Modern football Essay Example

century. Its contemporary history spans over 100 years since rugby football and association football separated in England in 1863, leading to the formation of the Football Association - the first governing body for the sport. Modern industrialism played a crucial role in facilitating its spread from England to Europe (Duke 1995), North America (Waldstein and Wagg 1995), South America (Guttmann 1994), and eventually Africa (Stuart 1995). Histories recounting how football reached different parts of the world highlight its inherent connection to industrial globalization. As regions integrated into the emerging capitalist global economy, football's leisure pattern became standardized in rules and nationalized in demands on time and space. These changes mirrored shifts in industrial production processes.According to Robinson (2004), global elites, regardless of nationality, are increasingly sharing similar lifestyles and interacting through expanding networks of multinational organizations. This process of globalization unifies the world into a single mode of production and global economic system, integrating different countries and regions into a new global society. However, this new global capitalist economy also presents contradictions, such as the growing wealth gap between the rich and poor worldwide. Robinson concludes that there have been at least six historical waves of globalization, starting with the spread of world religions.

Efforts are being made to analyze the effects of globalization on different parts of the world and various social actors, with a particular focus on governance and norms. In line with Therborn's six wave theoretical account, it can be observed that the first wave involves a mass migration of people - which is also evident in the football industry. Wagg (2004) argues that while football belongs to everyone, it has been taken

away from ordinary people for profit purposes - similar to how land enclosure movements occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries.The concept of social exclusion has played a significant role in the development of British football (Wagg 2004). According to Mr. Blatter's statement and Fifa's calculations, football is currently the most popular and globally recognized sport, involving over one billion individuals in its global market. In 2008, Deloitte reported that the European football market alone was valued at 14.6 billion Euros. England's Premier League clubs collectively spend over a billion pounds on player rewards. For instance, Chelsea, owned by Roman Abramovich, had the highest salary expenditure of 172 million pounds, followed by Manchester United with 121 million pounds. Arsenal spent 101 million lbs and Liverpool spent 90 million lbs as analyzed by Deloitte football finance experts.
These football clubs have achieved worldwide recognition and boast fan bases of up to 75 million people for Manchester United alone. Over time, the English Premier League has witnessed a significant increase in foreign players compared to just 11 registered foreign players in 1992; nearly half of all participants are now from abroad.
Technological advancements like steamboats, railways, and mass transportation have greatly influenced the media and commercialization of football on a global scale. Mass media has played an essential role in promoting organized sports and transforming them into fully-established social institutions.Television's emergence in the mid to late 1930s solidified the trend towards "nomadic denationalizations" that were already established. As part of the second generation of mass media, television reinforced decentralized, private, and suburban lifestyles (Lever and Wheeler 1993:126). According to Silversone, telecasting emerged due to societal and cultural factors reflecting

the significance of mass consumption in capitalist societies. Thus, the rise of telecasting and modern football were interconnected with societal, cultural, and economic conditions at that time. The standardized patterns of mass consumption seen on television and radio exemplified Fordism principles. This led to weekends becoming a space for consuming mediated sports among Victorian workers as it combined social identity and privacy. Shorter work hours on Saturdays played a significant role in shaping professional football development in England. The extended leisure time during Fordist weekends became a focal point for consuming sports through an increase in Saturday afternoon sports magazines on American and British television channels. In summary, Fordism, suburbanization, and mass consumption connected television and football into people's daily lives. Television integrated the regular sports calendar into its schedules while supporting the structured leisure patterns of FordismThe recent television rights deal abroad is predicted to substantially increase the income of each team in the Premiership. Contracts worth ?625 million have been secured for broadcasting rights due to high demand from Asia and the Middle East, resulting in a 60% surge in total media income to ?2.725 billion. Notably, leagues like those in France, Germany, and England have successfully renegotiated broadcast contracts, generating significant revenue for their respective teams. Additionally, superclubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona have individually obtained broadcast contracts within Spain. The Premier League stands out as both the most popular and financially rewarding domestic football league. In the sports goods industry, Nike and Adidas dominate while "Kit wars" are a common occurrence during events like World Cup tournaments and top national leagues. Europe serves as host for major television conferences including

the big five conferences along with several smaller ones. Football has emerged as a crucial source of content in this era of new television technologies encompassing satellite, cable digital, telephone, and internet platforms. Rupert Murdoch has referred to it as a "buffeting random-access memory" that opens new markets (Cashmore 2003:64).In the global football industry, players and teams like Beckham, Ronaldo, Real Madrid, and Manchester United have benefited from constant commercial and media exposure. This represents a new trend that emerged after the burst of the football bubble economy in 2001. Teams have been seeking new ways to generate income by expanding their customer base globally. One region that has proven particularly attractive for marketing managers and promotional tours is economically dynamic East Asia.

A study conducted by Shimizu revealed that David Beckham's visits to Japan in the summer of 2003 were primarily for commercial purposes. During these visits, he promoted various endorsements such as beauty salons, confectionery products, oil brand Castrol, and mobile phone company Vodafone in June. In August, he also promoted his new team Real Madrid.

According to a report from Deloitte's Sports Business Group, top teams continue to experience revenue growth and strong profits due to lucrative multi-year broadcasting and sponsorship deals. These deals have remained unaffected by the recession. For example, BSkyB and Setanta pay approximately $1.8 billion annually for Premier League rights. Additionally, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Schalke 04 have signed long-term sponsorship agreements with Emirates Airlines Carlsberg brewery ,and Gazprom respectively worth over $15 million each season.
The past two years have seen an increase in these types of agreements among top clubs, as more than half of the top 20 clubs with

highest revenues have secured similar long-term sponsorships. These long-term sponsorship agreements, along with stadium-naming rights, significantly contribute to the overall sponsorship income received by these clubs until an average of 2013. Additionally, leading German, English, and Spanish clubs have broadcasting contracts in place until 2014. The French rights will be renegotiated in 2012 and Italy will return to centrally sold rights in 2010.

The advancements in technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as telegraph and railroads, resulted in centralized forms of entertainment competing with decentralized consumption. These new communication technologies played a crucial role in establishing the national dimension of sports by instantly transmitting sports results over long distances. Radio coverage further enabled immediate national dissemination of sports events. For example, when Preston North End won the FA Cup in 1938, people throughout Britain could simultaneously follow the event on their radios for the first time. Thus, mass communication played a vital role in both social and territorial spread of football.

Over the past 25 years, sports have become increasingly commercialized. Nowadays, it can be said that modern-day football is a significant business venture.Sepp Blatter claimed in 1994 that football's annual revenue, surpassing General Motors' sales, amounted to $163 billion (cited in Smith 1997:144). The commercial development of football and the economic aspect of the World Cup have been extensively studied (Guilianotti 1999). While Bourdieu argued that television introduced commercialism into football, it is important to note that commercial interests have always existed in sports. The globalization of media and the presence of individuals with financial resources and time to invest have greatly influenced the commercialization of football. As a result, FIFA's influence

has increased significantly as football now dominates televised sports worldwide. Major leagues such as the French, German, and English leagues have successfully renegotiated their broadcast contracts, generating substantial revenues for their clubs. In Spain, top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have independently negotiated their own broadcast contracts. Among domestic football leagues, the Premier League stands out as both popular and lucrative. The international commercialization of football has been driven by the development of a global media presence. With large television deals facilitated by media involvement, the game of football has become a billion-dollar industry. In Britain alone, rights fees for football have significantly increased from ?191.5 million in 1992 to ?1.7 billion today, with annual revenue from television rights continuing to grow.Financial experts at Deloitte believe that the increase in revenue from broadcast rights will be crucial in determining the ranking of English clubs in the Money League for future seasons. The globalization of football has led to more foreign players joining various leagues and foreign investors purchasing multiple Premiership clubs such as Manchester City, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Portsmouth, and West Ham United. According to Giovanni Trapattoni, this globalization has improved the quality of European football by bringing together diverse cultures within exceptional teams. In 2004 alone, 857 individuals from Brazil attended international conferences according to data released by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), further demonstrating the success of Brazil's football academy. While money is often seen as the main reason why players move globally, it is not always their primary consideration when choosing their destination. In Russia's Premier League, wages are comparable to those in Europe's Big Five leagues.

Therefore, if given a choice between Russia and Spain offering equal pay, most players would likely choose Spain due to cultural ties and geographical reasons. Despite the global recession, the world's wealthiest clubs continue to thrive financially without any impact on their value.According to Forbes Magazine, the average worth of the top 25 clubs is now $597 million, which is 8% higher than last year. The negotiations for broadcast rights in the Premier League are expected to greatly impact English clubs' rankings in future seasons. During the 2007-2008 season, nine clubs generated $42 million in revenue, a 20% increase compared to the previous year's top 25 clubs. Some of the current top-valued clubs include Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool - all valued at over $1 billion. Only the National Football League has more teams worth a billion dollars (19). According to Forbes, successful clubs in European soccer's capitalist system receive higher broadcasting revenue as rewards. At $1.87 billion valuation, Manchester United leads as the world's most valuable sports franchise. Their estimated operating income is $160 million while their stadium, Old Trafford, earned over $200 million from ticket and sponsorship revenue last season. Real Madrid follows as the second most valuable club at $1.35 billion, followed by Arsenal ($1.2 billion), Bayern Munich ($1.11 billion), and Liverpool ($1 billion). In comparison, Forbes estimates that as of last April, the New York Yankees were valued at $1.3 billion – making them the most valuable Major League Baseball team.
Meanwhile, Forbes states that the Dallas Cowboys are valued as the most valuable National Football League team at $1.6 billion. Additionally, Forbes reports that investors are still

investing in England's Premier League, citing the sale of Manchester City to Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for approximately $385 million as an example. According to Robert J. Tilliss, founder of Inner Circle Sports, the value of European football remains high and there is an increasing demand from broadcasters and sponsors.The text highlights various publications on the globalization of football, including "The Economics of Football" published by Cambridge University Press, "The Sports Process" by Dunning E., Maguire J., and Pearton R., "The Roots of Football Hooliganism" by Dunning E., Murphy P., and Williams J., and "Sport and Leisure in the Civilising Process" by Dunning E. and Rojek C. Additionally, there are texts related to studying football culture's societal impact such as those published by Toronto: University of Toronto Press, Finn G. And Giulianotti R.'s "Football Culture: Local Contests, Global Visits" London: Calcium (2000), Giulianotti R.'s "Football: A Sociology of the Global Game", Cambridge: Civil Order (1999), Giulianotti R. And Williams J.'s "Games without Frontiers: Football, Identity and Modernity", Aldershot: Arena (1994), Guillianotti R. And Robertson R.'s "Globalization & Football", London Sage (2009), and Hargreaves J.'s "Sporting Females", London Routledge (1994). The following passage discusses two books about football and globalization. One is titled "A Game of Two One-halfs: Football, Television and Globalization," published by Routledge in London. The second book is called "The People's Game: A History of Football Revisited," written by J. Walvin and published in 1994 by Mainstream Publication in Edinburgh.