Abstract: By means of literature and statistics, this paper researches the development of British football fan groups from the perspective of Giulianotti' taxonomy. The result shows that traditional British football fan groups are closely related to geographical communities, thus forming the psychological and cultural links. With the development of modern society, traditional fan groups decline and various massive fan groups are formed. Fan groups in modern society are different in formation, behaviors and structure and have different effects on the management of football clubs. Supporters and followers are the basis for the survival and development of clubs while fan groups and flaneur groups form the important impetus for contemporary football clubs to promote their brands..

Key words: supporter, follower, fan, flaneur, group identity