Cementos Portland La Cruz Azul. However, to this day, it is not clear that the cooperative philosophy and identity symbols have had a significant influence on the formation of the collective identity of fans. Based on these facts, the objective of this study was to determine to what extent the sponsorship of a professional soccer team has contributed to reinforcing the collective identity of the members of the Cruz Azul cooperative and to what extent cooperative identity signs have influenced the mood of the fans in general. The information was compiled by means of a bibliographic and newspaper review specialized in the subject; in-depth interviews with managers and members of the cooperative; application of a survey, via the internet, with members of the Cruzazulina fans and, finally, through participant observation. The results show that until now the members of the cooperative fully identify with their team, assuming it as something of their own and as an extension of their associative life, in such a way that its performance contributes to reinforcing their identity as cooperative members; On the other hand, at the level of the fans, the cooperative culture exerts a minimal influence on the formation of their collective identity, which is basically nourished by elements of a sporting nature.