Watching big events, like the Olympics, on television was a key route into fandom.
Canada’s men’s soccer team officially qualified for the World Cup after defeating Jamaica in Toronto on March 27, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
One major Chinese football club has already collapsed. With Evergrande’s current financial crisis, the country’s most successful – and biggest-spending – club could be next.
Dominik Schreyer, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management; Matthias Sutter, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods e Sascha L. Schmidt, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
New research shows that winners get to choose.
On the occasion of a 2011 match between Portugal and Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi (right) show off a pair of high-end watches. The riches have only continued to flow in.
Fanny Schertzer/Wikipedia
A new study explores the how the celebrity and status of professional footballers in the “Big Five” European leagues can affect both performance and pay.
Chelsea fans protesting the ESL proposals as their club became first to withdraw from project.
EPA
Manisha Shah, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
This research provides fresh insights into strategies that can be used to improve the lives of adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world.
Fans feel the new European Super League is not about the tradition or love of the sport but simply about making as much money as possible.
Andy Rain/EPA
More competitive games between top soccer clubs is desirable but creating a ‘closed’ system would harm a soccer culture built on dreams, says the man who predicted the Super League two decades ago.
A new documentary explores the life of Brazilian legendary soccer player, Pelé against the backdrop of the country’s politics. But the doc fails to ask the right questions about race and class. Here Pelé is shown in 1971, in Paris.
(AP Photo/Levy)
Although Brazil is formally a democracy, the practice of torture is ongoing, especially for Black Brazilians. Soccer creates an illusion of fairness is which is increasingly hard to sustain.
Cameroon’s Roger Milla held aloft at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.
RENARD eric/Corbis via Getty Images
Will an African nation ever win the Football World Cup? Key moments in past tournaments offer hope – and a warning that the continent needs to invest in the game.
Here the goalie’s view is obstructed by the wall of his teammates but also attacking player from the other team,
Jon Super / EPA
Australian rules football was actually played before rugby union in Queensland — and it was only a quirk of history that caused Queenslanders to switch allegiances.
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager warms up as cutouts of fans ‘look on.’
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Mark Otten, California State University, Northridge
It will be possible to compare the outcomes of games with and without fans, giving new insights into the relationship between fans, home-field advantage and clutch performances.
Fans rally for the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
Liverpool fan John Williams has banished the ghosts of 30 years. Liverpool are champions of the English Premier League and, as far as he is concerned, things are as they should be.