Football and globalization

“The world is a global village in which everything tends to be known. Or at least, can be known. Universal references exist, people who can be identified at once from Tokyo to Berlin, via Los Angeles, Dakar, Buenos Aires or Melbourne. But football is the most globalized phenomenon. Georges W. Bush, Bin Laden, Pope or the Dalai Lama, Madonna or Youssou N’Dour are universally known (and variously appreciated). Yet Zidane’s, Beckham’s and Ronaldinho’s fame and popularity largely outstrip them. Football is well and truly the archetypal of globalization”

Boniface, Football et Mondialisation, Armand Colin, Paris, 2006, p.14

This quotation sums the strong interaction which binds globalization and football. As globalization is considered as a process which makes universal something particular, modern football is globalized. It empowers players and coaches to an incredible level of popularity throughout the world, with emblematic figures such as José Mourinho or Cristiano Ronaldo. Football is gathering together a community of more than 270 million players, and lots more fans, all bound by the same passion. That is why the term global makes sense. The stake of the subject will be to see how football will be affected by globalization.

Three English players, a Czech, a Portuguese, a Nigerian, a Ghanaian, a German, a Ukrainian, a French and an Ivorian were composing the Chelsea squad in 2007. Whereas football was known as a strong catalyst for identities matter (we can quote the racist and xenophobe Chelsea fans group, the Head-hunters), this composition illustrates a great undermining of football nature. Indeed, Premier League clubs were all known for their strong local and regional identity, so that globalization appears as a total upheaval of perspectives.

[...] Though globalization also impacts football through the globalization of capitals in football that leads to the implementation of a rule of money and business on football. The matter is to understand what leads football to adhere to this economic market, and how football is imprisoned by this logic. Globalization of funds and rule of money Toward the “Rule of money” a. From Newton Heart to the Red Devils Many football clubs were founded as part of project of social entertainment, purchasing corporatist or associative aims, as amateur clubs still are. Likewise Manchester United hasn’t always been the richest club of the world. [...]

[...] The stakes are even reinforced by the media pressure we reported in the previous developments. Economic competitiveness and football Taxation and incomes impact of football a. Taxation variations To attract, or even to retain a player, football clubs need to take into account the cost of players; a need which leads to a concurrence of the fiscal regimes. Indeed, the less a fiscal system is restrictive, the more a club can recruit top players and ensure good performances. Therefore, competitiveness is at stake for clubs. [...]

[...] Therefore internationalization had once much credit. But this phenomenon is now part of the past. This internationalization had indeed existed, but it’s now out of time, and it mainly concerns small and medium teams (tables 2 and 3). Indeed Internationalization is quite a euphemism when the Belgian club of Beveren used to line up eleven Ivorian players. However it’s right that small clubs with few means prefer to buy regional of at list continental players. This is particularly true in England, where many players are Scottish or Irish, or in Belgium, where many people are French or Dutch. [...]

[...] In 1923, Eduardo Agnelli became Chairman; owner of Fiat, he perceived the Juventus as a mean to popularize Fiat, and to develop loyalty of a public to the brand, through the process of identification to the football club. The growing popularity of football (due to the media expansion) generated wealth. For example, even if David Beckham cost million, the merchandizing campaign he provoked provided about million a year to the Real Madrid. The stadium profits are huge too: it provides millions to Manchester United (about half their budget). [...]

[...] Therefore football became less a sport than a business matter. From sport clubs to business firms a. Globalization of the investors The enormous potential source of income attracts investors from all over the world, and we can assist to a globalization of football not through the player market, but through the clubs market. The most known example is the one of Roman Abramovitch. This Russian oligarch made the headlines in 2003 when he decided to buy Chelsea FC, which was nicknamed “Chelski” after Abramovitch have been paying off millions debts and buying players with huge amounts of money million). [...]