tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/uefa-10370/articlesUEFA – La Conversation2022-08-04T16:32:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881852022-08-04T16:32:02Z2022-08-04T16:32:02ZHow women’s football can avoid being corrupted when more money comes its way<p>The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62371064">success of England at the Women’s Euros</a> has increased interest in women’s football to unprecedented levels, with record-breaking <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2022/englands-womens-euro-2022-final-victory-breaks-tv-viewing-record#:%7E:text=England's%20historic%20win%20over%20Germany,programme%20of%202022%20so%20far.">viewing</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/5liveSport/status/1553798498008666114">attendance figures</a> and an increase in Women’s Super League (WSL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BHAFCWomen/status/1554443398505009153">season-ticket sales</a>. But, as is all too obvious in the women’s game, success comes from investment at both national and club levels. </p>
<p>The national teams that dominated the Euros had invested in both player contracts and available resources. They were also stacked with professional players from clubs that have invested in their women’s teams, like eight-time Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais and Barcelona.</p>
<p>With greater success, of course, we also see more investment, as businesses are more likely to want to be associated with proven “products”. And with more money comes more demands on players and teams. </p>
<p>Something that fans have enjoyed so much about the women’s game is its authenticity, seen in players’ emotional reactions as well as in the way they play, and in their close relationships with fans. But this is something that money can change. So how can the women’s game maintain its authenticity as more money inevitably enters the mix? </p>
<h2>Where does the money currently come from?</h2>
<p>Most women’s teams are reliant on financial support from their club’s overall group (for instance, Arsenal Holdings PLC is the group that owns both the men’s and women’s teams). In the case of the WSL, the money comes mainly from their affiliated men’s teams. </p>
<p>So while there has been an increase in broadcasting income for WSL teams this year following the landmark <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/22/a-huge-step-forward-wsl-announces-record-breaking-deal-with-bbc-and-sky">Sky and BBC deal of over £8m</a> per season, there’s still the issue of influence from <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6047aabc7130e94a70ed3515/t/6225fcd351786a64ba4421b0/1646656733257/The+Gender+Divide+That+Fails+Football%27s+Bottom+Line+-+Fair+Game+Report+March+2022.pdf">mainly male boards </a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/euro-2022-why-womens-football-remains-dominated-by-the-mens-game-183580">men’s teams subsidising the women’s game</a>.</p>
<p>Other income for women’s teams comes from ticket sales for games (matchday income) which, given average crowds for the last pre-COVID <a href="https://shekicks.net/gameplan-for-growth-doubling-the-fanbase-of-the-womens-game/">WSL season (2019-20) were 3,072</a>, is not a large number. Overall, 90% of <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03013967/filing-history">Arsenal Women’s income</a> for the COVID-affected 2020-21 season (the last season for which available accounts exist) came from the owning group, followed by 6% from broadcasting, 4% from commercial, and only 0.2% from matchday (this was 17% of the income in the pre-COVID 2018-19 season).</p>
<p>Those women’s teams, like the men, who play in <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/0268-1224105e2fa9-56cd49889447-1000--uefa-women-s-champions-league-new-financial-model-central-to-su/">Uefa competitions</a> or do well in <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/28508/12566077/womens-fa-cup-prize-fund-set-to-increase-from-400-000-to-3m-per-season#:%7E:text=The%20current%20prize%20money%20for,m%20and%20%C2%A3900%2C000%20respectively.">domestic competitions</a> also get some appearance and prize money.</p>
<h2>Where could more money come from?</h2>
<p>Of course, increasing attendances would help with income and investment (more money coming in means more money to spend). However, men’s teams at the highest level, such as the Premier League, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071503/Assessing_the_financial_sustainability_of_football__web_accessible_.pdf">get most of their money from broadcasting</a>, followed by commercial or sponsorship opportunities (shirt sponsorship, commercial partners), with the smallest proportion from matchday attendance. This changes as you go down the men’s leagues with (very high) dependence on ticket sales in the lower leagues.</p>
<p>Women’s teams in the last few years have shown they can draw in crowds, particularly at <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/60937790">showcase events at men’s grounds</a>, although there is still reluctance by teams to host these, as seen by the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/01/alex-scott-slams-premier-league-clubs-who-missed-the-train-on-lionesses-euro-2022-victory-17102127/">number of teams not bidding to host the Women’s Euros in their stadiums</a>. </p>
<h2>So what’s the problem?</h2>
<p>The biggest potential for investment is from increasingly growing broadcasting and commercial and sponsorship opportunities. This is the area where we’re already seeing increased interest and investment in women’s sports.</p>
<p>Broadcasting interest can affect things like what times matches are played, and therefore both crowd numbers and types of crowds – which may, in turn, affect the family atmosphere the WSL is famed for.</p>
<p>Also, there’s debate around financial distribution – money going to the more successful clubs tends to create an established elite. This can then cause a competitive balance problem – where a select few clubs are so much stronger that the rest can’t even hope to compete, so the winner (or top two) are known from the start of the league or tournament, making it less exciting. </p>
<p>Across Europe, the competitive balance in the men’s game has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14660970.2022.2059855">decreased over the years</a>. Women’s clubs have a chance to stop themselves from following a similar path by ensuring a more equal financial distribution from the start.</p>
<p>Sponsorship is also a potential landmine, as it brings up ethical issues and may affect emotional authenticity. Football has been criticised for <a href="https://theconversation.com/sportswashing-how-mining-and-energy-companies-sponsor-your-favourite-sports-to-help-clean-up-their-image-173589">sportswashing</a> (where money is invested heavily into clubs or leagues, often by regimes with poor human rights records to improve their external image) and for its <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-017-9788-1">damaging links to betting</a>. These are things that women’s clubs should consider before bringing on sponsors.</p>
<p>Despite the temptation to take all the money thrown at them, a more nuanced approach may be required. Development funds are needed to grow pathways and strengthen <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62378095">current player salaries</a>, but clubs need to ensure that doesn’t make the game unrecognisable. </p>
<p>It is also worth considering whether they can continue to draw in increasingly larger numbers of fans while retaining their identity.</p>
<p>To an extent, given that women’s footballers’ appeal relates to their <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/wellbeing/euros-2022-womens-football-more-accessible/683999">interactions with fans</a> both through social media and at the grounds, it may be possible to do so – particularly with the former. However, crowds in the tens of thousands are different to crowds in the low thousands. Much larger crowds limit how much the players can interact with fans.</p>
<p>Including more women on both women’s and overall club boards, engaging with women’s football fan groups, and carefully vetting sponsors and contract terms are all key to building the women’s game while retaining the authenticity and atmosphere that makes it special. We want the game to grow, for players to be rewarded, and for development pathways to exist for future players. But we also want the game to stay true to its roots in a way that, perhaps, the men’s game hasn’t.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Philippou is Director of Policy at Fair Game, an independent Non-Executive Director of the RAF FA, has conducted research for DCMS for the government response to the fan led review on football governance, and leads the Premier League's EAM Finance course.</span></em></p>Money can ruin things but it doesn’t have to following the success of England’s women at the Euros.Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting and Financial Management, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1782552022-03-04T14:39:12Z2022-03-04T14:39:12ZBanning Russia from world events will help to alienate Putin<p>A world fair is currently being held in Dubai, with delegations from 192 countries celebrating and promoting their nation’s place in the global community. Among the attractions at Expo 2020 is Russia’s intricately designed pavilion, where visitors are <a href="https://www.expo2020dubai.com/en/understanding-expo/participants/country-pavilions/russia">invited to consider</a> two pertinent questions: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>How do we find our place in an interconnected world, and how can we better understand each other despite our differences? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Meanwhile, as missiles land on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has completely disconnected his country, and shown no interest at all in understanding difference. </p>
<p>Perhaps then, Russia will not be invited to Japan’s <a href="https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/2025-osaka">2025 World Expo</a>, in the same way that it is now being excluded from many of the world’s major events. Formula One, for example, has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60601632">terminated</a> its long-term contract to hold races in the country. This was announced shortly after <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/60599739">Russia was banned</a> from taking part in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing. </p>
<p>The 2022 Champions League final was also <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12551034/champions-league-final-moved-to-paris-from-st-petersburg-after-russian-invasion-of-ukraine">moved from St Petersburg</a> to Paris, and Russia’s football teams <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/winter-olympics/fifa-and-uefa-suspend-all-russian-football-teams-from-competition-after-invasion-of-ukraine/ar-AAUqtJ1?ocid=uxbndlbing">were suspended</a> from all Uefa and Fifa competitions. Such moves may seem trivial as Ukranian lives are lost and ruined, but they do matter – and are key to a county’s economic and political success.</p>
<p>In peaceful times, major sporting and cultural events are important tools of “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-981-13-7952-9_3">soft power</a>”. They provide an international spotlight on a country for a fixed period of time, when a carefully curated image can be projected to a global audience. </p>
<p>They are also moments when countries come together to celebrate national identity and make international friends. Russia could find itself alienated indefinitely if it continues to be excluded from these social and political spaces. </p>
<p>It is likely even Putin himself understands this. He is thought to have been <a href="https://www.thesun.ie/sport/8440970/f1-russian-gp-putin-ukraine-ben-hunt-column/">personally involved</a> in getting Formula One into Russia, while hosting the men’s football World Cup in 2018 and the Winter Olympics in 2014 connected him to the international community. </p>
<p>Those same events, which Putin repeatedly used to legitimise his foreign and domestic policy agendas, are now being used to isolate him. And in a globalised society, with a globalised economy, this is a more powerful tool than it has ever been before. </p>
<p>So while political coalitions (the EU, Nato) squeeze Russia’s economy, powerful <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/03/ikea-closes-all-stores-and-factories-in-russia-amid-exodus-of-western-firms">multinational organisations</a> (Ikea, Apple, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/exxon-is-quitting-its-last-russian-project/ar-AAUuv0J?ocid=BingNewsSearch">Exxon</a>) and an entire global sports industry can also land powerful blows. </p>
<p>And these are blows which will last, as <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/human-rights#:%7E:text=At%20all%20times%2C%20the%20IOC%20recognises%20and%20upholds,Olympic%20Charter%20and%20the%20IOC%20Code%20of%20Ethics">hosting privileges</a> for many of the biggest world events will be denied to a president responsible for invading a country and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-04/putin-ukraine-accused-war-crimes-international-criminal-court/100879230">accused of committing</a> war crimes. </p>
<h2>Travel and tourism</h2>
<p>Then there is the economic fallout. Hosts of an Olympic Games or a World Cup often embark on ambitious infrastructural projects, attracting international investment. The economic damage of not hosting major sports events can be significant and long-lasting.</p>
<p>For example, last year the Dutch Grand Prix Formula One race saw €44.5 million (£36.7 million) of additional spending <a href="https://corp.formula1.com/positive-economic-and-social-impact-of-2021-f1-heineken-dutch-grand-prix/">around Amsterdam</a>. Hosting the Uefa Champions League final is a lucrative opportunity too, with an estimated €80 million injected into Porto’s <a href="https://www.sportsvalue.com.br/en/estudos/champions-league-economic-impact/">local economy</a> last year. The 2018 Russia World Cup attracted more than a million tourists who spent more than <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/884506/international-visitor-spending-habits-during-russian-world-cup/">40 billion roubles</a> (£27 million).</p>
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<p>These sums are primarily generated by a significant flow of spectators, fans and tourists visiting the event destination – and a central objective of hosting events in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100486">the last decade</a>. This is important to Russia, where until recently, the tourism sector <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/business-portal/getting-know-potential-clients/emerging-markets_en#:%7E:text=Russia%20is%20the%20fastest-growing%20tourism%20market%20in%20Europe%2C,to%20grow%20by%209%25%20per%20year%20until%202020">was growing fast</a>, worth approximately <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/895110/travel-tourism-total-gdp-contribution-russia/">3 trillion roubles</a> (£20 billion) a year.</p>
<p>But no events mean no spectators, no fans and fewer tourists. Depending on how long Russia is banned from hosting major events will determine how deep the negative impact will be. In the meantime, tourist numbers will fall dramatically in response to the current political instability and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/02/27/aeroflot-forced-divert-flights-eu-bans-russian-jets-airspace/">banning of Aeroflot</a> flights over EU airspace. If the war is prolonged, this will have serious implications for sectors like hospitality which are reliant on a buoyant tourism industry. </p>
<p>It is entirely possible that Putin considered all of this before he chose to invade Ukraine. Perhaps he decided that attempting to expand his sphere of influence through brute force was more important to him than tourists, football tournaments or good international relations. Yet having previously enjoyed the soft power benefits that sport and other events can bring, it is encouraging to the rest of the world to see those powers united – and turned against him.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178255/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Mike Duignan has previously received funding from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but for a topic unrelated to this article. Mike is also the Director of the Observatory for Human Rights and Major Events which is the UK's official Olympic Studies Centre, which is affiliated to the IOC's academic Olympic Studies Centre. However, the nature of this relationship is academic with the view to disseminate good social science concerning how we can enhance the social and economic benefits of hosting the Olympic Games for the host country, city and its citizens. This article was based on work funded by 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Research and Innovation grant agreement no. 823815</span></em></p>It may be soft power, but it still packs a punch.Mike Duignan, Head of Department, Reader in Events, and Director of the Observatory for Human Rights and Major Events, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1710212021-11-25T11:48:34Z2021-11-25T11:48:34ZTen years of financial fair play: has it been good for European football?<p>Even in a sport as old as football, the rules of the game <a href="https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/2021-22-law-changes-explained">can change</a>. The same is true off the pitch, as with the introduction ten years ago of regulations known as <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/protecting-the-game/financial-fair-play/">financial fair play</a>. </p>
<p>Designed to ensure that clubs spend within their means, the rules were implemented by Uefa in 2011 to stop European teams from running up huge losses and debts, and encourage them to be financially prudent. </p>
<p>The warning signs had been on the cards for some time, and <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/protecting-the-game/news/01e8-0e75476a3d3c-dc511c8ea618-1000--financial-fair-play-crucial-for-football-s-future/">Uefa wanted</a> to “improve the overall financial health of European football”.</p>
<p>In England for example, Chelsea FC, had <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01965149/filing-history?page=3">debts in 2004</a> of £295 million (up 67% from the previous year). Leeds United, with debts of <a href="https://www.investegate.co.uk/leeds-united-plc--lufc-/rns/final-results/200209260700586671B/">£78 million</a> in 2002 (up 50% from 2001) was having to sell its star players at a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stefan-Szymanski/publication/239808074_The_Financial_Crisis_and_English_Football_The_Dog_That_Will_Not_Bark/links/60340f9b299bf1cc26e44cb3/The-Financial-Crisis-and-English-Football-The-Dog-That-Will-Not-Bark.pdf">huge discount</a>. Elsewhere in Europe, similar cases in Spain (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2012.655503">Deportivo La Coruna</a>), and Italy (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2012.655503">Parma</a>) had also caught Uefa’s attention.</p>
<p>By 2009, Uefa felt compelled to intervene. Net losses across Europe stood at <a href="https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Tech/uefaorg/General/01/74/41/25/1744125_DOWNLOAD.pdf">€1.6 billion</a> (£1.3 billion, up 33% from 2008), and on average, clubs were spending <a href="https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Tech/uefaorg/General/01/74/41/25/1744125_DOWNLOAD.pdf">64%</a> of their income on player wages. In 78 extreme cases, it was more than 100%. </p>
<p>The cornerstone of financial fair play (FFP) is what’s known as the “break-even requirement” which requires every team participating in Uefa competitions (238 clubs in 2020) to keep losses down to no more than €5 million over three years. </p>
<p>Crucially, this only takes into account what is considered “relevant” income and expenses – what clubs earn from normal football business activities – to prevent the wealthiest owners from funding clubs’ player investment. The idea is that this will encourage clubs to spend within their means and provide a level financial playing field.</p>
<p>So, ten years on, has it succeeded in its goals?</p>
<p>In 2019, the net loss in European football was <a href="https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/026a-128c5dffdb5f-64d49e6e5300-1000/210615_ecfl_pandemic_eng.pdf">€125 million</a> (a 92% fall from 2009) following the first-ever consecutive years of overall profitability in 2017 and 2018. These figures suggest that FFP has had the desired effect in moving clubs away from losses.</p>
<p>Some of the growth in income is partly attributable to the introduction of the rules. Sponsorship agreements – which must meet a fair market value assessment carried out by Uefa – with brands have replaced the loans previously relied upon to fund club operations. </p>
<p>Another important source of income, which adheres to the requirement of breaking even, is selling players for profit, even (though not always) to clubs considered close rivals.</p>
<h2>Winners and losers</h2>
<p>Chelsea, for example, which made £94 million in profit in the nine years before FFP, made £623 million in the same time period afterwards, according to our assessment of the club’s own statements. The new laws prevented its wealthy owner, Roman Abramovich, from directly funding the club’s investment in star players, so instead it successfully adopted a model of buying young players, sending them out on loan to gain experience, and then selling them for substantial transfer fees. </p>
<p>But not everyone has enjoyed this kind of financial success, and one of the biggest criticisms of financial fair play is that it leads to a freeze on competition. Some think that historically successful clubs with elite footballers and the financial power to acquire new talent will dominate because the rules restrict non-football income for investment in the playing squad. </p>
<p>This means that new money arriving at old clubs – such as the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58826899">Saudi backed takeover</a> of Newcastle United – may struggle to immediately make an impact. The new owners will be unable to invest extra funds if the club qualifies for European competition (FFP only applies to clubs involved in Uefa organised tournaments like the Champions League).</p>
<p>Careful financial planning was also mightily undone by the impact of COVID. With fans unable to attend matches, income dropped dramatically, so <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/025e-0fb60fd017ba-82857c2a2217-1000--temporary-emergency-measures-for-financial-fair-play/">Uefa announced</a> a break in the monitoring period to isolate the years 2020 and 2021. (As expected, most clubs reported significant pandemic related losses, but Barcelona FC’s <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/fcbarcelona/document/2021/10/17/aefc9921-bf56-406c-ae05-3581e1de2a12/MEM_CLUB_2020_21_ENG.pdf">€555 million</a> pre-tax loss (up 317%) still raised eyebrows.)</p>
<p>Aside from the effects of coronavirus then, taking its overarching objective of reducing losses and promoting overall profitability, FFP regulation must be considered a success. The evidence suggests that the business model modification it encouraged – player sales and sponsorship income – is responsible for overall improved profitability in European football. </p>
<p>However, the regulation has not been able to curb high wages and transfer fees inflation, which could yet threaten club finances. There have been <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uefa-plans-salary-cap-and-luxury-tax-for-teams-who-breach-it-5vrwf8cm7">reports suggesting</a> that Uefa is looking to replace FFP with a salary cap and a luxury tax on transfers, but the organisation has dismissed the idea of abolishing FFP, saying it will <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12380096/uefa-set-to-overhaul-financial-fair-play-rules-later-this-year-with-a-luxury-tax-and-salary-cap-being-considered">“adapt”</a>. It may be that the upward trajectory of wages and transfers fees ends up being one aspect of the football business that the regulator will just learn to live with, and decide to play on.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian R Bell receives funding from the AHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Urquhart and Mobolaji Alabi do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An effort to protect clubs from going into administration.Mobolaji Alabi, PhD Candidate, Finance, University of ReadingAdrian R Bell, Chair in the History of Finance and Research Dean, Prosperity and Resilience, Henley Business School, University of ReadingAndrew Urquhart, Professor of Finance & Financial Technology, ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679162021-09-17T09:30:00Z2021-09-17T09:30:00ZA football World Cup every two years? An expert runs the numbers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421589/original/file-20210916-19-17w8nyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C31%2C2527%2C1695&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moscow-russia-july-15-2018-france-1134685748">Shutterstock/A.RICARDO</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In May 2021, Fifa began <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57205872#:%7E:text=Football%27s%20world%20governing%20body%20Fifa%20is%20to%20launch,look%20at%20the%20qualifying%20competitions%20for%20these%20tournaments.">exploring the idea</a> of holding a men’s football World Cup every two years instead of four. Further plans have since been unveiled, and the proposal, which <a href="https://youtu.be/RI1k3EcVSE4">originally came from Saudi Arabia</a>, has received support from some international organisations. </p>
<p>Fifa’s chief of global football development and former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger says he is “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58506448">100% convinced</a>” it is the right way forward for the sport. </p>
<p>Others, including <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12401555/fifa-world-cup-fans-groups-oppose-idea-to-host-tournament-every-two-years">fan groups</a>, have quickly called foul on the proposal. Uefa, responsible for governing football in Europe, has <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1112817/ceferin-boycott-threat-fifa-world-cup">threatened a boycott</a>, with its president Aleksander Ceferin <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uefa-president-aleksander-ceferin-europe-and-south-america-prepared-to-boycott-biennial-world-cup-bj3jzmzgh">commenting</a>: “We can decide not to play in it … So good luck with a World Cup like that.” </p>
<p>Arguments in favour of the scheme include more frequent quality football entertainment and the chance to raise more funds for player development in poorer countries. Those against complain of a loss of novelty value and the need to look after the health of players. </p>
<p>But like most decisions taken in the world of business, be it banking or sport, this is not just about pros and cons. It is about financial benefits and costs.</p>
<p>For Fifa, the <a href="https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/finances">majority of its revenue</a> comes from the broadcasting fees, licensing rights and ticket sales of the men’s World Cup tournament, held every four years since 1930. In fact, there is a clear financial cycle in which losses accrue in three out of every four years. More World Cups could bring in more income.</p>
<p>So why isn’t Uefa keen to do the same? Potentially, the change could lead to it hosting the Euros more frequently (also currently held every four years) and also benefiting from increased revenue. </p>
<p>The main difference is that Uefa simply is not as financially dependent on a single event. Instead, it has something Fifa does not have: more than one major event that generates money. These include the Champions League (men’s and women’s) and Europa League competitions. </p>
<h2>Shared goals?</h2>
<p>As a result, Uefa makes much more money than Fifa does. Over the last four years, <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/documentlibrary/about-uefa/financialreports/">UEFA’s revenues</a>, at US$12.5 billion (£9.4 billion), were almost double those of Fifa, which brought in US$6.4 billion (£4.6 billion).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421591/original/file-20210916-27-1ri8j4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Revenue comparison for FIFA and UEFA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is also a much smoother revenue year-on-year, whereas Fifa is more dependent on a large boost every four years. Clearly, Fifa needs the men’s World Cup more than Uefa needs the Euros. </p>
<p>In fact, the majority of Uefa’s annual revenue comes from club competitions, which they would not be keen to disrupt. In 2016, (Euro 2020 figures are not yet available) Uefa generated <a href="https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0238-0f842c842efc-3e95e7aaf3d9-1000/2015_16_uefa_financial_report.pdf">€293 million (£249 million) more</a> from club competitions that year than it did from the international tournament. </p>
<p>So for Uefa, as well as for the European clubs that play in those club competitions, maintaining those revenues is more important from a financial standpoint. Both Uefa and Fifa are, after all, governing bodies looking after their members’ needs – and plans for development and growth of the game at all levels costs money.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421592/original/file-20210916-15-ma50o8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UEFA’s revenue sources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As for the clubs, there are potentially serious costs of making their players available for more international duty, such as the risks of player fatigue and injury. Large clubs are more likely to have a number of national team players and therefore more likely to face greater overall risk to their squad. Smaller clubs may have a national player as their star performer. </p>
<h2>Spending power</h2>
<p>Currently Fifa’s largest outgoing – about US$500 million (£362 million) a year – is on what it terms “development and education”. It sounds like a laudable aim, and few would argue against <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58506448">Wenger’s aim</a> to “provide an incentive to invest in youth programmes”. </p>
<p>But it is worth thinking seriously about where extra funds would come from. Doubling the number of World Cups does not necessarily mean double the money. </p>
<p>Income is generated from a number of sources, and in <a href="https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/337fab75839abc76/original/xzshsoe2ayttyquuxhq0-pdf.pdf">the last World Cup year</a> (2018), TV broadcast rights made up the largest (55%) source of Fifa’s revenue (ticket sales made up only 15%). </p>
<p>But what broadcasters pay for rights depends on demand from the prospective audience. The more people want to watch something, the more they are willing to pay to outbid their competitors. </p>
<p>Making a major event less rare (and therefore perhaps less major), by having it occur twice as often, and clashing with other sporting events that people want to watch (<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-hope-arsene-wengers-world-cup-plan-dies-olympic-stars-deserve-their-moment-in-sun-njl8xs58x">such as the Olympics</a>) can easily dilute value to broadcasters, making them less willing to pay. </p>
<p>This is the gamble. With more events but potentially less money per event, will the overall effect be a positive one for Fifa’s income? And is any extra money worth risking the wrath of Uefa, some of the world’s biggest clubs, and crucially, the fans?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167916/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Philippou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More cups, more goals, more money?Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting and Financial Management, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1630392021-06-24T15:38:43Z2021-06-24T15:38:43ZEuro 2020: penalty shootouts can be won or lost on a coin toss<p>Euro 2020 is about to get serious. After two weeks of group matches, the knockout phase of the tournament means every game is win or lose. The stakes are high, the players are tense – and for some teams, a place in the next round may well depend on the outcome of a penalty shootout. </p>
<p>These game deciders, held if neither team is ahead after 90 minutes of normal time, and a 30-minute spell of extra time, are notoriously nervy affairs. They are feared, practised, enjoyed by some fans, dreaded by others, and can make for a brutal or ecstatic match finale.</p>
<p>When it comes to how best to approach shootouts – and analyse them afterwards – one key question centres on who goes first. Does the team that takes the first penalty gain an advantage? </p>
<p>It seems like a plausible and appealing theory that fits with the simplicity of the shootout itself – a straightforward contest in which the two teams take turns to score from a fixed point 11 metres from the goal line. </p>
<p>The outcome of each move is unambiguous – it is either a goal or not a goal – and after each attempt, it is clear which team is in the lead. Given that about <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1257/00028280260344678">75% of all penalties</a> are ultimately converted as goals, the order of moves may therefore matter, as it has an influence on the interim scores. Lagging behind may put so much pressure on players that they start choking. </p>
<p>Many seem to <a href="https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-bruno-fernandes-panned-for-letting-villarreal-take-first-penalty-in-eu-20210527">take</a> <a href="https://punditarena.com/football/daniel-hussey/bruno-fernandes-penalty-man-united-villarreal/">this</a> <a href="https://www.caughtoffside.com/2021/05/27/bruno-fernandes-penalty-error-gave-villarreal-edge-over-man-united/">view</a>, but our recent research indicates that the idea, commonly referred to as “first-mover advantage”, is actually something of a myth.</p>
<p>Yet it is a myth that has inspired a fair amount of research over the years and has supporters on both sides. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.5.2548">One study</a> reported that taking the first penalty increased a team’s chances of winning significantly, while <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1120.1516">subsequent</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2018.10.008">investigations</a> found no such effect.</p>
<p>In other sports too, conclusions about first-mover advantage remain mixed. In hockey, for example, it has been claimed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/kykl.12073">taking the first shot</a> in a shootout does not yield a significant benefit. In cricket, it seems that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02203.x">batting first</a> can even have a negative effect on the game’s outcome. </p>
<h2>Heads or tails</h2>
<p>So what other factors might come in to play? In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899825621000117">our recent study</a>, we asked whether it is the right to determine the sequence of moves in a penalty shootout rather than the actual sequence of moves that matters. </p>
<p>To answer this question, we analysed 207 penalty shootouts in 14 international football tournaments between July 2003 and August 2017, including the Fifa World Cup (ten shootouts), the Uefa European Championship (nine), the Uefa Champions League (30), and the Uefa Europa League (68).</p>
<p>Before every shootout we examined, both team captains would bet on the outcome of the referee’s coin toss. The winning captain could then choose whether to go first or second. In theory, going second could be a strategic choice if the goalkeeper is considered to be better than the other team’s, and more likely to make a save.</p>
<p>By accessing official video footage, we were able to determine which captain won the coin toss and what decision he made for 96 penalty shootouts.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q0YhfHOTY7w?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Surprisingly perhaps, it turned out that choosing to go first is not a decidedly dominant option. We observed that only about 56% of all captains decided to kick first, while the remaining 44% sent their keeper into the goal first, hoping for an early save, perhaps believing in a “second-mover advantage”. For instance, during the last Uefa European Championship in France in 2016, the decision to kick second was made in all three shootouts.</p>
<p>We also found that the team whose captain won the coin toss went on to win roughly 60% of the subsequent shootouts. This is significantly better than the 50% chance you might expect if the captains’ decisions made no difference. </p>
<p>Also, in common with most <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1120.1516">previous research</a>, we saw no advantage in being the first team to take a penalty, with the winning frequency of first kicking teams only about 51% in these international football competitions. So the order of penalties does not matter – but the right to determine the sequence does. </p>
<p>This may be due to coin toss winning captains being able to assess the relative strengths of the two sides’ goalkeepers and kickers, and then deciding on the most favourable sequence. </p>
<p>So if shootouts become a feature of Euro 2020 – and future tournaments – keep an eye out for that coin toss. The fate of both sides could depend on it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthias Sutter receives funding from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominik Schreyer and Sascha L. Schmidt do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows that winners get to choose.Dominik Schreyer, Assistant Professor of Sports Economics, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of ManagementMatthias Sutter, Professor of Economics, Behaviour and Design, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective GoodsSascha L. Schmidt, Professor and Director, Center for Sports and Management, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of ManagementLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1624632021-06-10T13:01:29Z2021-06-10T13:01:29ZEuro 2020: how football managers and coaches control the narrative<p>“Should I shout and show ‘passion’, or stay quiet and appear ‘calculated’? Will I echo the feeling of the fans or stay aligned with the views of the board? Am I a suit-and-tie manager or a tracksuit and boots coach?” These decisions may appear trivial, but the impression a football manager or coach makes on the stakeholders who monitor their performance can influence their credibility, effectiveness and job security.</p>
<p>Knowing how to “work your audience” has long been important for launching and sustaining a successful career in football management. Associated with a series of public theatrics, the job requires real-life actors to move between performative stages for different groups as they attempt to manage impressions up (such as in relations with board members), down (with players and support staff), and sideways (with fans and media).</p>
<p>As coaches and managers gear up for the UEFA European Championships, let’s consider the impressions that each nation’s manager might be trying to make, while also acknowledging the mental health dangers of coaches prioritising how they look over how they feel.</p>
<h2>Coaches and managers as actors</h2>
<p>Sociologist Erving Goffman’s ideas of performativity suggest a tendency for people to engage in behaviours that others will judge favourably. This can be understood using the metaphor of an actor adopting a character that fits a script in a given social context. The actor may not naturally align themselves with the projected qualities and traits of the character they are portraying, and how they act “off stage” could be entirely different. Yet, on stage, they conform to the persona that the audience desires.</p>
<p>Coaches operate in a very similar way. Studies on depression and alcoholism in sport coaching have revealed a great deal about this phenomenon in football. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2018.1556182?casa_token=qCy9IJBs9gMAAAAA%3AmUzqIEiXhdk3x3OVw7x7RURYEJnBBhU3NyawYiauSCJAJrm9RKY8XPACjybhqYRiY_02AR4hgjZjLw">Research</a> into the matter gives an example of an elite coach portraying a confident image to players and staff, despite experiencing turmoil off stage in his private life. Here, the coach was aware that putting on a professional front is desirable because becoming “discredited” would jeopardise job security and hinder project success.</p>
<p>Managers’ use of language also gives away a lot about attempts to “perform” in their industry. In the absence of Wales manager Ryan Giggs, for example, assistant manager Robert Page has been tasked with steadying the ship through the Euros. When Page stepped up, Wales were in disarray, so using resilient phrases like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/30/wales-czech-republic-world-cup-qualifier-match-report">“put your tin hat on, dig a trench, and rise to the challenge”</a> in interviews may be intended as a rallying call to Welsh supporters in overcoming adversity.</p>
<p>Page is now regarded as a potential permanent <a href="https://www.dai-sport.com/robert-page-the-caretaker-taking-care-of-business-well-enough-for-wales-not-to-miss-ryan-giggs/">replacement</a> for Giggs, and has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3886114631469605">presented a demeanor of confidence</a> when discussing big calls like squad selection and match preparations with the press. But hierarchy and loyalty matter in the workplace, which is reflected in Page’s decision to also publicly thank Giggs for his on-going offer of advice and support.</p>
<p>This juxtaposition between backing his own capacity to lead while respecting Giggs’ authority is a delicate micro-political balance. Downplay his competence too much and Page risks portraying himself as a deferential assistant. Promote himself too much and Page risks being seen as disloyal. During the Euros, pay close attention to what Page communicates about his ambitions and how.</p>
<h2>Dress to impress</h2>
<p>Research has also shown that clothing has an impact on public perceptions of managers. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2017.1409728?casa_token=44sMAOT8PAIAAAAA%3ArVH6ZeMepWp-YNm6MGE4GPJXZ5yHwfGKoGfZgZmTYfzhCYQnd_v_l_IeUOLq2TYNBwRUBjlR4lmSWg">This report</a> on the clothing styles of French professional football managers identified three broad wardrobe choices managers tend to choose from to make impressions on their audiences. Some use the business suit to denote themselves as the professional “boss”. Others the “hands-on” tracksuit warrior look (think Page) and then there’s the middle-ground, smart-casual “project leader” appearance (think Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola).</p>
<p>Without suggesting that a manager’s micro-political strategy can be pigeonholed into an all-encompassing dress profile, England manager Gareth Southgate’s appearance fits loosely within the “boss” profile. This compliments his measured touchline behaviours and statesman-like media handlings.</p>
<p>Southgate recently revealed that while his “boss” look will continue at the Euros, his signature waistcoat won’t because he now sees it as a “gimmick” that needs to be removed from his image. Ditching what has become a fancy dress accessory among fans may be a public statement of Southgate’s seriousness to reach a final. Here he shows shrewd awareness of how his attire creates an impression.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Gareth Southgate acknowledges fans after World Cup semi-final.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Poker face</h2>
<p>Scotland national team manager Steve Clarke is an example of a manager who rarely shows emotion. However, in the face of the fact that the Euros will be the first major tournament Scotland have taken part in since 1998, he recently expressed how emotional and proud he felt about the achievement in his post-match interviews, mirroring the nation’s euphoria and consolidating his popularity as manager.</p>
<p>Clarke admits that his typical seriousness is a <a href="https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12131613/clarke-scotland-success-still-sinking-in">“professional face”</a> he puts on to hide his nervousness, tension, and other “usual head coach emotions” from public view. Concealing vulnerable feelings is a common strategy among coaches, because as leaders they worry over appearing weak or incompetent to others. Clarke’s case provides a lesson in exploiting opportune moments to make positive impressions, and highlights how managers and coaches can absorb stigmatising assumptions about what a leader should look like.</p>
<p>One certainty at the Euros is that managers will try to manipulate the impressions of others to further their own agendas. Unfortunately, the urge to “look” and “sound the part” may be a front for tumultuous experiences behind the scenes. So during the highs and lows of the championship, stakeholders in football should be aware of the person behind the performance and think twice before lambasting a manager. Meanwhile, other professionals could perhaps learn from these high-profile coaches, and consider what they can do to manage impressions in their own careers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162463/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The images projected to fans of the sport have always been intentional. Here’s what they do to keep people onside.Mark James Carroll, Doctoral Researcher and Lecturer in Sport Coaching, University of StirlingColum Cronin, Senior lecturer Physical Education and Sport Coaching, Liverpool John Moores UniversitySimon J Roberts, Reader in Sport and Exercise Pedagogy, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1609392021-05-27T15:37:35Z2021-05-27T15:37:35ZChampions League final 2021 – a game of two sides powered by gas and oil<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402635/original/file-20210525-19-4c4z6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=78%2C0%2C5719%2C3389&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-may-8-2021-manchester-1970696186">Shutterstock/kovop58</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On the night of the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final, Chelsea and Manchester City will battle it out for European glory. Only one of the two English teams will walk away with the trophy – but despite the rivalry on the field, both sides have plenty in common off the pitch. </p>
<p>They were, for instance, part of a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56824628">doomed attempt</a> to usurp the very tournament they are trying to win, with the establishment of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-super-league-owners-have-witnessed-the-power-of-fans-and-should-listen-to-them-to-avoid-future-failure-159469">European Super League</a>. That plan, involving 12 of the biggest clubs in the world, collapsed in the face of unfiltered outrage from <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2021/04/20/football-vs-greed-what-is-behind-the-outrage-over-the-european-super-league">fans, pundits and politicians</a> – and crucially, a change of heart at Chelsea and Manchester City. </p>
<p>The Super League house of cards seems to have truly started falling when Chelsea announced its intention to <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/chelsea/story/4365461/chelseas-landmark-super-league-withdrawal-a-victory-that-overshadows-draw-vs-brighton">withdraw from the competition</a>. Their move was followed a few hours later by a similar <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/man-city-withdraw-european-super-league-b1834691.html">statement from City</a>. </p>
<p>There have been <a href="https://tribuna.com/en/news/chelsea-2021-04-23-putin-reportedly-behind-chelsea-withdrawal-from-super-league-for-3-key-reasons/">reports</a> that Chelsea’s U-turn was prompted by a telephone call from Russian president Vladimir Putin to his compatriot Roman Abramovich, the billionaire who owns the London club. Some media outlets have even suggested that Putin declared a super league would be <a href="https://www.rt.com/sport/522011-kremlin-abramovich-chelsea-super-league/">“against the spirit of the fatherland”</a>.</p>
<p>But however those decisions came to be made, the reality of the geopolitical and economic basis of European football is clear. And this is where the Champions League action becomes particularly interesting, especially in its associations with oil and gas. </p>
<p>Russia’s Gazprom – a corporation with origins as a state energy producer dating back to the old Soviet Union – has been a major sponsor of the competition since 2012, and has just announced a <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/about-uefa/news/0269-124ffe0cee51-2308c1da4764-1000--gazprom-partners-with-uefa-national-team-football-and-renews-ue/">big new deal with UEFA</a>.</p>
<p>Gazprom was privatised during the early 1990s reform period in Russia, but Putin’s ascent subsequently led to a majority of the company’s shares being taken back into <a href="https://www.piie.com/commentary/op-eds/folly-renationalization">state ownership</a>. Gazprom later acquired a rival energy company, the oil firm Sibneft, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/sep/29/oilandpetrol.russia">owned at the time by Abramovich</a>. </p>
<p>Gazprom, which is based in Putin’s home town of St Petersburg, also owns the local club, <a href="https://grantland.com/the-triangle/gazprom-zenit-st-petersburg-and-the-intersection-of-global-politics-and-world-football/">Zenit Saint Petersburg</a>. The former president of Zenit is Alexander Dyukov, a man who is also <a href="https://www.sportspromedia.com/movers-and-shakers/russian-football-president-dyukov-mutko-gazprom">president of the Russian Football Union</a>. In addition, Dyukov is chief executive of Gazprom and, in the middle of the Super League debacle, he was elected to the <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/0268-12163b1d0543-7ab0ff2e27b1-1000--alexander-dyukov/">executive committee of UEFA</a>.</p>
<p>If Putin really did call Abramovich about the Super League, it could be seen as yet another episode in Russia’s engagement with football as a geopolitical and diplomatic tool. </p>
<p>For many years, <a href="https://www.iris-france.org/154279-gazprom-and-its-sponsorship-of-football-from-sex-without-a-condom-to-major-strategic-threat/">some observers have wondered</a> why an organisation that sells gas to governments sits alongside the likes of McDonald’s and Coca Cola as a Champions League sponsor. But the answer to this can be found in the way that Gazprom enables Russia to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15377857.2020.1723781?journalCode=wplm20">project soft power and build legitimacy</a> through its associations with the world’s favourite game. </p>
<p>During his time as US president, <a href="https://fortune.com/2020/09/08/trump-pipeline-russia-germany-natural-gas-merkel-navalny-poisoned-nord-stream-2/">Donald Trump was bullish</a> towards Russian energy suppliers, and even imposed sanctions upon Gazprom. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-defense-congress-nord-stream-idUSKBN28E31I">Trump claimed</a> that Europe’s growing dependency on Russian energy supplies, especially in Germany (where <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-russia-has-devoted-its-energy-to-the-beautiful-game-46174">Gazprom sponsors FC Schalke 04</a>), constitutes a strategic threat to the continent’s security. The Joe Biden administration <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/05/biden-ted-cruz-russia-pipeline-473910">holds similar concerns</a>. </p>
<p>But perhaps being a sponsor of the tournament and having a strong relationship with both UEFA and Chelsea isn’t enough. For Gazprom also continues to strengthen its relations with Abu Dhabi, the small Gulf state which, via a member of its royal family, owns a majority stake in Manchester City. </p>
<h2>Gas goals</h2>
<p>Like Russia, Abu Dhabi owns some of the world’s largest carbon fuel reserves. In this sense, the Champions League final will therefore be a game powered by gas and oil.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, relations between Russia and Abu Dhabi have strengthened, leading to a series of strategic agreements, the most significant of which was <a href="https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/uae-russia-forge-strategic-partnership-1.2230246">signed in 2018</a>. <a href="https://lobelog.com/understanding-russia-and-the-uaes-special-partnership/">Described</a> as a watershed in bilateral relations, it covered all manner of issues in investment, trade, culture, space, tourism and security. </p>
<p>One outcome of this was the acquisition by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Mubadala Investment Company of a $US271 million (£191 million), 44% stake in one of Gazprom’s subsidiaries. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company then signed a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/adnoc-signs-strategic-framework-with-russia-s-gazprom-neft-1.924222">strategic framework agreement</a> with Gazprom to explore for and extract new oil reserves. </p>
<p>This led to a <a href="https://ntc.gazprom-neft.com/press-center/news/gazprom-neft-i-mubadala-petroleum-razvivayut-tekhnologicheskoe-sotrudnichestvo/">2020 announcement</a> that Gazprom and Mubadala will engage in technological cooperation in Siberia, where coincidentally Abramovich began building his gas powered fortune.</p>
<p>Come match day, most fans of City and Chelsea will not be overly concerned by the origins of the cash that has fuelled their clubs’ success. And with talk of a super league fading and many football fans hailing its defeat, some will see the Champions League Final as a victory parade for normality.</p>
<p>But this would be naive and misguided. For football has not merely been commercialised and industrialised over the last 30 years. It has also become intensely geopolitical, and sits at the heart of a complex global network of interests and investments. Indeed, for some powerful players, the sport has become a tactically astute means to extremely lucrative other ends – as epitomised by this year’s Champions League final.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chelsea and Manchester City have similar goals on and off the pitch.Simon Chadwick, Global Professor of Eurasian Sport | Director of Eurasian Sport, EM Lyon Business SchoolPaul Widdop, Senior Lecturer in Sport Business, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1597772021-04-27T16:50:57Z2021-04-27T16:50:57ZTop football stars: famous because they’re rich, or rich because they’re famous?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397334/original/file-20210427-21-jgiq8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C135%2C5313%2C3388&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">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. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cristiano_Ronaldo_(L),_Lionel_Messi_(R)_%E2%80%93_Portugal_vs._Argentina,_9th_February_2011_(1).jpg">Fanny Schertzer/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Football (known as soccer in the United States) is the most popular sport worldwide with <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-most-popular-sports-in-the-world.html">4 billion fans</a>, who consider it a passion and sometimes even a religion. In terms of quality and tradition of the game, Europe is considered by many as the most attractive location for talents, sponsors, investors, and fans. Such success is reflected in the total revenue generated by the top-five European football Leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain) that reached, in 2020-21, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/261218/big-five-european-soccer-leagues-revenue/">18.1 billion euros</a>.</p>
<p>All that glitters is not gold, however. This upward trend has produced an inflationary effect on salaries of professional players who, contrary to their counterparts in some US professional sports, benefit from the absence of a salary cap. One representative example that recently caused a mix of admiration and outrage was the most recent four-year contract of the football star Lionel Messi, who signed in 2017 an agreement for the huge sum of <a href="https://www.marca.com/futbol/barcelona/2021/01/31/6015dd7446163fab378b45e8.html">555 million euros</a>. The costs that professional football clubs must cope with are therefore strongly challenging the sustainability business model.</p>
<p>Given the astronomic salaries of some stars, a question that many observers and fans is ask again and again: do professional football players really deserve what they’re paid?</p>
<h2>Popularity and performance</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://management-aims.com/index.php/mgmt/article/view/4511">March 2021 study</a>, carried with the co-authors Alessandro Piazza (Rice University, United States), Fabrizio Castellucci (Bocconi University, Italy) and Cyrus Mohadjer (IESEG School of Management, France), we sought to shed new light on this topic by exploring the existence of potential mismatches between players’ performance and their salaries that are generated by their level of celebrity and status.</p>
<p>Based on a dataset of 471 players from the top-five Football European Leagues during two consecutive years (2015–16 and 2016–2017), our study shows that celebrity (measured via counting and logging how many “likes” each player received by fans on their official public Facebook page) and status (measured via the number of appearances in their national team) have an impact on the relationship between players’ salaries and performance (measured by the score available on the website <a href="https://fr.whoscored.com/">Whoscored</a>). More specifically, the results show that for average performers, being popular (figure 1) and having a high status (figure 2) leads to higher salaries for the same levels of performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397137/original/file-20210426-17-cpnnx4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1. Interaction effect between player celebrity and performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Giangreco et al., 2021</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397138/original/file-20210426-15-6b4uun.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2. Interaction effect between player status and performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Giangreco et al., 2021</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This suggests that, to maximise their salary, players may try to increase the interest of their profile and popularity through, for example, social media and the press. Indeed, popularity does not depend necessarily on players’ performance, but might be determined by their “public” lifestyle, which increases their visibility. These findings on celebrity are particularly relevant not for the best “performers”, who can still obtain high levels of compensation and visibility, but for more “average” players who, through the professional management of their social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) could obtain higher compensation. Furthermore, higher visibility for these players might translate in higher revenues for the club (for example through merchandising, advertising and broadcasting rights) and clubs take into consideration not only players’ performance, but also their capacity, as a celebrity, to generate economic revenues in determining salary levels.</p>
<p>Furthermore, our results show that having a higher status might “shield” certain footballers from variations in performance. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>High-status players (playing regularly for their national team) appear to be less exposed to scrutiny (by fans and journalists for example).</p></li>
<li><p>Once status is acquired, it tends to remain stable, even in the face of declining quality or performance.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Our study shows, therefore, that a player’s compensation is less determined by performance when he plays regularly for the national side, as in indicator of status.</p>
<p>This result is particularly relevant for players who, at the twilight of their career, might expect a decline in their performance, or experience diminished motivation, and therefore, can benefit from a higher salary based on the quality of past performance. Players such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo offer a level of performance that guarantees their level of salary, so that they are celebrity and have high status because they are top performers, although we may expect that in the last part of their career, their performances will be less scrutinised. </p>
<p>The results of our study suggest that this does not necessarily happen for average performers, who by becoming more famous (through social media and by having played for their national team), then might become richer.</p>
<h2>Resources and rationality</h2>
<p>Our results provide insights for the debate about a more rational use of the decreasing resources available in the football industry, an issue that became of global interest in relation to the recent failed attempt of 12 top clubs to create an alternative European Super League. The lack of resources has been recently acknowledged by UEFA that has suspended the application of the “financial fair play” for the current season, given the effect of the pandemic on the revenues of professional clubs. Observers, however, <a href="https://myfootballmaniac.com/top-10-european-clubs-with-the-biggest-debt/">argued</a> that the debts of many professional football clubs, such as Manchester United, Atlético Madrid, Galatasaray or Juventus, were at a worrying level even before the pandemic.</p>
<p>Our conclusions could also be relevant for other different contexts and sectors that are exposed to high levels of public attention, such as CEOs in different business settings, creative directors in industries such as film and fashion, or chefs. Since the public profile is not always linked to actors’ “job-related performance”, organisations should be aware that actors considered for their celebrity might be hired for the attention and publicity that they might bring to the organisation. This, in turn, might result in higher revenues for organisations which may be willing to pay higher salaries to actors who do not necessarily directly affect organisational results through their individual performance.</p>
<p>A notable example is what happened when Chiara Ferragni, an entrepreneur and fashion influencer, <a href="https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Share-price-for-tod-s-flies-after-chiara-ferragni-joins-board,1293751.html">joined the board of Tods</a>, an Italian Fashion company. Tod’s share price, which was earlier capped, saw an increase of 12%, reaching the value of €32.24, the highest since March 2020.</p>
<p>Thus, even in the upper reaches of the sports world, the centuries-old question remains: do clothes make the (wo)man?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>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.Antonio Giangreco, Full Professor in HRM & OB, IÉSEG School of ManagementBarbara Slavich, Professor of Management, IÉSEG School of ManagementLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1594762021-04-21T15:44:20Z2021-04-21T15:44:20ZEuropean Super League collapse: US football owners badly misread supporter culture in England<p>Barely two days after it was unveiled, the European Super League (ESL) is dead in the water. All six of the English clubs who made up the 12 founding members of the proposed breakaway competition pulled out, following loud opposition from everyone from the FA to Uefa to the UK government to fans. With the owners now hastily apologising and trying to make amends, the ESL founder and Juventus chairman, Andrea Agnelli, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/21/european-super-league-vows-to-reshape-after-english-clubs-pull-out">has conceded</a> defeat. </p>
<p>There is much discussion about what exactly the owners of these 12 clubs were hoping to achieve with their ESL announcement, but it surely wasn’t this debacle. One aspect of this story that is particularly noticeable is that American owners figured heavily in the English end of the breakaway, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all controlled from the US. </p>
<p>While England and the US have a lot in common, the design and administration of field sports is not one of them. This very short-lived super league has demonstrated just how big these differences are.</p>
<h2>Place power</h2>
<p>The franchise model of the US is as much about cooperation off the field as it is competition on it. Things that would be unconscionable in England are commonplace in the US. Relocation is probably the best example.</p>
<p>Beginning in 1936, the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams have also been called the Cleveland Rams and St Louis Rams. Most recently, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/12/15/21020536/las-vegas-raiders-oakland-explained-relocation">have shifted</a> to Las Vegas (they also had a stint in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s). </p>
<p>And it doesn’t end with American football. In baseball, the Salt Lake City Trappers <a href="https://www.deseret.com/1992/12/3/19019425/trappers-proud-of-their-part-in-triple-a-plan">were forced</a> to move several hours away to Pocatello, Idaho in 1993 and then Ogden, northern Utah in 1994. This was because the Portland Beavers, who played in a superior league, did a deal with Salt Lake City officials to move to the city and use the Trappers’ baseball park. The Beavers renamed as The Salt Lake City Buzz, and following several more name changes, they are now known as the Salt Lake City Bees. </p>
<p>English football fans do not tolerate this kind of thing. In June 2012 the Malaysian owners of Cardiff City announced that the club would be changing from their traditional blue jerseys to a new red kit, emblazoned with a dragon rather than the bluebird that had first appeared in the 1960s.</p>
<p>Outrage immediately ensued from the supporters. The blue of Cardiff, first worn around 1908, was not for changing. A statement issued by the club at the time, focusing on broadening the club’s appeal to “international markets” and “major and significant” investment, did nothing to appease the fans. The red jersey had to go.</p>
<p>Following two and a half years of pressure from fans, Cardiff City announced on January 9 2015 that the “club will wear a blue home kit and red away kit next season (2015/16)”. The crest was also going to be redesigned to feature the traditional bluebird. So much for Welsh dragons. </p>
<p>Around the same time, Hull City supporters entered a protracted battle with the Allam family, which owns the football club. Hull’s chairman, Assem Allam, a British-Egyptian industrialist, was seeking to change the name to Hull Tigers. After more than two years of protests and disagreement, a vote confirmed that the change had been resisted. The fans had won again.</p>
<p>What both owners apparently failed to appreciate were the historical roots of these clubs, stretching back more than 100 years. Supporters have deep emotional attachments to club colours or names that are intertwined with customs, habits and ways of behaving. </p>
<h2>Why the ESL got relegated</h2>
<p>The owners of England’s big six clubs seem to have made a similar mistake on a massive scale. The idea that six clubs, all members of the oldest set of interconnected leagues in the world, could simply walk away from nearly 140 years of tradition, league design and competitive behaviour as well as unravel 70 years of European competition by moving to a system with no promotion or relegation, was never going to work.</p>
<p>The sanctity of promotion and relegation is what sets European football apart from most American team sports. A super league in which the biggest teams automatically took part would have had devastating consequences for domestic leagues: weakened teams, meaningless fixtures, reduced attendance demand – the list goes on. </p>
<p>While the fallout from this is yet to be known, almost everyone agrees that European football needs to change to reflect the modern game. There are too many international commitments for players, and the group stages of the Champions League have become largely uncompetitive. This is down to both the seeding of the draw by Uefa and the large number of top clubs in the competition, many of whom appear every year, since three or four clubs from each league qualify each season. </p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/04/21/future-champions-league-will-revamp-work-will-breakaway-rebels/">new Champions League system</a> that is due to begin in 2024-25 looks like a move even further in this direction. It will expand the competition in a way that will make it possible for two or three more big clubs to qualify even if they don’t finish in the top four places in their domestic league the previous season (or win the previous year’s Champions League or Europa League). </p>
<p>It means almost twice as many European matches each year and moves closer to a system in which the biggest clubs are always guaranteed to qualify – though clearly not guaranteed enough from the perspective of the breakaway 12. It is not clear whether they these teams will now accept this system or insist on further negotiations with Uefa. </p>
<p>Whether the collapse of the ESL could now change the direction of travel to reduce the dominance of the top clubs in this system is an interesting question. The fabric of the game and the wishes of supporters throughout Europe should be protected, though there is not much sign of opposition to the Champions League reforms. </p>
<p>At any rate, Uefa and the breakaway clubs are co-dependent and will inevitably have to come back together. The European Super League was not the answer but it may still act as the catalyst for a way forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Butler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two days after 12 of Europe’s leading clubs broke away to launch a new competition, they appear to be back in the fold.Robert Butler, Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1593932021-04-20T17:31:20Z2021-04-20T17:31:20ZEuropean Super League: what can its opponents legally do?<p>The proposed <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-super-league-why-punishing-the-breakaway-12-could-backfire-badly-159292">European Super League (ESL)</a> has fans and politicians more or less united in condemnation. In response to the 12 football clubs who initially signed up, including the “big six” in England, MPs of all major parties in the UK are lining up to support Uefa and the FA against the new proposals. </p>
<p>The UK government <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12281175/european-super-league-pm-says-no-action-is-off-the-table-in-blocking-plans-for-breakaway-league">threatens to do</a> whatever it can to wreck the breakaway mid-week league – and several English clubs have already <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/chelsea-to-withdraw-from-european-super-league-amid-fan-protests">reportedly pulled out</a>. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to drop a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/uk-government-may-legislate-to-stop-european-super-league-says-minister">legislative bomb</a>”, with talk of changes to football governance and ownership structures. There are also threats around granting visas to overseas players and policing matches.</p>
<p>Meanwhile the UK’s competition authority promises to review the plans closely, and the opposition Labour party is questioning whether an ESL would breach fairness laws. But what options are legally available to the government, and what is likely to happen in practice?</p>
<h2>What the authorities can do</h2>
<p>There are two possible avenues for a competition referral. If the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) carries out a domestic investigation under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/41/contents">Competition Act 1998</a>, this essentially seeks to prevent either a monopoly emerging, or market dominance being abused. </p>
<p>The CMA can allow such a move, allow it with stipulations (that reduce the anti-free market effect) or rule it unlawful. The usual turnaround is 40 days, though the CMA has a 15-day “fast-track” procedure. There could then be a more in-depth “phase two” investigation, so timescales are unpredictable. </p>
<p>The second avenue is the EU. The UK may have left the bloc, but the EU Commission could still investigate the ESL along almost identical lines to the CMA, since half of the breakaway clubs are based in member countries. The commission <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32003D0778">last investigated</a> the negotiation of broadcasting rights through a single representative (Uefa) in 2003 and concluded it did not breach European law. </p>
<p>Labour’s call for an investigation into whether the plans would breach fairness laws is rather vague. Like all UK sports, football is self-regulated. This means sports groupings are private organisations, with limited grounds under which the courts can intervene in how a sports governing body operates. </p>
<p>The same is true of UK human rights laws. In broad terms, under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents">Human Rights Act 1998</a>, even if something could be identified to have caused harm to an individual or group, the breach needs to be committed by a governmental body, which the ESL fundamentally is not. </p>
<p>The European Court of Human Rights, which has nothing to do with the EU, takes a broader view but a case would normally have to exhaust the route through the domestic courts first. Again, this is a difficult timeline to predict.</p>
<h2>The legislative bomb</h2>
<p>If the government legislated to change football governance, it would run fundamentally counter to the self-regulation model, and would therefore be explosive. Fifa statutes also prevent overt government interference with domestic football governance as incompatible with membership. It would certainly be ironic if Fifa opposed legislation that would help Uefa in this scenario.</p>
<p>A windfall tax on the clubs concerned and laws about ownership might have more mileage. Germany, where 51% of a club must be owned by the fans, has been mentioned as a possible model. But pushing through such legislation with the pandemic and the Northern Ireland/Brexit issue both still clear and present dangers seems fanciful. And if tax laws were enacted, they would have to be steep enough to make membership of the ESL unviable, which seems a tall order. </p>
<p>Legislating to reduce the visa rights of foreign footballers intending to play in the ESL is possible, but it could trigger human rights cases or claims that the government is acting in restraint of trade. </p>
<p>Withdrawing funding from the policing of football matches has also been mentioned. On the face of it this sounds unreasonable, even spiteful. If games are poorly policed because of reduced government funding and individuals or clubs suffer, a judicial review application might well follow, at the very least.</p>
<p>As for threatening to ban players from Uefa competitions and even from playing for their national teams, this tactic has failed before. In 1978, the cricket world was rocked by the news that Australian media magnate Kerry Packer <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152098.html">had signed up</a> group of top players to launch a big-money breakaway competition called World Series Cricket. </p>
<p>England star Tony Greig, who was a lynchpin for the project, was stripped of the national captaincy. The Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) and International Cricket Council (ICC) then restricted other participants in Packer’s competition from playing in international test matches, which significantly affected the English national squad. Greig and his colleagues challenged the move at the high court and won against the ICC and TCCB, on the grounds that it was an unlawful restraint of trade.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/european-super-league-a-history-of-splits-over-money-in-professional-sport-159312">European Super League: a history of splits over money in professional sport</a>
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<p>Penalised players could also turn to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, which could have jurisdiction because Uefa, via the FA, is contractually linked to the breakaway clubs. Other cases before this court have included the Brazillian Francelino da Silva Matuzalem, who <a href="https://www.swissarbitrationdecisions.com/sites/default/files/27%20mars%202012%204A%20558%202011.pdf">won in 2012</a> when money demanded by Uefa for breach of contract was considered disproportionate. </p>
<p>In short, it may therefore be easier to make threats against these clubs than to carry them out. There are also other reasons why Boris Johnson’s early intervention was a mistake. Some from outside sport may be taken aback by the government’s willingness to put time aside to deal with this issue during an international pandemic. </p>
<p>And if the current bluff and bluster dies down and the ESL becomes more or less accepted, like the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) <a href="https://dartsnews.com/pdc/pdc-and-bdo-why-did-they-split-and-what-is-the-difference">when it split</a> from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) in 1997, the government may be left with egg on its face. It will certainly be fascinating to see how the story develops from here. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/european-super-league-why-punishing-the-breakaway-12-could-backfire-badly-159292">European Super League: why punishing the breakaway 12 could backfire badly</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The British prime minister has vowed to drop a ‘legislative bomb’ on the new proposals.Jonathan Merritt, Senior Lecturer in Law, De Montfort UniversityGenevieve Gordon-Thomson, Director of the Centre of Research and Innovation for Sport, Technology and Law, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1593122021-04-20T14:47:49Z2021-04-20T14:47:49ZEuropean Super League: a history of splits over money in professional sport<p>The world of European football experienced one of the biggest shake-ups in its history when a prospective <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56794673">European Super League</a> (ESL) was announced. Fans, football associations and even the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/19/the-european-super-league-what-can-boris-johnson-do-about-it">government</a> united in condemning the new tournament, which was criticised as “a cynical project founded on the self-interest of a few clubs”.</p>
<p>Described as a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2021/apr/19/european-super-league-latest-reaction-to-breakaway-football-competition-live?page=with:block-607d82a78f08080a7ae65413with">new midweek competition</a>”, the league was initially announced with 12 founding members from across Europe, including the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56795811">six “top” English football clubs</a> (who have now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/european-super-league-unravelling-as-manchester-city-and-chelsea-withdraw">reportedly pulled out</a>, throwing the creation of the tournament into jeopardy). These founding clubs could not be relegated from the competition – one of the major points of contention. </p>
<p>The draw for these clubs is easy to understand. Each of the founding teams <a href="https://qz.com/1998582/how-much-tv-money-could-the-european-super-league-command/">would receive</a> an expected €3.5 billion (£3.02 billion) to join, plus €10 billion (£8.6 billion) for an “initial commitment period”. </p>
<p>In a statement, the Football Supporters’ Association voiced: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This competition is being created behind our backs by billionaire club owners who have zero regard for the game’s traditions and continue to treat football as their personal fiefdom.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is an overwhelming sense from all angry parties that owners of the already wealthy clubs have sought further financial domination by distorting competition. </p>
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<p>The initial outrage will give way to more measured thought and criticism, but the burning questions are whether this model represents a realistic challenge to the current style of competition and what the consequences would be for both the European and domestic English game. The history of sport can offer some clues.</p>
<h2>A history of break-ups and conciliation</h2>
<p>Sport has historically been mired in splits and divisions. Football experienced such episodes during the last quarter of the 19th century with the separation between football and rugby football and then the latter into the amateur Rugby Union and the professionalised Rugby League. </p>
<p>The Premier League itself was the result of a split away from the Football League in 1992. The Football Association wanted to exploit the developing commercial opportunities, notably the sale of broadcasting rights. The legal challenge by the jilted Football League failed and the Premier League clubs have since prospered, largely thanks to the new subscription model of broadcasting.</p>
<p>Cricket’s great split occurred in 1977 over the allocation of broadcasting rights to Australian cricket. TV magnate <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/haigh-on-the-wsc-323297">Kerry Packer</a> wanted the rights to show Australian matches but was rebuffed as the traditional relationship with the state broadcaster (ABC) prevailed. </p>
<p>Packer’s response was to launch his own competition, the innovative World Series Cricket, and in great secrecy contracted the world’s leading players, including England captain Tony Greig. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/13/newsid_2512000/2512249.st">Greig was duly sacked</a> and players earning a living in England who had signed were banned from playing in England. The resulting court case went in favour of the players and the bans were rescinded. World Series Cricket ran for two seasons, embracing new ideas such as coloured clothing and games that were played later in the day and continued into the evening (known as day/night games), which attracted spectators and made the more traditional offering appear jaded. </p>
<p>The financial pressure on the Australian Cricket Board led to an inevitable compromise and Packer gaining the broadcasting rights. </p>
<p>More recently, the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) fought off the challenge by the broadcasting-driven India Cricket League (ICL). A combination of player bans and improved prize money in existing competitions were used. However, it was the formation of its own competition, the highly successful <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ipl-history/indian-premier-league-how-it-all-started/articleshow/19337875.cms">Indian Premier League</a>, that proved the trump card. The ICL was strangled in infancy. The Packer affair and the Indian Premier League clearly demonstrate that new markets for a traditional sport could be developed and exploited.</p>
<h2>Possible outcomes</h2>
<p>These examples point towards possible outcomes for football. </p>
<p>Broadcasting income is a key driver of sports and since the formation of the Premier League and sale of the rights to Sky, new players – BT and Amazon – have entered the market, driving up the value of the content. The big clubs want a larger slice of this and other commercial income, arguing that it is their profile and popularity that attracts subscribers and viewers. </p>
<p>A new formula for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/07/premier-league-big-six-win-battle-overseas-television-rights">international broadcasting income</a> has already been agreed upon. Where previously the income from sharing rights was split equally, the top six clubs now receive larger sums. Any changes to the system would no doubt apply pressure to approve a new domestic formula. </p>
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<p>A threat to potentially <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56795811">ban teams and players involved in the ESL</a> from the Premier League will have concentrated the minds of those clubs who are dependent on broadcasting income for their viability. The smaller clubs have less in the way of gate receipts and other commercial income so are very vulnerable to any decrease in TV revenue. A domestic league without the big six clubs has significantly decreased value and the same arguments apply at European level. </p>
<p>Fans have protested about the rich clubs getting richer and the betrayal of tradition, but the combination of the attractiveness of the Premier League product, ironically created by a split orchestrated by the FA, and the willingness of club owners to exploit their assets suggests a willingness to actively pursue change. The decision for the national governing bodies across Europe and the Uefa itself is whether to embrace and incorporate change and inevitably cede some control or stand firm and fight off the threat and with it consign professional football into a maelstrom of uncertainty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Greenfield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From the emergence of Premier League to Cricket’s newer formats, the history of professional sport is full of breakups.Steve Greenfield, Professor of Sports Law and Practice, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1426912020-08-07T10:30:22Z2020-08-07T10:30:22ZChampions League: what you need to know about Man City, ‘sportswashing’ and future of Financial Fair Play<p>The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53671401">Champions League is back</a> underway, after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Manchester City have successfully appealed a ruling that would have seen them banned from the competition and are resuming their bid to win the most coveted trophy in European football. </p>
<p>The club recently saw off one of their biggest challenges in recent years – a 20-month <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/man-city-ban-champions-league-fine-uefa-financial-fair-play-rules-a9336866.html">legal battle</a> with European football’s governing body UEFA.</p>
<p>In July, the <a href="https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Media_Release_6785_Decision.pdf">Court of Arbitration for Sport</a> (CAS), an international body established to settle sports-related disputes, found in favour of City’s appeal against sanctions for “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations committed between 2012 and 2016.</p>
<p>The decision meant that a two-year ban from European competition was overturned, but it came up short of full exoneration with a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53387306">€30 million fine reduced to €10 million</a>. This, CAS said, reflected the club’s culpability to the lesser charge of failing to cooperate with UEFA’s club financial control body. </p>
<p>The more serious allegation of “dishonest concealment” of revenue attracted from sponsorship deals – otherwise known as financial doping – was thrown out, much to the delight of the Abu Dhabi-owned club. <a href="https://www.mancity.com/news/club/club-statement-uefa-cas-verdict-63730222">City officials thanked CAS</a> for its “due diligence and due process” claiming “validation of the club’s position”.</p>
<h2>Why this happened</h2>
<p>In 2009, UEFA proposed FFP to try and curb European clubs’ inflationary spending on player transfers and wages. The new rules were rolled out on a staggered basis from 2012 with full implementation by 2015 and a “break-even” requirement as the main pillar of financial discipline.</p>
<p>As FFP would ultimately prevent wealthy owners from bankrolling clubs from their own vast resources, it was telling how in 2010-2011 City recorded English football’s biggest ever financial loss of £197 million a year before winning a first league title for nearly 40 years.</p>
<p>The club was sanctioned for FFP breaches in 2014 when the rules had come into force, albeit £33 million of a £49 million fine was returned three years later as City met with operational and financial measures put in place by UEFA. </p>
<p>It was thought that increased commercial revenue from Man City’s improved success had helped the club turn its losses into profit to now comply with FFP. That is until <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/manchester-city-exposed-bending-the-rules-to-the-tune-of-millions-a-1236346.html">leaked documents</a> alleged City had misled UEFA by inflating the value and disguising the true financial source of some commercial deals that led back to the club’s owners.</p>
<h2>Reputation and relations</h2>
<p>CAS’ recent ruling, based on <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-cas-verdict-ffp-18678521">“insufficient evidence” and “time-barred” dealings</a>, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jul/14/a-good-day-for-football-pep-guardiola-defends-manchester-city-cas-verdict">left many frustrated</a>. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described the decision as “bad for football”, while Tottenham’s Jose Mourinho branded it “disgraceful”.</p>
<p>Bullish to the end, City boss Pep Guardiola insists his club deserves an apology. “We were damaged,” said the Spaniard. “The people say we cheated and were lying – and many times. The presumption of innocence wasn’t there.”</p>
<p>The significance of Guardiola’s point about damage to reputation should not be understated. While a two-year Champions League ban could have left a £200m hole in City’s revenues, money is perhaps not the primary motive for multi-billionaire football club owners from territories such as Abu Dhabi.</p>
<p>Research suggests that what appeals to the owners of some of the world’s biggest football clubs are so-called “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19406940.2014.966135">soft power gains</a>”. Or in other words, countries whose political and human rights records have drawn criticism in the past, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13600826.2013.827632">like to invest heavily in elite sport</a>.</p>
<p>Countries such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and China have all increasingly aligned themselves with elite sports and mega-sports events in the pursuit of improved international relations and geopolitical acceptance. This is sometimes referred to as “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/sportswashing-newcastle-takeover-latest-man-city-ffp-a9557241.html">sportswashing</a>” their image. </p>
<h2>Final whistle for FFP?</h2>
<p>For parent company City Football Group then, whose pan-global interests stretch from Manchester to Mumbai, New York to Melbourne and Yokohama to Sichuan, Girona, Lommel and Montevideo, reputational damage could have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02614367.2014.964291">far-reaching and lasting effect</a>.“ </p>
<p>Nonetheless, there are those who believe the CAS decision <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/man-city-ban-uefa-champions-league-news-ffp-a9615846.html">has undermined FFP</a> to the point of no return and that the balance of power has shifted towards super-rich clubs intent on outspending their rivals regardless of cost. </p>
<p>But there are others who feel the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jul/13/manchester-city-cas-decision-not-mean-end-of-financial-fair-play-uefa">system is not completely broken</a>. UEFA, for one, might point to how Europe’s top leagues have generated more than €4.3 billion in operating profits over the past five years. This is in stark contrast to combined operating losses of more than €740 million reported in the five years from 2009 prior to FFP. </p>
<p>As proponents will say the system works if everyone plays by the same rules, opponents claim FFP serves simply to maintain the traditional economic status quo in European football – old money preventing new money from joining an exclusive elite. </p>
<p>Time will tell what the fallout really means for club ownership, FFP and <a href="https://www.footballbenchmark.com/documents/files/UEFA%20Club%20Licensing%20Benchmarking%20report_2020_FY%202018.pdf">UEFA</a>. For now, Manchester City will rest safe in the knowledge that regardless of how they fare in this season’s delayed Champions League competition, they will be sat at the top table again next year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142691/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Randles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>City can rest safe in the knowledge that should they win this season’s delayed Champions League competition, they will get the opportunity to defend the title next year.David Randles, Senior Lecturer in Sports Journalism, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1334722020-03-15T18:32:25Z2020-03-15T18:32:25ZCancelled matches and growing turmoil: the impact of Covid-19 on the sports industry<p>In recent weeks, sports organisations around the world have been forced to confront the reality that the coronavirus Covid-19 is likely to have a significant impact on the industry – not just in the short term, but also the long term. </p>
<p>As the virus has spread, an increasing number of matches and events have either been staged behind closed doors, postponed or, increasingly, cancelled outright. Among the most recent developments was the suspension of the entire NBA basketball season in the United States after Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/nba-season-suspended-spt-trnd/index.html">tested positive for the virus</a>. For the foreseeable future, such decisions may well be the “new normal” for the sporting world.</p>
<p>The process started in Asia, the epicentre of the epidemic. Chinese football’s Super League, which was supposed to start at the end of February, <a href="https://www.livesportasia.com/football/china/chinese-super-league-set-to-return-in-april-lsa2337">won’t begin until at least April</a>. UEFA Champions League matches have become ghost games, staged in stadiums bereft of people and atmosphere. The virus has even risen to top management – Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Greek team Olympiakos, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51814887">tested positive</a>, giving rise to responses from across European football.</p>
<p>In tennis, the Indian Wells tournament in the United States <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/08/sports/coronavirus-indian-wells-canceled.html">has been cancelled</a>, and more tournements could follow. When members of F1 team crews at the Australian Grand Prix tested positive for Covid-19, the <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.formula-1-fia-and-agpc-announce-cancellation-of-the-2020-australian-grand.KKpXZDcd77WbO6T0MGoO7.html">race was cancelled</a>, and the Bahrain and Vietnam F1 races <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/1254724/Bahrain-Grand-Prix-Cancelled-F1-React-Coronavirus-Crisis-Australian-Grand-Prix-Farce-News">won’t take place anytime soon</a>. The Tokyo Marathon took place as scheduled on March 1, but <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/51695612">amateur runners did not participate and there were few spectators</a>. </p>
<h2>Reason for caution – with heavy consequences</h2>
<p>There are obvious reasons for the caution, as the Covid-19 virus can easily be transmitted between large numbers of people congregated in close proximity to one another – yet that is the very heart of the experience of mass sporting events. </p>
<p>The suspension of the NBA season is just the first of what are no doubt many more significant decisions – more leagues, matches and races will affected. Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, believes that rather than playing matches behind close doors, authorities should <a href="https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/pep-guardiola-man-city-arsenal-press-conference-63719441">postpone or cancel them</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You have to ask is it worse to play football without the spectators. We do our job for the people and if the people cannot come to watch us, there is no sense.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But postponements would take us deeper into a year that is already crowded, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the UEFA European Championships. Scheduling and venue congestion will become an issue, as will the impact upon the start of next season’s competitions. Cancellation would be ground zero for many, as there would be all manner of ramifications: In essence, competitions would have to designed and implemented from scratch in a matter of days and weeks in order to draw this season’s competitions to a close.</p>
<p>Options for ending seasons early are <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c36e2f6c-646e-11ea-b3f3-fe4680ea68b5">already being considered</a>, ranging from special play-off games to the use of current points scores or league positions as the basis for identifying winners and losers, and those who are or aren’t promoted.</p>
<p>Sporting officials and leaders are in a difficult position. Faced with a global pandemic and major public health issue, they have to take action. At the same time, broadcasters and commercial partners will be watching carefully to ensure they still get what they paid for. Individual players as well as teams will also strive to ensure they do not suffer the adverse consequences of decisions over which they have little control.</p>
<h2>Olympic-sized headaches</h2>
<p>The biggest challenges arguably lay ahead, with the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games looming, as well as European football. The respective governing bodies – the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) – initially appeared intent on going ahead with their events. UEFA implored governments across Europe to help protect its showcase national team competition, but is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51859548">now discussing postponement</a> of the tournament to 2021. For now the IOC has indicated that it doesn’t want to postpone the games. </p>
<p>The initial determination to forge onward is unsurprising given that both are “mega-events” – the scale, complexity and stakes are immense. For such events to be postponed or cancelled would be a logistical, legal and economic minefield. Even trying to comprehend of the consequences is mind-boggling. To cite just one example, Tokyo has spent 26 billion US dollars on its preparations and will certainly want to get the anticipated return on investment.</p>
<p>In the case of UEFA, this summer’s competition is a 60th anniversary event unusually being staged across twelve different venues. Trying to replicate this model at a later date would be very difficult, hence postponement was always going to be one of the lines of last resort.</p>
<h2>Uncharted territory</h2>
<p>In short, sport is encountering challenges that are unique and have never before been encountered. There have been natural disasters that have led to venues being changed – for example, in 1989 the Loma Prieta earthquake disrupted the World Series between the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants. Yet earlier events were geographically specific, less far reaching and therefore more easily dealt with. One has to look back as far as World War II for anything remotely comparable to the currently situation. However, sport back then was entirely different – now it’s a global industry with a complex network of interrelated economic and political interests.</p>
<p>The protection of public health is of paramount importance, and should be, but sports authorities are also acutely aware of the significant costs that are likely to be incurred by any major disruption to this year’s sporting calendar. Indeed, some of the tensest sport battles this year are likely to be staged not in Tokyo or London, but in courtrooms across the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>As the new coronavirus has spread around the world, sporting matches and events have been staged behind closed doors, postponed and increasingly cancelled outright.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Eurasian Sport | Director of Eurasian Sport, EM Lyon Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1317012020-02-25T11:45:12Z2020-02-25T11:45:12ZRacism’s rise in football demands harsher sanctions and better mental health support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315786/original/file-20200217-11044-4zf0he.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C22%2C2968%2C1839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dany Rose </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-09-mar-2019-danny-1365018053">Mitch Gunn/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/06/danny-rose-tells-family-not-travel-world-cup-player-racism-fears-abuse-england-football-team">English defender Danny Rose</a> first experienced depression after a lengthy break from action following delayed knee surgery. His depression was deepened by family tragedy and racist abuse. Fearing similar racism at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Rose told his family to avoid the event. This fear for their safety at the tournament caused him great distress.</p>
<p>Racist abuse in football increased sharply in 2019. There were more than 150 incidents reported to police last season, representing a rise of more than 50% compared with the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jan/30/football-related-racist-incidents-sharp-rise-police-kick-it-out">season before</a>. </p>
<p>This worrying rise has been seen across every level of competition – from international matches to amateur leagues. For fans and football organisations this is an alarming trend. While moves have been made penalise those responsible for incidents, they have been deemed insufficient. There has also been a lack of mental health support for players experiencing such abuse. </p>
<h2>Poor sanctions</h2>
<p>One of the worst recent incidents of racism took place in October 2019, during the build up and fallout from England’s away match in Bulgaria. The game was a qualifier for the 2020 European Championships. Bulgaria was already paying the penalty for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_association_football#Bulgaria">past incidents of racist abuse</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50036774">5,000 seats were kept empty</a>). However, throughout the game Bulgaria’s fans gave Nazi salutes and hurled persistent racist abuse (<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50060759">including chants and monkey noises</a>) at England’s Tyrone Mings and Raheem Sterling. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315944/original/file-20200218-10995-mhwttr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Raheem Sterling received racist abuse while playing in Bulgaria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sofia-bulgaria-14-october-2019-raheem-1543352753">Belish/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Uefa sanctioned Bulgaria, fining them €75,000 and ordering them to play behind closed doors after the racist abuse. This was <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/bulgaria-punishment-racism-england-football-kick-it-out-statement-uefa-aleksander-ceferin-a9177096.html">a missed opportunity</a> to come down hard on racism with Danny Rose, among others, calling the disciplinary action a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7678307/Danny-Rose-admits-felt-sickened-England-team-mates-subjected-racist-abuse-Bulgaria.html">“farce”</a>. </p>
<p>This raises the question about what adequate and effective sanctions might include. With the increased availability and improvement of <a href="https://www.kickitout.org/forms/online-reporting-form">reporting mechanisms</a> and video footage (from CCTV and fan mobile phones) the identification of abusive individuals means that <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-02-11/newport-county-fan-handed-lifetime-football-ban-for-racist-abuse">targeted stadium bans</a> have increasingly been used.</p>
<p>And while such moves work to deal with the issue at source, they do little to handle any mental health fallout. </p>
<h2>Lack of support</h2>
<p>The conversation around mental health in elite sport has changed dramatically in recent years. In particular, there has been a significant increase in players’ willingness to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2159676X.2018.1564691">publicly disclose</a> their mental health diagnoses and campaign for better fan awareness. </p>
<p>This positive change has led to a greater understanding of the common causes of mental health issues in professional sports players – including competitive pressures, job insecurity, long-term injury and retirement. It has also helped to shed light on the stigma attached to seeking help, which can lead players to delay or not deal with their mental health. </p>
<p>While this is all good, the link between mental wellbeing and racism – particularly the long-term impacts of such abuse – is still sorely overlooked. </p>
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<p>Renée Hector, a defender for Tottenham’s women’s team, candidly disclosed the events that led to her depression in a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49345402">BBC Sport interview</a>. The initial racist incident came from an opposition player during the championship match in January 2019. The abusive player was banned for five games and fined £200 but denied allegations. This started in motion the decline in Hector’s mental health. While deeply upsetting it was the vicious and relentless online abuse that followed that made her fall into a depression. She has since called for harsher punishments for racist abuse in football and for more help for players experiencing such incidents. </p>
<p>Hector’s revelations make plain how footballers are left exposed and unsupported by sporting organisations and their employers. </p>
<p>When considering mental health issues in the sport the question is who has a duty of care for the player and other football club staff? Is it their club, the national Football Association (FA), the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), Uefa or Fifa or their personal agent? Clearly national associations and governing bodies are failing to adequately punish and prevent racism. They are also compounding the issues by failing to provide pastoral support to those who experience it. These shortcomings could have lasting effects and until effective change occurs <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51526210">players can and will continue to walk off the pitch</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Elsey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Incidents of racism have risen sharply but football institutions are failing to address the issue properlyChristopher Elsey, Lecturer in Health and Well Being in Society, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1227352019-08-30T16:07:53Z2019-08-30T16:07:53ZEric Cantona’s ‘science will make us eternal’ speech was funny – but he has a point<p>It was quite unlike any other acceptance speech of the UEFA President’s award. In a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/aug/30/eric-cantona-eternal-war-crime-king-lear">rather philosophical address</a> before the Champion’s League draw in Monaco, former football player and actor Eric Cantona claimed: “Soon the science will not only be able to slow down the ageing of the cells, soon the science will fix the cells to the state, and so we become eternal.”</p>
<p>But what was he actually talking about and does it hold up? In the context, the statement seemed out of place, perhaps even slightly mad. There’s pathos in seeing aged sportsmen too – once sublime athletes now reduced to a snail’s pace and going grey. And this gets to the heart of the human condition – it is defined by limitations, most notably ageing and death. Cantona though, wears his age gracefully if unconventionally, much like he played the game.</p>
<p>But there was more than madness in Cantona’s words. The point he is making is important. As a species, we are on the cusp of creating technologies that may fundamentally alter our capacities, promising radical potentialities and perhaps even immortality. </p>
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<p>The emerging technologies that make this thinkable include nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC). Transhumanism is the faith in these converging technologies to give rise to human enhancement.</p>
<p>There is indeed work going on <a href="https://www.calicolabs.com/">to reverse ageing</a> with some believing we may be able to halt it altogether. And increasingly potent artificial intelligence (AI) may aid this process. In <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/superintelligence-9780199678112?cc=us&lang=en&">his book Superintelligence</a>, <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/find-an-expert/professor-nick-bostrom">philosopher Nick Bostrom</a> suggests AI may soon exceed human-level intelligence resulting in an intelligence explosion. Such a scenario makes anything thinkable, and he believes it could happen in a few decades. </p>
<h2>Morality vs reason</h2>
<p>We have seen great strides in science and technology over the past century, some of which have resulted in <a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-life-expectancy-and-why-we-need-to-rethink-the-meaning-of-old-age-64990">increased global average life expectancies</a>. At the same time, there are increasing numbers of existential threats, such as nuclear weapons and climate change. This points to a limitation of human reason that does not elude Cantona: “Only accidents, crimes, wars, will still kill us. But unfortunately, crimes, wars, will multiply”. </p>
<p>The problem is a duality to human reason. We can interrogate the world with the scientific method that enables us to create technologies which empower us – “instrumental reason”. How to use these advances remains a problem, a question of “moral reason”.</p>
<p>Indeed Cantona’s suggestion that wars and crimes will multiply emphasises that instrumental reason can progress while moral reason regresses. Technical progress does not ensure moral progress, as was powerfully demonstrated by the two world wars of the 20th century and the many ensuing conflicts since. The climate crisis and our current political malaise also illustrate this. </p>
<p>Cantona’s speech opened with a quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,/ They kill us for their sport”. The quote is also prescient. Much transhumanist literature is dedicated to the idea of humans becoming gods. But what kind of gods?</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290343/original/file-20190830-165993-v8l0fa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">AI may progress faster than we think.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-machine-concept-background-1269853381?src=-1-1">rimom/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The current gods of transhumanist progress are defence agencies and tech giants. As AI guru <a href="https://www.crypto-world.gr/en/news/singularitynet-ceo-ben-goertzel-interviews/">Ben Goertzel points out</a>: “AI is currently used for selling, spying, killing and gambling.” We may therefore be set to become inhuman, not posthuman gods. </p>
<h2>What do we value?</h2>
<p>A telling part of Cantona’s speech is the reaction to it. The word most commonly used to describe it <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/eric-cantona-baffles-bizarre-speech_uk_5d68c2b4e4b0488c0d1249da?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJEuuv_UWkaE0B4D3di10mjDhId37FT0jwW-oigWtfhD-rNFY6l4Nxl90LQtS0cU33dxSsKarquEEy6h7XqCu2mIG98nHEtRZFlScOsLI3c07zZ4QlWxJjnrxQlx7zH8S9ZHDDDgGYASuozNP0SchSDZe6Jwm2xc0ABxLVIuZYps">is “bizarre”</a>. What makes it bizarre is not the content, as much as the context. In such a scenario ex-players are expected to offer up platitudes rather than philosophies of human existence.</p>
<p>So, as we are developing such powerful technologies, what is the context? It is advanced capitalism, and it does involve selling, spying, killing and gambling. Such is the all-encompassing nature of this system that we barely recognise it as a context at all – it is a given.</p>
<p>Capitalism also embraces instrumental rationality – it fulfils its demand for palpable progress and growth. It does not have much time for questions of morality. Markets bypass moral questions by asking is there a buyer, is there a seller and what is the price. </p>
<p>Mathematics and science are the formalised methodologies of instrumental rationality. It is no surprise then that humans themselves are increasingly subject to this process of quantification. Surveillance provides data, the “new oil” that boosts information capitalism. Humans are now the mines. This is the bizarre world of transhumanist development in the context of advanced capitalism.</p>
<p>In its most hubristic and unquestioning form, bolstered by unapologetic and brash advanced capitalist logics, transhumanism poses myriad <a href="https://theconversation.com/super-intelligence-and-eternal-life-transhumanisms-faithful-follow-it-blindly-into-a-future-for-the-elite-78538">threats</a>: from automation unemployment to the <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_it_s_not_about_privacy_it_s_about_power">end of democracy</a>, to the risk that humans will branch into different species, making questions of inequality infinitely more urgent. Even if immortality arrives it will be accompanied by crimes, wars and accidents – as Cantona states.</p>
<p>But there are alternative ways to think about the future. <em>Posthumanism</em> also deals with our uncertain future, but <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophical-posthumanism-9781350059498/">focuses especially on moral questions</a>. It aims to think ethically beyond the human, emphasising a responsibility towards the wider nature of which we are a part. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/posthuman-glossary-9781350030251/">Posthumanists</a> “are bonded by the compassionate acknowledgement of their interdependence with multiple, human and non-human others”.</p>
<p>It is time we asked ourselves what aspects of being human we most value. For me, compassion, kindness, appreciation of nature, art and humour are paramount – those aspects most strongly connected with the moral aspect of human reason. Instrumental reason will continue at pace, and perhaps to the cost of these human idiosyncrasies – imperfect, inexact, unquantifiable.</p>
<p>As a Liverpool fan (sorry Eric), I was happy with the Champion’s League draw and Van Dijk’s award, but in the grand scheme of things Cantona’s speech was the most important moment of the event. It reminds us that a radically different future looks to be on the way, and our current social systems and cultural beliefs mean that we are in no position to take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Cantona finished with simply “Thank you. I love football”. To that, I can only say, thank you, Eric. I love football too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122735/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Thomas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cantona was right to raise concerns about the future, says an expert on transhumanism.Alexander Thomas, PhD Candidate, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883402017-11-30T13:01:43Z2017-11-30T13:01:43ZBrand Russia faces an uphill struggle to repair its image ahead of World Cup 2018<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197113/original/file-20171130-30919-rbiy0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will the World Cup give Brand Russia a boost?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Russia gears up to host the 2018 football World Cup, the country’s officials will be hoping that excitement about one of the world’s biggest sporting events generates some goodwill for the country. Because, right now, Brand Russia has an image problem.</p>
<p>While soaring temperatures in host cities like Kazan and Volgograd seem inevitable next June, the frostiness surrounding Russia’s first hosting of football’s top competition seems unlikely to go away any time soon. This has been a World Cup <a href="https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/article/3kzxzv/what-we-know-about-corruption-in-the-2018-and-2022-world-cup-bids">mired in controversy</a> since the country’s name came out of the hat in 2010, at the end of a hugely controversial bidding process.</p>
<p>Qatar has borne the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40412928">brunt of concerns</a> about FIFA’s highly unusual decision to award World Cup hosting rights to two nations at the same time (for 2018 and 2022). Yet Russia is also seen by many as being culpable for alleged misdemeanours during <a href="https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/article/3kzxzv/what-we-know-about-corruption-in-the-2018-and-2022-world-cup-bids">the bidding process</a>, despite being cleared of wrongdoing <a href="http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/footballgovernance/02/89/88/06/rus_report_neutral.pdf">by FIFA’s investigation</a> into the matter. </p>
<h2>Litany of bad press</h2>
<p>But this has done little to fix the country’s image. Its last experience of hosting a major tournament, the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, attracted <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/02/why-did-sochi-olympics-draw-so-2014221101422651375.html">widespread</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/sochi-scandals-threaten-a-russian-sporting-renaissance-18777">criticism</a> for its financial excesses, as well as for the country’s handling of LGBTQ+ rights.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197142/original/file-20171130-30907-12hl869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Russia has been criticised for introducing homophobic laws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/idarrenj/12586959693/in/photolist-kbgsAr-fcnGwj-9y46yn-bWxMk8-UFZaKH-RuxmrQ-ahZRdG-ismnU2-SMzrmv-bWxyTn-r8T6cD-bWxLH4-cdV4Gq-bWxxme-d1TE27-7EEVq1-p5SAhu-bWxLD8-ReJY2Z-eCvhU-Tsoj8Z-bWxwoD-9fC6DH-bWxLNv-bWxLTg-bAiC5u-5cP9v3-bWxNEa-bWxyMn-n4JZt1-efQ21E-aTfF1K-cdUUwd-bWxz1B-5HXEAN-cdUZb7-kD3HXH-bWQ4aU-n4HyJH-cdUSPC-bPdeUn-ahZDsD-bWxz8H-TeEyk5-bWxw5R-bEQNXU-cdUS8f-bWQ1Ru-bWPXhL-E5mRwG">iDJ Photography / flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>More controversially, an investigation commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found Russia guilty of a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/38261608">state-sponsored doping</a> programme between 2011 and 2015. Almost 650 positive drugs tests were recorded among several Russian athletes.</p>
<p>As a result, the sport’s global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, suspended Russia indefinitely from world track and field events. This meant that fewer than 280 athletes were cleared to compete in last year’s summer Olympic Games in Brazil. Official Russian squads would normally take upwards of 400 to the event.</p>
<p>Following this, Russia has been the source of <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2016-09/wada-confirms-attack-by-russian-cyber-espionage-group">numerous cyber attacks on WADA</a>. A group calling itself Fancy Bears or Tsar Team (APT28) has released the medical records of numerous athletes, including US gymnast Simone Biles and British cyclist Bradley Wiggins. The Russian government denies involvement, but it doesn’t look good. Especially alongside the claims and counter-claims that continue to swirl about Moscow’s interference in the domestic politics of numerous countries, the US and Britain included.</p>
<p>Another stain on the Russian sporting establishment is the reputation of its fans. Events at the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament in France saw incidents of hooliganism – which many believed to be the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/12/russian-hooligans-savage-organised-england-fans-marseille-euro-2016">worst ever seen</a>, with some claiming these were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/18/whitehall-suspects-kremlin-links-to-russian-euro-2016-hooligans-vladimir-putin">orchestrated by the Russian state</a>.</p>
<p>So Russia’s stock in some parts of the world could hardly be lower at this point. Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper has gone so far as <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3a8ae2e8-cf0c-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc">to suggest</a> that, as far as the World Cup is concerned, the game is effectively already over for Russia before it has even begun. People are deeply suspicious about the country and its motives for staging the tournament. And they are likely to be sceptical about the messaging coming out of Moscow over the next year.</p>
<p>This is not the stuff of which successful nation brands are built.</p>
<p>More promisingly for Russia, Gideon Rachman <a href="http://www.theworldin.com/article/14401/edition2018political-football">suggests in The Economist</a> that the World Cup will be an opportunity for the country to present a more positive view of itself. As Rachman notes, “Russia is far more tightly controlled than Brazil [where the last World Cup was held]. The Russian government will hope foreigners will look beyond the political controversies and enjoy the country’s rich culture.”</p>
<h2>Soft power stutter</h2>
<p>Sporting events such as the World Cup are normally an opportunity for countries to project a positive image of themselves. Indeed, it is now common to refer to <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-856X.12017/abstract">the soft power influence of sporting events</a>. Soft power entails a nation accentuating its attractiveness through cultural means. </p>
<p>Russia has already been playing a game of attraction, with its staging of last summer’s <a href="https://www.rt.com/sport/405693-ticket-applications-world-cup-russia/">FIFA Confederations Cup</a>, its upbeat messages about <a href="https://www.rt.com/sport/409866-russia-2018-world-cup-tickets/">healthy World Cup ticket sales</a>, and strong reassurances about the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/football/fifa-world-cup-2018-vladimir-putin-takes-the-fight-to-russian-hooligans/story-4LnP8Qx9gKLhwB1rQ8Ro9I.html">threat of hooliganism</a>. It has even played the politics of attraction by hiring former England international Stan Collymore to host a weekly football show on state broadcaster RT. Who could have guessed that Stan – a mid-weight football pundit, known as much for his gaffes as for his incisive commentary – would become an instrument of Russian soft power? </p>
<p>Just how the World Cup’s local organising committee, Putin and the country’s state apparatus will continue trying to convince the world of their attractiveness remains to be seen. Of course, Russia is a beautiful country, with an amazing history and often hospitable citizens. But, in marketing parlance, consumers may ultimately still encounter <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html">cognitive dissonance</a>, if they think that what they were promised and what they receive are two different things. </p>
<p>In other words, whatever it is that Brand Russia is offering, then it must deliver on these brand promises … and fast. Otherwise, the permafrost of the world’s perceptions about the country may remain so thick that they fail to thaw in time for next year’s tournament. This would not only undermine the World Cup, but reinforce popular perceptions that Brand Russia remains villainous, not virtuous.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Russian officials will be hoping that excitement about one of the world’s biggest sporting events generates some goodwill for the country.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sports Enterprise, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/807742017-07-12T14:51:43Z2017-07-12T14:51:43ZChannel 4 has a real opportunity to up the profile of women’s football in its UEFA coverage<p>For the first time, this year’s UEFA Women’s Euro tournament will be televised live in the UK on Channel 4. </p>
<p>Previous international women’s football tournaments have been shown on British television channels – the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup had a strong reception on the BBC for example – but this is the first time that Channel 4 has won the rights to one. </p>
<p>But simply showing the matches isn’t enough this time around. The UK needs a broadcaster that will build a new television audience for women’s football, bringing it to the forefront of the summer sports calendar – and Channel 4 just might be up to the task.</p>
<p>Channel 4 has a longstanding reputation as an innovative broadcaster which prides itself on producing creative and diverse content, including sports coverage. The channel was the first to bring American football to UK television screens in 1982, while their coverage of the Paralympics, and spin-off show The Last Leg, has been, on the whole, well received. With such a positive background, hopes are high that Channel 4 will have a similar impact on women’s football coverage. </p>
<p>The commission does not come without challenge, however. Our <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1012690217706192">own research</a> has found that British media coverage of the last Women’s World Cup in 2015 was problematic, and did not serve to build a new audience for women’s sport as anticipated.</p>
<p>The press firmly placed responsibility on England’s women players to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/lucy-bronzes-great-goal-at-the-world-cup-is-why-womens-sport-is-worth-watching-10350227.html">prove that they</a>, and the sport in general, <a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/womens-football-still-not-a-spectator-sport/17094#.WWY4kdPyvBJ">were worth watching</a>. There was little acknowledgement of the difficulties that women’s football has had to overcome due to a lack of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/07/11/lewes-fc-become-first-football-club-give-equal-pay-mens-womens/">financial resource</a>, poor infrastructure and relative <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39256164">negligence on the part of the Football Association</a> (FA).</p>
<p>This is in stark contrast to the England men’s team, whose failure at the 2014 World Cup was blamed by the media on a range of issues separate to actual performance: from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27963053">poor coaching and team selection</a>, to the proliferation of <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/world-cup-2014-foreign-players-are-not-to-blame-for-englands-early-exit-9554151.html">foreign players</a> in the Premier League, to overly extravagant <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2014/06/whos-blame-englands-failure-world-cup-theres-only-one-answer">FA spending</a>.</p>
<p>Though we did find that the coverage of England’s women was positive, with increasing praise of their performance as the World Cup progressed, it was often <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/05/observer-view-on-british-summer-sport">patronising in tone</a>. Reporters struggled to talk about women’s sport without directly mentioning men’s: player Fran Kirby was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33125160">England’s Lionel Messi</a>; team mate Jodie Taylor’s <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/football/248759/a-fairy-tayl/">idol was Wayne Rooney</a>. And the team’s potential for success was frequently compared to historic male success in <a href="http://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20150627/283300341198315/TextView">1966 and 1990</a>.</p>
<h2>Channel 4’s challenge</h2>
<p>How Channel 4 now represents the UEFA tournament, and England’s performance, could have a real impact on television audiences’ attitudes to women’s football. Pitched the right way, Channel 4 could potentially be at the forefront of a whole new media attitude to women’s football. But the broadcaster must be careful that its tone is not solely reliant on England’s performance on the pitch.</p>
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<p>The idea that women’s football is something novel or new should have by now been dispelled. But as we’re still labouring under this myth, the UEFA air time could be used to promote the wider context of women’s football, and show just how important, relevant and popular the sport is today.</p>
<p>For the past six years, England’s first professional league for female footballers – the <a href="http://www.fawsl.com/index.html">Women’s Super League</a> – has been up and running. And, looking further back in time, there is a rich history of women’s football that Britain should be aware of. The <a href="http://www.dickkerrladies.com/">Dick, Kerr Ladies</a>, for example, was a factory team based in Lancashire, that played international matches in Europe in the 1920s and attracted over 50,000 people to a game at Goodison Park. Women’s football clubs even managed to survive while the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30329606">FA effectively banned</a> women’s football for 50 years until 1971. And there are strong rivalries between clubs such as Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool alive and well today. These are the kinds of soap opera narratives that fans of men’s football are well accustomed to, and they need to be told in women’s football too.</p>
<p>In broadcasting the Women’s Euros, Channel 4 needs to uphold its standing as a distinctive broadcaster by offering audiences something they haven’t seen before. It needs to challenge its audience to understand women’s football on its own terms, and must unpatronisingly praise good play and criticise poor play as warranted. It should convey the culture and traditions of women’s football and, most importantly, avoid lazy comparisons with the male game. </p>
<p>So are they up to the challenge? We’re going to have to wait for kick off to find out.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80774/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beth Fielding-Lloyd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Channel 4 could do for women’s football what it did for the Paralympics.Beth Fielding-Lloyd, Principal Lecturer in Sport Studies, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/744752017-03-16T12:29:14Z2017-03-16T12:29:14ZBT has made a huge gamble on sport – but will it win?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160939/original/image-20170315-5324-17453un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Game time.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/watching-smart-tv-translation-football-game-410515714?src=bII6r3MbbmgenOotgfWUuA-1-23">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the top football clubs in Europe, it was another great result. The telephone company BT was so determined to keep broadcasting Champions’ League and Europa League football, that <a href="http://sport.bt.com/football/bt-retains-exclusive-rights-to-uefa-champions-league-and-uefa-europa-league-S11364161627708">it forked out £1.18 billion</a> for the privilege.</p>
<p>The eye-watering contract between British Telecommunications PLC and UEFA for exclusively live rights to the UK market, will last for three seasons from 2018 to 2021. The deal, which means not even highlights programmes are shown on terrestrial television stations, represents a massive 32% per cent price rise on the current deal in place from 2015. </p>
<p>So was it a winning move? Or an own goal? How can BT possibly make an economic return on such a large outlay?</p>
<p>The company already has a commanding industry position as the largest telecommunications company in the UK. <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/facts">According to Ofcom</a>, in 2016 BT had a 32% market share of internet broadband services, 37% of landline provision, and 33% of the mobile market. Its closest rivals that year were Sky in broadband (23%), Virgin Media in landline services (13%), and O2 in mobile phone networks (21%). </p>
<p>The ongoing and major challenge for BT is to sustain these high levels of market share (and profit) across its range of services. And this is no easy task. <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2017/bt-agrees-to-legal-separation-of-openreach">Ofcom ruled</a> in early 2017 that BT’s Openreach cable and landline provision should be separated from the rest of BT. This followed <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38141510">complaints about the charges</a> to telecommunications partners, combined with <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bt-openreach-draws-flak-poor-broadband-service-new-homes-1540786">poor service </a>. Openreach <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/11819236/BT-should-be-stripped-of-Openreach-says-Chris-Bryant.html">was accused</a> by Labour MP Chris Bryant of behaving like a “natural monopoly”, restricting competition and charging high prices. </p>
<p>The company’s relatively recent (2013) entry into the UK sports broadcasting market is best seen as a strategy to fend off competition in the broadband market from Sky, its nearest rival. The initial foray was into Premier League TV rights, facilitated by European Union pressure to allow a second broadcaster into the UK sports TV market following <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/nov/18/sportsrights.sport">concerns</a> over Sky’s previous monopoly position. </p>
<p>BT had the advantage of established telecommunications networks with considerable management and technical expertise that could be applied to its move into sports broadcasting. Consumers were then enticed with free subscriptions to those signed up for BT broadband contracts. </p>
<p>BT paid £620m a year for these rights from 2015 to 2017, split roughly equally between Premier League and UEFA competitions. Again, huge amounts of money – but once the fixed costs of rights acquisition are paid for, the remaining variable costs are actually rather low (equipment, production crew and pundits), at least compared to creating drama or documentary programmes. </p>
<p>BT makes money from sports broadcasts through viewer subscriptions and selling advertising. But <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/02/12/uefa-concerned-by-bt-sports-dismal-champions-league-viewing-figu/">figures from the 2015-16 season</a> do not point to substantial returns. Manchester United versus Brugge in a playoff match prior to the Champions League group stage drew a total of 988,000 viewers to BT’s new channels. A Champions League group match between Manchester City and Borussia Moenchengladbach generated 651,000.</p>
<p>In the world of TV ratings, these numbers compare unfavourably with the 5m viewers who tuned in to the previous ITV terrestrial provision for a typical Champions League group stage match featuring a British club. Not an appealing prospect for advertisers who want a substantial audience reach. </p>
<p>Since 2015, BT has repackaged its channels and raised its marketing efforts. It has <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/07/11/bts-first-major-content-tie-ee-will-offer-mobile-customers-free-bt-sport">moved into smartphones</a> and apps as media for its Champions League and Premier League coverage. Certainly, UEFA was not disturbed by the threat of low audience reach for advertisers when awarding its latest UK contract to BT rather than Sky or ITV. It even removed the popular late night Champions League highlights show from ITV.</p>
<h2>Turn on, tune in, pay up</h2>
<p>But BT will find itself constrained in raising subscription fees. Around 80% per cent of UK homes already have broadband so the scope for market growth is small. The company then has to appeal to consumers’ sense of value and their willingness to pay. Both BT and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/19/sky-raises-sports-and-entertainment-package-prices">Sky have raised subscription fees</a> across the whole range of services substantially over the last two years. </p>
<p>When Sky bid aggressively to retain Premier League TV rights from 2016 it raised subscription fees by around 10% and claimed that costs would be cut by rationalising call centre operations. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/phones/2016/04/bt-announces-steep-price-rises-for-home-phone-and-broadband--how-to-beat-the-hikes">BT raised</a> landline telephone and broadband rates by around 15% in 2016. But the scope for price increases is limited by consumer willingness to pay. After all, watching sports on TV is hardly a necessity. Further price increases will lead to households cancelling TV contracts from both BT and Sky, regardless of what is on offer in the TV bundle. </p>
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<p>For BT, making an economic return out of sports broadcasting is difficult but not impossible. They will certainly be hoping that the quality of the football it broadcasts remains high, with more games like Barcelona’s <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/news/2016-2017/the-world-s-press-reacts-to-fc-barcelona-s-historic-comeback-psg">recent remarkable comeback</a> against Paris St Germain. It also helps if British teams do well and progress in the competition. The telecoms giant has placed a big bet on an exciting European future – with as few footballing Brexits as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Simmons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How to get the best result from a £1.1 billion bet on football.Robert Simmons, Professor of Economics, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/663282016-09-30T11:19:19Z2016-09-30T11:19:19ZDepressed by football greed? Find hope in how the game welcomes refugees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139905/original/image-20160930-9914-q9trtb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C19%2C997%2C594&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-373648048/stock-photo-polykastro-greece-february-7-2016-migrants-and-refugees-play-football-in-the-parking-lot-of-a-gas-station-in-polykastro-as-waiting-to-cross-the-border-to-fyr-of-macedonia.html?src=OPKhXmSEBWuka1bJyM2_PA-1-2">Ververidis Vasilis / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Football has had a grubby year, and an even grubbier week. Governing body FIFA has wrestled with scandal <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/09/fifa-opens-corruption-case-against-sepp-blatter-and-jerome-valcke">throughout 2016</a> and now a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/">major investigation</a> by the Daily Telegraph newspaper has forced the resignation of England manager Sam Allardyce. But it is worth reminding ourselves that the beautiful game is not just a sea of shady characters, drenched in money and greed. It also has the ability to inspire, to bring together people with little or nothing. </p>
<p>Nowhere is this clearer than in the role football has played as thousands of desperate refugees arrive in Europe. One of the largest migrations of people since World War II has confounded efforts to address it and sparked a muddled political response. Football is one space where the social conflicts are exposed, but it is also creating a useful space to challenge and understand the issues at hand. </p>
<p>There has been an international emotional connection with the current refugee situation in Europe. Some football fans in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic displayed banners stating <a href="http://www.ultras-tifo.net/news/3757-refugees-welcome-or-not.html">“Refugees Not Welcome”</a> and protested against what they deem the Islamification of Europe, but the many football supporters have been highly <a href="http://www.worldsoccer.com/features/refugees-welcome-in-germany-at-least-365379">adoptive of the “Refugees Welcome”</a> message, particularly in Germany. That includes moderate fan groups who have never challenged discrimination before. Several fan groups in Germany, Scotland, Greece and England have displayed banners <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/03/english-football-supporters-groups-refugees-welcome-banners">openly declaring their support </a>. </p>
<p>Others have raised money or set up football teams <a href="http://www.fanseurope.org/en/news/news-3/1287-more-groups-working-with-refugees-benefit-from-fse-s-secondfanshirt-campaign-en.html">to support refugees and asylum seekers</a>. Fans of Istanbul’s Fenerbahçe hosted a dinner for Syrian refugees to <a href="http://www.1907unifeb.org/suriyeli-kardeslerimizle-yemek-organizasyonu/">welcome them into the local community</a>. There are so many activities taking place that Football Against Racism Europe have started compiling <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1d3pP5NOJ5WP7Qox-V3ewqk_gnc8">a database of locations</a>.</p>
<h2>Identity games</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.football4peace.eu">Football 4 Peace</a> at the University of Brighton has over 15 years’ experience of demonstrating how football can help build bridges in culturally divided cities in Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Gambia and Korea. Most importantly, Football 4 Peace shows that it is possible not just to bring people together to play football, but also to actively work with the participants to help them understand themselves and others.</p>
<p>Their methodology, which emphasises neutrality, equity, inclusion, respect, trust and responsibility, is designed to give players “teachable moments” from football. As <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/DG4/EPAS/Publications/Handbook-1_Sport-Post-Conflict-Societies.pdf">Professor John Sugden says</a> “sport is intrinsically value neutral and under carefully managed circumstances it can make a positive if modest contribution to peace building”.</p>
<p>Football also provides a cathartic space <a href="http://www.furd.org/resources/Final%20Research%20Report-%20low%20res.pdf">for refugees and asylum seekers</a>. A project run by <a href="http://www.furd.org">Football Unites Racism Divides</a> in Sheffield showcased the importance of football in helping refugees acclimatise to their new lives. Football helps those in traumatic situations to switch off from their daily travails and enjoy the bodily freedom of physical exercise and being around people who are in a similar situation. As asylum seekers are not legally permitted to work, leisure activities like football become an important source of self-identity.</p>
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<p>Football fans across Europe have set up teams for refugees and asylum seekers. From <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2014/aug/20/glasgow-refugee-football-team-brings-unity-to-a-divided-city">United Glasgow in Scotland</a>, to Lampedusa FC in Hamburg, <a href="http://babelsberg03.de/mannschaften/welcome-united-03/">Welcome United in Potsdam</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2015/oct/01/liberi-nantes-football-team-italy-refugees-video">Liberi Nantes</a> in Rome, fans are volunteering their time to welcome new members of their community and help integrate them with the local population. As Football 4 Peace has shown, football can help link people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures.</p>
<h2>Building trust</h2>
<p>More importantly, football doesn’t just help refugees when they reach their final destination, it also provides a safe and cathartic space for young people in transit in refugee camps. Football fans set up <a href="http://www.calaisjungleyouth.com">Baloo’s Youth Centre</a> in the Jungle refugee camp in Calais as a way of engaging with young people. There are nearly <a href="http://www.helprefugees.org.uk/2016/07/21/new-calais-census-released-761-children-in-calais-jungle-80-on-their-own/">800 unaccompanied minors</a> in Calais and youth workers at Baloo’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2016/feb/19/football-in-calais-jungle-refugees-in-pictures">have used football</a> to build trust with vulnerable children. Once trust is built, they provide mobile phones to the children so that they can be traced to ensure they are safe. </p>
<p>Competitions <a href="https://www.thelibertecup.com">like the Liberté Cup</a> hosted at the Grand Synthe camp in Dunkirk, can also provide a focal point and sense of purpose for refugees living in stasis. At a very simple level, football games give others in the camp an entertaining break from the crushing boredom of refugee camp living.</p>
<h2>Inspiration</h2>
<p>Even those scandal-hit international governing bodies have helped. While they often get criticised by fans, they have taken positive steps to help refugees around the world. UEFA donated money from Champions League and Europa League ticket sales <a href="http://www.espnfc.co.uk/uefa-champions-league/story/2601681/champions-league-europa-teams-pledge-refugees-ticket-money">to refugee causes</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139879/original/image-20160930-9925-s7b8da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A refugee girl with two prosthetic legs plays football in Jordan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/69583224@N05/29844984442/in/photolist-oWFcRL-dHwvEJ-LFZsGk-Mtim6h-pzKpAR-qkCo2y-gWh48n-J6XTVu-JcSfTb">European Commission DG ECHO/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>FIFA have also used football to help engage young people in refugee camps. In August 2016, the under-17s Women’s World Cup trophy <a href="http://www.fifa.com/u17womensworldcup/news/y=2016/m=8/news=young-refugees-inspired-by-u-17-women-s-world-cup-trophy-2823656.html">was showcased in the Al Zaatari camp</a>. One 14-year-old girl said: </p>
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<p>For me, there’s nothing more important at the moment … In this camp, football gives me hope in life. I play it two hours every day and I’m happy for those two hours.</p>
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<p>While some at the highest levels of football can seem relentless in their pursuit of wealth, football fans, governing bodies and NGOs are using football to build bridges for the most vulnerable individuals and groups. Football isn’t the magic bullet that will solve the refugee crisis, but it does highlight the valuable work that civil society can provide in the absence of an effective response from the state. And it also showcases what football, as opposed to the grubby <em>business</em> of football, has always been best at: providing a common language that brings people together and promotes physical and emotional well-being for everyone taking part.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Doidge receives funding from the British Academy Rising Stars Engagement Award</span></em></p>The beautiful game has never seemed uglier. But it also can bring joy and togetherness, even to the most desperate.Mark Doidge, Senior Research Fellow in Sociology of Sport, University of BrightonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/646922016-09-02T14:43:23Z2016-09-02T14:43:23ZWhy UEFA’s approach to flags at football matches needs a rethink<p>Two European football ties involving Israeli teams in France and the UK in the second half of August have thrown an uncomfortable spotlight on how UEFA handles politics. </p>
<p>The first was Celtic’s Champions League qualifier in Glasgow <a href="https://www.rt.com/sport/356335-palestinian-flags-football-match/">against</a> the Israeli club Hapoel Be'er Sheva on August 17. Celtic has a wing of politically active fans called <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/green-brigade-palestine-flags-raising-money">The Green Brigade</a>, who flew dozens of Palestinian flags at the game despite advance warnings from the authorities that the club could be fined if they did. Rightly or wrongly, Celtic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/23/celtic-fans-palestinian-flags-fundraising">were fined</a>. But notice that no one objected to Be'er Sheva fans flying the national flag of Israel during the match. </p>
<p>The Green Brigade’s activism is part of the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers, Glasgow’s other major club, together known as the Old Firm. Their antagonism is the oldest and among the most bitter in the footballing world. Celtic’s is a club rooted in the Irish community in Glasgow, while Rangers traditionally attracted the support of British loyalists. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135405/original/image-20160824-30222-172qizz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Celtic and Rangers fans during an Old Firm clash.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Moir/Action Images/Reuters</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The radicals in the Green Brigade, who have links with left wing fan groups <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2013.776470">such as</a> those of Sankt Pauli in Hamburg, support causes they regard as “similar” to the Irish one. Celtic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/dec/13/celtic-small-minority-fans-uefa-fine">has been</a> fined by UEFA for this kind of behaviour almost every season. UEFA would probably like to ban politics from football stadiums. It is the opposite of the consumer and family entertainment that it wants the game to be about. </p>
<p>Yet this doesn’t extend to treating two internationally recognised countries equally. Be'er Sheva fans were again allowed to wave their national flag at the return leg in Israel on August 23 – as is entirely normal, of course. The Green Brigade, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/22/celtic-fans-raise-45000-for-palestinian-charities-after-flag-protest">had raised</a> more than £100,000 for Palestine in the interim, were thoroughly searched before entering the Be'er Sheva ground. Understandably in Israeli territory, no Palestinian flags were waved in the stands. </p>
<h2>Beitar Jerusalem</h2>
<p>While the Celtic match caused a stir in the UK, a Europa League game between St Etienne and Beitar Jerusalem in Israel at the exact same time received less attention. Beitar Jerusalem is another club with fiercely political supporters. Named after the <a href="http://www.betar.org">Beitar Zionist</a> youth movement, its supporters are on the far right of the Israeli political spectrum. </p>
<p>In the stands – and even in the streets – they <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/anti-arab-soccer-fans-rampage-in-shopping-centre-but-no-arrests-7584089.html">regularly chant</a> “Death to the Arabs”. No Arab player, whether Muslim or Christian, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/sports/.premium-1.713062">would be allowed</a> to play in the team. The club’s hardcore supporters, La Familia, are among the <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.733442">most violent</a> in the world. They <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/beitar-fans-damaged-israels-international-standing/">regularly fly</a> the flag of Kach, Israel’s banned far-right party, which is classified by <a href="http://www.jta.org/1994/03/14/archive/israel-bans-kach-kahane-chai-citing-them-as-terrorist-groups">Israel</a> and <a href="http://www.cfr.org/israel/kach-kahane-chai-israel-extremists/p9178">the US</a> as a terrorist organisation. </p>
<p>Not all football clubs in Israel are like this. Hapoel Tel Aviv, Beitar’s great rival, is the opposite. Its <a href="http://www.cahiersdufootball.net/article-nous-representons-la-coexistence-pacifique-avec-les-arabes-2959">core supporters</a> are explicitly anti-fascist, anti-racist and radically leftist. They have a policy of supporting and establishing relations with Israeli Arab clubs. Indeed most “Hapoel” clubs, including Hapoel Be'er Sheva, are linked with labour parties. Celtic fans take note. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135416/original/image-20160824-30228-1kadu0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beitar fans flying the Kach flag.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Haggai Aharon/Haaretz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When Beitar travelled to Charleroi in Belgium for a game a year ago, there was <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/sports/1.666949">a lot of trouble</a>. Yet the French police saw no reason to prohibit Beitar fans for the second leg against St Etienne. The <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2017/matches/round=2000791/match=2020443/">first leg</a> in Israel on August 17 had passed without major incident, though the Beitar fans displayed their explicitly racist flags and shouted accompanying chants. Fans visiting France have also been prohibited from dozens of games over the past two years due to the high security alert in the country. </p>
<p>St Etienne supporters claim to be apolitical. Yet in the second leg the Green Angels, one of the club’s “ultra” groups, waved Palestinian flags and banners with slogans such as, “All racists are bastards”. The Israeli press <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sports/Israeli-fans-in-France-greeted-with-Palestinian-flags-Israeli-flags-banned-466115">reported this</a>, pointing out that Beitar fans had been prohibited from waving Israel flags during the game. </p>
<p>They didn’t acknowledge that police and stewards appear to have banned Palestinian flags as well, the problem being that home fans always find it easier to circumvent such bans – as Celtic’s Green Brigade were reminded in Israel. Meanwhile, no one raised any objections to Beitar fans flying the La Familia flag at the St Etienne game, or at the first leg the week before.</p>
<p>The Simon Wiesenthal Center NGO, <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/08/29/human-rights-organization-welcomes-decision-by-governing-soccer-body-to-investigate-french-team-for-anti-israel-discrimination/#">is meanwhile claiming</a> unfair treatment of the Israeli team and calling for St Etienne to be banned. St Etienne is now <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/368406">reportedly</a> under investigation from the UEFA. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136440/original/image-20160902-20247-kvtclc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UEFA adjudicators have been busy.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Flagging a problem</h2>
<p>What lessons can we learn from these incidents? Banning an Israel flag or a Palestine flag, but not a Kach or La Familia flag, is unwise and ill-informed. By acquiescing to the likes of the La Familia flag at games in Israel, that country’s authorities are giving its far right impunity. When the French did the same thing in St Etienne, they appear to have uncritically embraced the Israeli vision of what is punishable and what is not. Imagine a situation where the Israeli flag was banned and the Hamas flag authorised.</p>
<p>Yet at the same time, the simple fact is that politics in the stands does exist. These two matches show that efforts by the media and football’s governing bodies to conceal this don’t work. For the police and UEFA, to ban certain national flags while being not bothered by far right flags and chants is naive at best.</p>
<p>Wherever your sympathies lie, such bans set a precedent by discriminating against some nations over others. Banning only some national flags is also a political act by UEFA in itself. The organisation may prefer that this whole issue would go away. But to be consistent with its “say no to racism” campaigns, it needs to rethink its policies in this area instead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandre Hocquet does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Celtic and St Etienne are both in the dock with UEFA over fans waving Palestinian flags at Israeli teams.Alexandre Hocquet, Professeur des Universités en STS, Université de LorraineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/620792016-07-06T13:09:07Z2016-07-06T13:09:07ZEuro 2016 enters final straight with a worried look to UEFA’s uncertain future<p>What will you remember most about the 2016 UEFA European Championship? For many people, the success of smaller nations such as Wales and Iceland has been notable. For others it will be the troubling scenes early in the tournament when mass hooligan violence returned to international football. Perhaps in years to come we will simply remember the winners, after all this is surely what football is all about?</p>
<p>As Euro 2016 enters its final stages, the most important feature of the tournament may be that it is the last of its kind. This will be part of Michel Platini’s legacy to international football. A revered former player and the man who would be king, Platini was responsible for taking the Euros back to his home country and for changing the nature of the tournament.</p>
<p>Back in 2007, Platini stood for election as UEFA president based upon a quintessentially French manifesto of liberté, égalité and fraternité. This helped garner support among UEFA’s smaller nations, which was instrumental in securing his electoral victory. Platini made good on his promises to them by introducing measures such as <a href="http://www.uefa.com/community/news/newsid=2064391.html">Financial Fair Play</a>, and by taking the Euros to new countries, notably <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2012/matches/">Poland and Ukraine in 2012</a>.</p>
<p>The former Saint Etienne and Juventus star also helped open-up the Euros to more nations, hence the appearance this year of Albania, Hungary and others. The Euros initially started as a four team competition, later eight and then 16, before this year’s event moved to a 24 team format; while some critics have complained that Platini has been responsible for <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36714679">diluting European football’s premier national team competition</a>, the Frenchman carried through on his democratic mandate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129557/original/image-20160706-12732-922xzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Platini, the absent architect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/infogibraltar/14150416851/in/photolist-nyqzWk-nyJsdb-nyqtHD-5tBuCE-cfBFd5-4W5L6D-ax2EVG-5tx8Ez-ax2FeC-nhdLs6-ax2GBS-5tBuYQ-gtjDkY-6KBHwo-mKuDaa-dgmbCN-gtjCTL-5tBuMC-5D6a4X-nyHzi6-5D63M6-5D64hH-56xEC3-rgPVc-ax2GSG-5D63tK-5DakcY-nAukbF-ax2KNf-nhdLVn-5D6a34-dkKdbW-5tBv1d-5DakYC-5tBuSN-5D64jV-5tx8uD-nwEHWN-5tx8hH-5DamJ1-5D63NH-4W5Lb2-5tBuq7-5D64WB-5DamiC-5tBuX5-5DakDJ-4Wa1GW-4W5Lye-p4xLfK">InfoGibraltar/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Politics and sentiment alone though would not have been enough. An enlarged tournament will have made good financial sense, too, for Platini and for UEFA. More teams means more games, and more games means more opportunities to sell matches to broadcasters, packages to sponsors, and tickets to fans. It will be interesting to see what impact this enlarged tournament will have had on the governing body when it releases its next financial statements.</p>
<h2>Doing their bidding</h2>
<p>In spite of Platini’s intention to democratise (and commercialise) European football, it is difficult to predict how his legacy will now play out. For its 2020 iteration, the tournament is <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/newsid=1844904.html">switching to a multi-venue format</a>. Next time, the tournament will be played in 13 host cities, from Dublin in the west to Baku in the east. Platini has said this move was a romantic decision to mark the tournament’s 60th anniversary, but this masks a harsh reality.</p>
<p>As bidding took place against the backdrop of a post-crash European economy, the field of bidders for Euro 2020 was both limited and potentially compromised. Turkey and Azerbaijan were the two most prominent nations involved in the bidding process, although at the time of bidding both also harboured aspirations of bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Platini did not want the Euros undermined by this, and he found alternative bids to be <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/sport/2012/12/53101.html">somewhat underwhelming</a>.</p>
<p>Now, though, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36245660">Platini is gone</a> (probably never to return) and, while the format of 2020 is unlikely to change, there are plenty of questions to be asked about the future of the Euros. UEFA is currently without a permanent, elected president; an election is due in September. The deadline for nominations is July 20, with Dutchman Michael van Praag, a UEFA vice-president, indicating his intention to stand. <a href="http://www.espnfc.co.uk/blog/uefa/258/post/2888587/slovenia-leader-aleksander-ceferin-joins-uefa-presidential-race">Another strongly touted candidate</a> is Slovenian federation president Aleksander Ceferin.</p>
<p>Who wins the presidential battle could have profound consequences for the future of the Euros. <a href="http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2016/05/19/van-pragg-says-will-return-uefa-cohesive-unit-wont-stay-long/">Van Praag has already said</a> he can provide “continuity, stability, credibility and leadership”. As such, one might expect Platini’s legacy to be upheld and we should therefore anticipate a return to the Euros’ established format in 2024. Van Praag is old school; in his late-60s and from a football family, he has worked in the sport for several decades – not someone from whom we should expect reformist zeal.</p>
<p>Ceferin, however, has rapidly emerged as a serious rival contender. He has received tacit support from former UEFA Secretary General (now FIFA president) Gianni Infantino, who has spoken about the Slovenian Football Association’s professionalism, passion and responsibility. Ceferin is young (in his forties), a lawyer, and viewed by some as being untarnished by football’s sometimes corrupt global politics.</p>
<h2>Small is beautiful</h2>
<p>Significantly, though, the Slovenian is not from one of European football’s traditional powerhouses. His election could therefore be significant, especially for the future of the Euros. While western Europe may have become used to exercising considerable influence over UEFA in the past, an incumbent Ceferin would be likely to redress that balance, further extending the Platini legacy. </p>
<p>Should he be elected, we can expect European Championship bids from the likes of Azerbaijan and Turkey to be favourably received. Likewise, Hungary has embarked on a major drive to boost its football and may be encouraged to make a bid. At the same time, given ongoing concerns about the financial costs and economic benefits of staging the Euros, collaborative bids from smaller nations are highly likely. A Celtic bid (from Ireland, Scotland and Wales) will surely come again, and it is possible that we could see others such as Armenia, the Czech Republic, Georgia and even Ceferin’s Slovenia being encouraged to submit joint bids with partner countries.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129565/original/image-20160706-12743-a0ogo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hrazdan stadium in Armernia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dr-harout/9144293832/in/photolist-eW3TYu-av56w5-av8QJi-av47JL-av4aEN-av8RKM-avbTNW-av1XQg-av8irr-av2mJZ-avaVQ7-av1BD2-av2qL6-uDfgYW-uF7Uko-tJxXch-tJHWbt-9tutg7-fq9dHr-av871v-av39kA-avboQs-avbK73-8JtVKi-ChrD3d-avaKNA-6vmt7J-8JwZqs-8JtVTR-5gDV3Z-8JtVR2-av8XFD-avbCks-av8BHv-av95gM-avaXsU-av8wwM-av89sn-av9af8-av88Jx-av8vDk-72mhVs-avaQEb-avaZWf-avbUTq-avb9Pf-av96kg-avaYcs-avbRCS-7ayszg">Dr. Harout Tanielian/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whoever becomes UEFA president, the relative successes of the minnows at this year’s tournament is likely to have sealed the future of the 24 team format. Further democratisation of the Euros may well become part of a new president’s electoral manifesto. </p>
<p>Those managing UEFA competitions will also be aware of the growing challenges posed by the rise of football in China and the problems of security (notably hooliganism and terrorism) which threaten sporting mega-events. UEFA will also have to to uphold good governance principles in an age of intense public scrutiny; and the role that digital media is increasingly playing in sport.</p>
<p>It may seem like Euro 2016 has confirmed that the European Championship goes from strength to strength. But these are uncertain times. The unique set of circumstances that will dictate the award of the 2024 tournament’s hosting rights signals the potential for significant changes to an event that has enthralled so many of us this summer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick works for UEFA. He helped develop and teaches on its Certificate in Football Management. </span></em></p>New formats, new nations, a new UEFA president and the legacy of a multi-venue event in four years time – Euro 2024 could be a very different beast.Simon Chadwick, ‘Class of 92’ Professor of Sports Enterprise, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/620312016-07-05T16:50:19Z2016-07-05T16:50:19ZMoney ball: the often overlooked object at the heart of Euro 2016<p>As we enter the closing stages of the UEFA Euro 2016 finals, here’s a curiosity about major football tournaments. The thing at the very centre of the action gets the least attention – the ball itself.</p>
<p>Not that this stops Adidas from <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/fifa-world-cup-2014/world-cup-news-2014/adidas-set-to-sell-more-than-14-million-brazuca-balls-as-sales-spike-20140625-zskne.html">selling millions</a> of them. Where one commemorative football is normally enough per tournament, this time the German sports giant went one better. <a href="https://theconversation.com/football-aerodynamics-of-the-perfect-free-kick-61700">Having unveiled</a> the “Beau Jeu” (“Beautiful Game”) for the opening rounds, it <a href="http://www.footyheadlines.com/2016/05/adidas-fracas-euro-2016-final-ball.html">introduced</a> a new ball called the Fracas for the knockout stages. <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/new-adidas-euro-2016-fracas-8244320">According to</a> the marketing blurb, it has a “more disruptive” red and black design and “represents the noise of the crowd and the excitement around a winner-takes-all mentality on the pitch”. </p>
<p>You have to read carefully to appreciate that only the labelling is different. The Fracas has the same six-panel design as the Beau Jeu and also the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/10493715/World-Cup-2014-Brazils-football-unveiled.html">Brazuca 2014</a> ball from the World Cup. They are all designed for “true flight, accuracy and control” (and certainly not bursting, though a <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/new-adidas-euro-2016-fracas-8244320">Beau Jeu did</a> during the France v Switzerland game a couple of weeks ago). </p>
<p>The launch and rhetoric reminds us just how much the modern football is central to the business strategies of mega sports corporations like Nike and Adidas that mass-produce them. Adidas expects to sell €2.5 billion (£2.1bn) of balls, boots and other products on the back of the tournament. </p>
<p>These manufacturers benefit from the fact that footballs are also intensely scrutinised by sport scientists looking to optimise player performance. It helps them present the football as a larger than life, endlessly moving commodity that empowers players with extra skills, perception and talent. </p>
<h2>Mud and pigskin</h2>
<p>In truth, the size and weight of a football has changed little since 1872 when regulations began – even production in poor countries <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/%7Eev2124/research/ACCKRV-WBER_2016.pdf">goes back</a> to the 19th century. Yet manufacturers often claim the original was an elliptical, water-hogging, eight-panelled creation made out of the skins, skulls and bladders of various animals. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129382/original/image-20160705-807-13f31cf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘I say, they forgot to remove the snout.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain_Olympic_football_team#/media/File:1912_Stockholm_Football_Final.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The changes in the intervening decades, they claim, have been nothing short of “revolutionary”. They tell a <a href="http://www.designfax.net/cms/dfx/opens/article-view-dfx.php?nid=4&bid=149&et=featurearticle&pn=01">story of</a> the triumph of capital investment and intellectual labour in developing 21st-century bonded/six-panelled balls made from polyurethane layers and gas-filled Impranil foam. They present a perpetual quest to achieve optimum roundness, drag coefficient, energy transfer, flight accuracy, side and lift force and all-weather performance. </p>
<p>On top of all this “science bit”, the marketers treat the ball as an independent spectacle in itself. They <a href="http://quality.fifa.com/en/Footballs/Football-facts/The-footballs-during-the-FIFA-World-Cup/">have used</a> the past three World Cup events to launch the latest instalment of “the story of football so far”. When the Adidas +Teamgeist match balls <a href="http://www.soccerballworld.com/Teamgeist.htm">were unveiled</a> for the 2006 German World Cup, they were inscribed with the details of the teams, date and time of the game in question. This culminated in a special gold ball for the final. </p>
<p>The official match ball for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was <a href="http://www.soccerballworld.com/Jabulani_2010.htm">the Jabulani</a>. Billed as the perfect ball for the perfect players, created with team spirit to enhance team spirit, and it was ceremoniously unveiled on the occasion of the final draw. Its 11 colours were meant to symbolise the 11 languages and communities hosting the event. </p>
<p>As for the Brazuca, it remains the high point in the perpetual quest for football perfection – the <a href="http://www.helmholtz.de/en/science_and_society/on-the-physics-of-the-world-cup-ball-2720/">object of</a> two years of intensive scientific wind testing that used wind tunnels, “kick robots” and trajectory analysis. </p>
<p>Each new ball is marketed to represent the stereotypical traits of the host nation. The +Teamgeist symbolised German efficiency, team spirit and organisation. The Jabulani was about colour, exuberance, energy and quirkiness. The Brazuca <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/10493715/World-Cup-2014-Brazils-football-unveiled.html">represented</a> the role of soccer in brandishing Brazil’s global and national identity. </p>
<h2>Marx out of ten</h2>
<p>So what to make of all this? From the vantage point of pundits and fans the football is hardly ever the subject of discussion. They only talk about the ball in relation to players winning it, kicking it, saving it or whatever. During the game the ball is merely what it is – a useful object for playing football. As long as the it does not go flat or missing, it is for practical purposes almost invisible. </p>
<p>Few will spare a moment’s thought for its “pristine aerodynamic qualities” as it ping-pongs around the field of play. As the Wales and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/news/newsid=2301400.html">would have it</a>: “I tested Beau Jeu in training with long shots, passes and running at pace. It performed brilliantly.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘It’s all marketing balls.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karl_Marx.jpg#/media/File:Karl_Marx.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The marketing speak is an example of what <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/">Karl Marx called</a> “commodity fetishism”. We often hear about people fetishising inanimate objects by treating them as larger than life and we usually take this to mean they are obsessing about them. But Marx meant something more than just obsession. </p>
<p>He was talking about how people express their social relations indirectly through the objects they produce and exchange. To sell us these objects – to turn them into a consumer fetish – manufacturers have to imbue them with a status way beyond their basic value. They make them symbolise the things we are told to value, such as national identity, technological power and physical capacity. By doing this they transform it from a simple object to subject in itself. </p>
<p>Marx didn’t take much interest in watching football as far as we know, but he explained how we are sold the modern ball and all the rest of the kit and equipment more than a century before the event. Few are likely to care when they sit down to watch the Euro 2016 final on July 10. But for those who can’t resist the fetish of the “disruptive” design and “winner-takes-all mentality on the pitch”, be warned that it comes at a price. Adidas is retailing this subject of wonder at £99.95.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62031/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Kennedy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The marketing wizardry used by sports multinationals to sell these little round things by the truckload.Peter Kennedy, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/618802016-07-01T14:35:10Z2016-07-01T14:35:10ZEuro 2016 sponsors being ambushed on social media by ‘unofficial’ brands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128994/original/image-20160701-18317-k68cua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-409620058/stock-photo-blurred-fans-on-football-stadium-vintage-effect.html?src=pd-photo-320300492-3_KTcVH8711Rc2sFgfsSzA-2">Trybex</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the nations at the UEFA Euro 2016 championships have done battle on the pitch, an equally intense battle has been taking place off it between brands that want tournament exposure. Sponsors such as Coca Cola, McDonalds and Carlsberg spend multiple millions to be associated with the Euros, but they have also had to compete with a bunch of mischievous brands seeking to attach themselves in an unofficial capacity. </p>
<p>This so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/models-messi-and-wacky-races-the-art-of-ambush-marketing-22622">ambush marketing</a> is an established phenomenon, but social media has become the perfect new vehicle for it. We’ve seen this from monitoring marketing activity on these platforms during Euro 2016. UEFA regulations sometimes making it tricky for official sponsors to respond quickly and effectively to events in the campaign, and these ambushers could undermine the value of one of the hottest tickets in advertising – not to mention other major events. </p>
<p>The official sponsors of Euro 2016 are heavily active on social media, of course. Where once 30-second commercials on prime time TV dominated advertising, the likes of Twitter and Facebook <a href="http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/people-trust-media.asp">have become</a> hugely <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/election-tech-why-social-media-is-more-powerful-than-advertising/">important</a> in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/oct/01/social-media-solution-online-advertising-challenges">recent years</a>. </p>
<p>Football fans will be familiar with the relentless scrolling of rotational signage at Euro games showing the hashtags of official sponsors like #probably (Carlsberg) and #MakeYourDebut (SOCAR), and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. A wander through the Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram accounts of these sponsors – others include Continental Tyres, Hyundai-Kia and Turkish Airlines – reveals a mix of the usual competitions, promotions and user-generated content. </p>
<h2>The Iceland cometh</h2>
<p>But beyond this closed circle, a world of brands use social media to draw attention to themselves by ambushing their rivals. One of the stars of Euro 2016 is Iceland – the British frozen food chain. When Iceland qualified for Euro 2016 as the unfancied minnows, their supermarket namesake signed a deal to sponsor them. It has been wreaking havoc ever since. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"747375577963835396"}"></div></p>
<p>Iceland’s 1-1 draw with Portugal on June 14 was a good example. The retailer trolled Nandos, an international restaurant chain with a Portuguese theme, and goaded Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo with the offer of chopped onions, to the delight of Twitter users (see below). Though admittedly Iceland <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/iceland-tries-humiliate-nandos-social-8204641">was mocked</a> because Nandos is South African not Portuguese, it still drew attention away from official tournament sponsors while undermining a (non-sponsor) rival in the food and drink business. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"742830142163189760"}"></div></p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"743029997326204928"}"></div></p>
<p>At the same time, the chain <a href="http://corp.ballstreet.co.uk/?page_id=312">ran a prize draw</a> for fans to win a year’s supply of Iceland shopping by tweeting the hashtag #ComeonIceland. Traffic was partly driven by former Premier League player Jimmy Bullard <a href="https://twitter.com/jimmybullard/status/742779404741414912">tweeting himself</a> dancing around wearing an Iceland shopping bag as a “football kit”, which prompted some fans to follow his example. This helped the chain to leverage social media’s potential for getting the public to produce branded content for you. Bullard’s original tweet attracted around 2,500 retweets and 2,200 likes. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"742779404741414912"}"></div></p>
<p>Betting company Paddy Power is another ambusher that is savvy with social media and has been tweeting constantly during the tournament. One strand parodies player heat maps to poke fun at poor performances – one about Belgian international Romelu Lukaku’s performance against Italy attracted nearly 1,000 retweets. Another tweet from the online gambler that joked about the Icelandic team’s support during its game against England on June 27 was retweeted more than 300 times and liked over 450 times. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"748067482901020672"}"></div></p>
<h2>The activation problem</h2>
<p>It is very difficult for official sponsors to compete with this kind of messaging because of the nature of their relationship with the tournament owners. When a brand sponsors a tournament they typically spend twice: once to acquire a legal right of association and then again on promotion around the deal to make sure it works properly – known in the trade as “activation”. Carlsberg is <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/carlsberg-s-euro-soccer-campaign-said-to-be-worth-90-million">reported to have</a> spent upwards of €80m (£67m) on activation, for example, over and above the €40m it spent to become the tournament’s official beer. </p>
<p>Before an official sponsor can start this activation marketing, it must adhere to UEFA’s strict branding and guidelines. And before they start using hashtags, running competitions or engaging in any other form of activity, they must submit an activation request. </p>
<p>This means companies have to plan their messaging strategy a long way in advance. And because UEFA is concerned with protecting the reputation of the words and images associated with what is one of its marquee events, it can be cautious about what it will allow official sponsors to do. This leads to messaging that tends to be neutral and often lacks the responsiveness and innovative humour of many ambushers, all of which plays badly to the advantages of social media.</p>
<p>It poses a serious challenge for UEFA and the owners of other major sporting events – all of whom tend towards a similar approach. The International Olympic Committee tries to address it <a href="http://www.teresascassa.ca/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=153:ambush-marketing-and-the-olympics&Itemid=84">by obliging</a> host nations to introduce anti-ambush legislation, but arguably this just forces ambushers to become even more creative and eye-catching. Paddy Power for example <a href="http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/1142359/paddy-power-sponsors-the-biggest-athletics-event-london">ran a campaign</a> during the London Olympics in 2012 announcing itself official sponsor of an egg and spoon race, saying it was sponsoring the “biggest athletics event in London” – then pointing out it meant in the town of London in the French region of Burgundy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/128993/original/image-20160701-18325-nzei9y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paddy Power’s London 2012 ambush.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Social media is now so vital for advertisers, and the current situation <a href="http://www.doz.com/marketing-resources/euro-2016-marketing-worth-it-sponsor">potentially weakens</a> the business case for spending vast amounts of money on sponsoring these events. It’s not as if this is the only question mark against them either. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/euro-2016-brand-sponsors-2016-5?IR=T">Reported figures</a> from a spontaneous recognition survey showed, for instance, that while 11% of people correctly identified Adidas as an official sponsor, 9% incorrectly thought that Nike was one, too. MasterCard, another sponsor, had a similar problem with Visa. </p>
<p>If major sports tournaments want to regain the upper hand in this brave new era, they might need to develop an approach suited to the instantaneousness of social media. Until then they risk jeopardising their proposition – an own goal if ever there was one.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61880/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick works for UEFA. He helped develop and teaches on its Certificate in Football Management. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Fenton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It costs multiple millions to sponsor a global sports event. Why bother when non-sponsors cleverly associate themselves for next to nothing?Simon Chadwick, ‘Class of 92’ Professor of Sports Enterprise, University of SalfordAlex Fenton, Lecturer in Digital Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/607232016-06-08T14:50:59Z2016-06-08T14:50:59ZEuro 2016: France is host at one of the darkest moments in its recent history<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125691/original/image-20160608-3475-11x4w79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not much liberty, fraternity or equality round here. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/france+euro+2016/search.html?page=5&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=395997148">pbombaert</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The radio station <a href="http://www.franceinter.fr/programmes/mercredi">France Inter</a> recently reminded listeners of a headline in Le Parisien newspaper from the day before the start of the 1998 <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/france1998/index.html">FIFA World Cup</a> in France. It read “Air France rate son mondial” – “Air France misses its World Cup” – as the state airline entered its ninth day of industrial action. </p>
<p>The French went into that tournament hoping at least to put on a good show. Since the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/14/newsid_2503000/2503109.stm">celebration of</a> the bicentenary of the Revolution in 1989, the eyes of the world had turned away from l’Hexagone, as the country is sometimes known. And the football team, brimming with talent, was hoping to erase the memory of a disappointing <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=1996/">Euro 96 in England</a>, though few dared to predict the eventual outcome. </p>
<p>The public placed a great deal of symbolic and cultural value on the victory of that year’s “bleu-blanc-beur” squad – a reference to the team’s black, white and north African composition that was itself a twist on the bleu-blanc-rouge of the national flag. It seemed to prove the success of the French model of <a href="https://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/assimilationism-vs-multiculturalism/">integration</a>, as opposed to British-style multiculturalism. </p>
<p>Former Front National leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/france/newsid_1968000/1968075.stm">had claimed</a> that the players of ethnic origin did not know the words to La Marseillaise, was silenced. Then president Jacques Chirac, who a year earlier had <a href="http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2113_97.htm">dissolved parliament</a> in the hope of getting a new majority and lost, couldn’t get Aimé Jacquet and his team to the Elysée quickly enough.</p>
<p>Victory in <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2000/">Euro 2000</a> seemed to confirm this vision of a better France and its place in the world. French self-confidence came to a juddering halt in 2002, however. First there was the international embarrassment of Le Pen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/22/thefarright.france">making it through</a> to the second round of that year’s presidential election, then the holders were drawn against Senegal for their first match in the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/koreajapan2002/">World Cup</a>. </p>
<p>Senegal was one of France’s oldest former colonies and most loyal allies in Africa. The game was supposed to be a celebration of Francophone brotherhood, culminating in a French victory. But Les Bleus never found their rhythm and the Senegalese <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/france_v_senegal/default.stm">nicked the game</a>. Celebrating brotherhood seemed less appealing as the losing side. </p>
<p>By the time of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/20/france-raymond-domenech-nicolas-anelka">players’ revolt</a> in the South African World Cup in 2010, which was seen by the French public as arrogant and spoilt behaviour, they had lost any illusions about football as a symbol of national glory. They had come to see football matches as just that. </p>
<h2>Il pleut, il pleut</h2>
<p>Eighteen years on from the French World Cup, the 2016 Euros kick off in the middle of what looks like, for want of a better expression, a perfect storm. The terrorist attacks of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30708237">last January</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34818994">November</a> are never far from the surface, especially given the number of visitors due to come to France over the next month. </p>
<p>Then there are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jun/04/what-are-french-strikes-about-and-will-they-affect-euro-2016">the strikes</a> over a new labour law, the last piece of key legislation that the government wants to get through parliament before the summer recess and next year’s presidential election. The changes are complex but the unrest has also been about the state of war between competing trades unions in France. While the moderates are willing to negotiate, the hard left frame the reforms as nothing less than the demolition of the consensus founded at the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/25/newsid_3520000/3520894.stm">Liberation of 1944</a>.</p>
<p>In some ways this is true, but the wider public’s patience with radicalism and violence is beginning to wear thin. The French once accepted that the unions acted on behalf of a wider interest. Now, that seems to have gone. Even the hard-line railway unions have felt the need to promise not to disrupt the football.</p>
<p>In the background, Marine Le Pen, Jean-Marie’s daughter and successor as leader of Front National, need do nothing; President Francois Hollande <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/06/03/marine-le-pen-surges-french-polls/">falls further</a> in the polls (if that were possible); and the right remains divided. Woe betide the footballer of ethnic origin who fails to sing the national anthem. And then there is the clean-up operation going on in the wake of the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/07/amazing-photos-capture-1910-great-flood-of-paris-v-2016/">heavy rains</a> that have battered France over the last few weeks.</p>
<p>When Euro 2016 was awarded to France back in 2010, no-one could have foreseen how events would turn out six years later. This was supposed to be the crowning moment in the glittering career of France’s favourite footballing son, Michel Platini. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/09/michel-platini-cas-appeal-ban-football">Whatever happened</a> to him?</p>
<p>And yet the French, who view themselves as individualistic, deeply divided, quarrelsome among themselves and given to pessimism, are cautiously optimistic about their team’s chances. They will count on what they call, paradoxically, “le French flair”. </p>
<p>Not that a victory in the final would carry the same currency as in 1998 or 2000. In that era, it might even have saved a president as unpopular as Hollande. But in the current France that seems unimaginable. Win or lose at Euro 2016, the nation knows it’s just a football tournament.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60723/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some Gallic goals might cheer up the French, but they certainly won’t save Hollande.Paul Smith, Associate Professor in French and Francophone Studies, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/606612016-06-07T16:45:00Z2016-06-07T16:45:00ZEuro 2016: how UEFA found the formula for its toughest tournament yet<p>The starting whistle will blow on the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament on Friday June 10 as hosts France take on Romania in the opening game. It is the beginning of a month of European football action that happens every four years and has produced unexpected results: some less-fancied teams – including <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17757335">Denmark in 1992</a> and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/3860105.stm">Greece in 2004</a> – have raised the winners’ trophy. </p>
<p>Aside from the fact that this year’s tournament coincides with the British EU referendum and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/euro-2016-talks-to-avert-french-rail-strikes-before-tournament-break-down-a7068446.html">social upheaval</a> in France, one important point of interest is a change in the format. For the first time, 24 countries will participate. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=1960/">The tournament</a> began in 1960, and was also hosted by France. In those days there were only four participating teams – France, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, who were the winners. The tournament was extended to eight teams in 1980 and 16 in 1996. </p>
<p>Like previous tournaments Euro 2016 will involve a group stage with four teams per group – the difference is that there will now be six groups instead of four. The best 16 teams will go through to three rounds of knockout stages ahead of the final. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125549/original/image-20160607-15061-5to91t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Soviet celebrations in 1960.</span></span>
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<h2>Why the change?</h2>
<p>The rationale behind expanding the tournament was to encourage European football to develop by providing better access for smaller countries to UEFA main competitions. This has certainly been accomplished, with teams including Wales, Northern Ireland, Iceland and Albania preparing to do battle.</p>
<p>Yet, at first glance, having more teams may seem detrimental to making the Euro finals a <a href="http://www.easm.net/download/2014/239-Accept-oral-presentation-Scelles-Competitive-balance-and-intensity-in-European-wome.pdf">tough competition</a>. You would expect teams ranked 17 to 24 to be weaker than teams 1 to 16. Some <a href="http://www.footballseeding.com/international-tournaments/euro-2016/">results in the qualifying round</a> suggest this is not necessarily the case, however. Iceland, ranked 38, forced the Netherlands – ranked third seeds – into a playoff <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/13/holland-czech-republic-euro-2016-qualifiers-match-report">they lost</a> to the Czechs. </p>
<p>Northern Ireland (39) and Wales (34) were able to do the same to Greece (7) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (9) respectively. <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/brazil2014/">World Cup winners</a> Germany struggled to qualify against the Republic of Ireland (19) and Poland (28), and won only by one goal in their two games against Scotland (31). </p>
<p>More countries in contention also means fewer meaningless games, though again this might not be immediately apparent. More teams were in with a chance of qualifying until late in the day, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/uefa-president-michel-platini-admits-expanded-euros-will-be-less-interesting-8553800.html">scotching fears</a> from even the former UEFA president Michel Platini that the qualifiers would be less interesting.</p>
<p>Reducing meaningless games is something UEFA also intends to take beyond Euro 2016. It will cut the number of friendlies from 2018 by replacing most of them with a new competition called the <a href="http://www.uefa.com/community/news/newsid=2079553.html">Nations League</a>. It will consist of four hierarchical leagues with the 12 best teams in League A, teams 13 to 24 in League B and so on. This will offer an additional opportunity for smaller countries to qualify for Euro 2020, since the winning country from each league will qualify for the tournament. There will also be promotion and relegation as in club football. </p>
<p>That’s for the future, however. In the current tournament my native France are the favourites to win, ahead of Germany and Spain. They are not only <a href="http://www.oddschecker.com/football/euro-2016/winner">favoured by bookmakers</a> but also by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, which <a href="http://www.cityam.com/242675/this-is-goldman-sachs-favourite-to-win-euro-2016">has been</a> crunching the probabilities. If France do win, they will equal the other two countries by lifting the title for the third time – they last won at <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2000/">Euro 2000</a>, defeating Italy.</p>
<p>Either way, UEFA has set the scene for a more thrilling tournament than the previous ones – not least because the four most successful third-placed teams will be going through to the knockout stages. That should help ensure a more intense and competitive tournament, that keeps fans gripped through June and early July.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolas Scelles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>France are favourites, Albania are playing and there are more teams than ever before. Your essential guide to Europe’s summer football festival.Nicolas Scelles, Lecturer in Sport Economics, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.