Cultural Studies Day Wise Report Prateek Chhillar 040A

Sports creating discourses of an

imagined community

Some statistics

• Total players 265 million

• Female players as % of male world population 8%

• Registered players 38 million

• Referees and officials 5 million

• Number of clubs 301.000

• Top-20 countries with most registered players in 2006: Germany (> 6 million), USA (>

4 million), Brazil (> 2 million), France, Italy, England, South-Africa, Netherlands, Japan

(> 1 million), Canada, Russian Federation, People’s Republic of China, Ukraine, Czech

Republic, Poland, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Chile and Iran (> 0,4 million)

The statistics above are perhaps greater than a few countries on the UN list and cannot be

ignored as they represent a part of the world which is bound by similar passions and can be

expressed as a nation beyond borders and perhaps a citizenship acquired via the love of the

game.

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Introduction

Football has changed from a popular sport into a global industry with an increasing

economic impact at the top and important social functions at lower levels. Football can serve

not only as a source of income for many people, but also as a tool for local economic

development, social cohesion, education, personal development and the transmission of

human and cultural values.

Analysis

The professional football market has undergone an accentuated growth due to a process of

Commercialisation since the beginning of the 1990‟s. Money invested in football surged

mainly as result from increases in television rights and corporate sponsorship.

Simultaneously, the labour market for professional football players had experienced

unprecedented globalisation – with more and more football players contracted by teams

outside their country and transfer payments of astounding dimensions. Transfers are carried

out all over the world. The cross border money flows that are involved may largely fall

outside the control of national and supranational football organisations, giving opportunities

to move and launder money. At the same time money from private investors is pouring into

football clubs to keep them operating and can give the investor long term returns in terms

of media rights, ticket sales, proceeds of sales of players and merchandising.

The worlds‟ best players, both from within and outside the EU, are contracted by the richest

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European leagues. On the supply side, Brazil has long been a big exporter of footballers not

only to Europe but also to Asia. In the course of the last few years, Africa has emerged as a

less expensive source of new talent. Talented players from the former European East Bloc

also gravitate towards rich clubs elsewhere in the world.

In the current day and age, the biggest football clubs across the world are read, listened,

watched and followed by millions of people across the globe. Usually these are people who

barely know the culture of the country to which the club belongs or much about the culture

of the countries to which these players belong. Club owners are usually rich powerful

individuals who themselves might not belong to the country of the club. The players who are

playing are from various countries and usually are the cream of the talent of their respective

nations and yet they are rarely playing in their own country, primarily because of the lack of

funds and infrastructure and development of the game in their own country. Perhaps the

only authentic sense of belonging is accorded to the supporters who are within the

geographic vicinity of the club and can afford the time, space and money to afford such

forms of entertainment.

Football developing a community

There are a range of ways in which clubs might commit to having a positive impact in their

communities – many, at all levels, do some of them already. They include developing local

transport plans, environmental best practice, supporter volunteering schemes, opening club

facilities to disadvantaged groups, operating preferential local employment and purchasing

schemes, and pricing match tickets at levels that "recognise economic exclusion".

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Also included is "broadening ownership structures", and this is a key element of the report,

setting out the social value of clubs incorporating some democratic form of ownership by

supporters. The chief executives of clubs that were mutuals or feature large stakes held by

supporters argued that their model delivered "clear social benefits", including the promotion

of democracy, keeping the club linked to the community, creating stability, and even a

business advantage, because of improved working relationships with the local authority.

To the extent that in most British football clubs these days during the winter period when the

sporting fixtures are hit due to extreme cold and snow there have been instances of

supporters and locals coming to help the club authorities in making the areas surrounding

the stadiums feasible to operate around and thus ensuring that the games go on despite the

weather. This is another example of how football tends to impact society first at a local level.

The next example would be of football fans across the globe who stay awake or wake up at

extreme hours just so that they can watch the live game of their respective club and thus be

up to date about any discussion pertaining to the club. The need to know what is going on

at their club is another instance of football breaching individual concerns.

Summary

Football clubs should formally recognise their social role and adopt it as one of their core

purposes, honestly examine how well they are meeting that aim, and strive continually to

improve their relationships with supporters, local authorities, residents and businesses.

Thus various business and social models are required to be conjured so as to ensure that the

love of the game can also inculcate a love for society in the individual, as it is evident we

have so much more to learn from the game than that which is visible to the bare eye.