Abstract: The object of research in this article is the football fan movement. The research subject is the generalized images of football fans created and used in modern domestic printing and electronic mass media. The purpose of this work is to assess similar images of fans as subcultures, and also determination of features and components of images of the football fan in mass media. The special attention of the author is paid to a social component of the fan movement and concrete examples of its manifestation as in our country, and abroad. The research method in this article is the analysis of articles in specialized sports mass media, and also the comparative analysis of the Russian and foreign fan movement. The main conclusions of the author are reduced to that the images of football fans created in sports mass media essentially influence a social assessment of the fan movement. The problem of fan subculture and its reflection on the mass media pages has the deep social implication which is beyond the sport. The novelty of the presented work consists in more detailed and profound studying of images of football fans in mass media. The practical importance of research is that it provides a possibility to create an objective and realistic image of the football fan which in its turn will allow to define and eliminate false images and stereotypic delusions of football fans.