tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/football-482/articlesFootball – The Conversation2024-03-28T05:48:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259022024-03-28T05:48:40Z2024-03-28T05:48:40ZWhat is the Stations of the Cross ritual, and why do Christians still perform it at Easter?<p>A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some enjoy the season of hot cross buns and egg-shaped chocolates; others forgo such luxuries during daylight hours due to their Ramadan fast. Jews have recently celebrated Purim and remembered the bravery of Esther; meanwhile, the Hindu festival of Holi begins.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, hordes in their colours flock to the footy; others get involved in the Good Friday Appeal; and certain Christians enact a medieval tradition of walking the way of the cross around the streets of Melbourne. </p>
<p>So what is it, and why is it still performed?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jesus-wasnt-white-he-was-a-brown-skinned-middle-eastern-jew-heres-why-that-matters-91230">Jesus wasn't white: he was a brown-skinned, Middle Eastern Jew. Here's why that matters</a>
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<p>To enter into the Stations or Way of the Cross ritual is to enter into the last hours of Jesus before he was crucified, just outside Jerusalem around the year 33 CE. </p>
<p>Those last hours included a meal with his friends, prayer in a garden, his arrest and a trial that ends in the sentence of death by crucifixion. His body was then stripped and flogged, the cross placed on his shoulders to carry to the execution place. He stumbled under the weight of the cross, then was put on the cross to which he was nailed through his hands and feet before speaking his last words, and then dying. The last two stations, usually only visited on Easter morning, celebrate his resurrection from death.</p>
<p>The Stations of the Cross is a devotional and contemplative exercise, as pilgrims stop and pray, hear scripture, and ponder in silence the significance of each station, getting closer to the moment of Jesus’ death each time. </p>
<p>The practice of <em>memento mori</em> (remembering death) is found in a wide variety of religious and philosophical traditions. But Jesus’ death is a bit different – at least for Christians. At one level, Jesus died in a typical manner of execution for lower class people in the Roman Empire. As gruesome as it was, it was not unique or special. </p>
<p>But Christians quickly imbued this particular death with much more meaning. Jesus was believed to be the incarnation of God (that is, God in human form) and to have been raised from the dead three days later. And so his death and resurrection was interpreted as an event that brought salvation, forgiveness, and a new way of life into the world. It is this mystery Christians continue to celebrate all these years later. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584654/original/file-20240327-26-uoh2t6.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">For Christians, the Stations of the Cross is an opportunity to reflect on every stage leading to Jesus’ crucifixion, and later resurrection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The Stations of the Cross has its roots in early Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem to walk in the final footsteps of Jesus. While the origins are unclear, it became popular in the late medieval period and was common across Europe by the 16th century. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mccia.org.au/way-of-the-cross/">Melbourne city version of these stations</a> include 14 bronze reliefs located at a wide variety of churches in and around the CBD. Individuals can walk these themselves or join the city churches at 10am on Good Friday, starting at St Francis’ Church. Pre-COVID, this walking in the way of Jesus attracted up to 3,000 people each Good Friday. </p>
<p>This public expression of faith can seem unusual in a contemporary Australian city like Melbourne. Australian culture sometimes encourages people to keep their faith private. Our religious tolerance strains at its limits when religion spills out of homes, synagogues, temples, churches, or mosques and into the public sphere. People walking around the city stopping to reflect on a violent death that took place more than 2,000 years ago can seem awkward, even embarrassing to those looking on. Others watch with interest.</p>
<p>This raises the question of the kind of secular society we want to live in. One version of secularism says that religion should be kept well out of the public sphere, practised in private, and should not inform a person’s participation in public life. France often tends in this direction (see, for example, repeated attempts to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-30/france-bans-muslim-abayas-in-school-sparking-secularism-debate/102792014">ban the hijab</a> in public). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victim-or-victor-how-the-easter-story-still-resonates-today-203152">Victim or victor? How the Easter story still resonates today</a>
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<p>But another version of secularism says that while the state should not favour any particular religious or non-religious tradition, we are a stronger and richer society if we encourage all faiths and cultures to express themselves in public. Rather than hiding our deepest beliefs away, we should share them with each other.</p>
<p>On Good Friday afternoon, another tradition comes to life, as thousands gather to scream, yell and sing tribal songs as their teams fight it out on a football oval. To a non-AFL fan like myself, that gathering is equally strange. Yet, I can recognise the emotion and fervour as something familiar, something joyful, something that taps into our deepest desires and brings us together across cultural and social divides. </p>
<p>When footy games were first scheduled on this holy day for Christians, it was not without controversy. Headlines cried “<a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/religion-versus-sport-explaining-afl-games-on-good-friday-20140621-3al1d.html">religion versus sport</a>” and genuine questions about consumerism and work were raised. </p>
<p>For me, there is a certain delight in living in a society where not everyone is religious and even if they are, they are not religious in the same way. I’m glad to live in a society where such activities occur side by side, be they footy, Purim, Ramadan, Holi, or Easter. I am glad to live in a society where some yell at the footy and some pray in a city street – and some do both.</p>
<p>The Stations of the Cross is one more visible sign of our multicultural, multifaith society at work. We can be proud to live in a society where rituals that seem strange to some are nonetheless tolerated and even welcomed. This is something everyone can celebrate, whether religious or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225902/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn J. Whitaker 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>Like a lot of things that happen at this time of year, the Stations of the Cross is a ritual – and an important one to many.Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of DivinityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226722024-03-20T12:22:19Z2024-03-20T12:22:19Z40 years ago, the Supreme Court broke the NCAA’s lock on TV revenue, reshaping college sports to this day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582552/original/file-20240318-18-t8ggbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C2986%2C1980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A cameraman films the Ohio State Buckeyes before a 2018 game.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cameraman-for-the-big-ten-network-television-show-the-news-photo/915548694">Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Pac-12 is likely to be competing in its last March Madness, as realignment has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-09-01/pac-12-obituary">pushed 10 of its schools to other conferences</a>. What led the most decorated conference in the NCAA to dissolve so quickly? </p>
<p>This surprising development arguably dates back to a decades-old court decision. As the NCAA prepared for its tournament regional basketball semifinals in March 1984, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in a case, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/463/1311">NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma</a>, that would change how Americans watch college sports.</p>
<p>After the court’s ruling, there were no limits on how much college football could be broadcast on TV, which previously was restricted to a <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/cowboys/2013/08/25/exploring-the-history-of-college-football-media-rights/60887384007/">maximum of six nationally broadcast games every two years</a>. The regionally focused conferences of the NCAA would become a national business, driven by television money from football. As a <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/ethnicstudies/people/core-faculty/jared-bahir-browsh">professor of critical sports studies</a>, I see the court ruling’s influence today with the downfall of the Pac-12.</p>
<h2>A history of televised college sports</h2>
<p>Even during TV’s experimental era of the 1930s, college sports were an attraction. The first televised college football game was <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2023-08-04/college-football-history-notable-firsts-and-milestones#:%7E:text=The%20first%20college%20football%20game%20on%20TV%20was%20between%20Fordham,NBC%20and%20aired%20on%20W2XBS.">broadcast in 1939</a>. By 1950, a few schools, including <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/01/penn-football-ncaa-television-controversy-1951">the University of Pennsylvania and Notre Dame</a>, had signed deals to air their football games regionally.</p>
<p>But that changed in 1951, when the NCAA took control of football television rights – and, in an effort to protect attendance at games, <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/01/13/84672687.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock&pageNumber=19">attempted to eliminate live TV broadcasts</a>. Some universities, unsurprisingly, weren’t thrilled with the news. Penn told the association it would continue airing games, but gave up when it was <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/11/20/87281672.html?pageNumber=27">threatened with sanctions</a>. </p>
<p>The NCAA eventually relented later that year, <a href="https://www.footballarchaeology.com/p/1951-and-college-footballs-first">allowing sold-out games to be shown on TV</a>. That led to the first coast-to-coast broadcast of a live sporting event, when Duke visited the University of Pittsburgh for a football game in September 1951.</p>
<p><a href="https://125.nd.edu/moments/small-screen-debut-1952-vs-oklahoma/">By 1952</a>, the NCAA allowed one national game to be broadcast each week, and in 1953, it allowed NBC to provide <a href="https://floridagators.com/news/2023/10/26/football-carters-corner-florida-georgia-game-a-TV-staple-70-years-after-small-screen-debut.aspx">“panorama” coverage of regional games</a>. In 1955, the NCAA acquiesced to pressure from conferences, including the Big Ten, and increased the availability of regional games, offering one national game for eight weeks and <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/03/15/83353580.html?pageNumber=35">regional games the other five weeks of the season</a>.</p>
<p>Throughout this time, the <a href="https://en.as.com/ncaa/the-reason-why-college-football-bowl-games-are-called-bowl-games-n/">bowl games</a> – such as the Rose Bowl, which started in 1902 as part of a holiday festival – remained independent of the NCAA’s policy. The exposure from these games proved to university administrators that televised college sports could be lucrative and boost applications.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="In a black-and-white image, an NBC cameraman is seen filming a Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California, in 1970." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582550/original/file-20240318-16-mvepy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&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">The Rose Bowl was broadcast on TV in the early 1970s, when the NCAA severely restricted regular season broadcasts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/camera-during-a-circa-1970s-rose-bowl-game-in-pasadena-news-photo/98749899">Robert Riger/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Tired of the restrictions on media exposure and revenue during the regular season, several universities got together in 1977 to form the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/23/sports/tv-issue-dividing-football-colleges.html">College Football Association</a> and challenge the NCAA’s control of television rights. Two years later, the CFA began negotiating a television contract with NBC – while the NCAA was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VYmEb44o0U">in the midst of negotiations with CBS and ABC</a>. </p>
<p>The organizations were on a collision course. By 1981, the CFA <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/22/sports/rival-football-unit-approves-tv-pact.html">agreed to a contract with NBC</a>, and the NCAA declared that any CFA members who participated in the contract would be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/22/sports/rival-football-unit-approves-tv-pact.html">sanctioned in all sponsored sports</a>. Two CFA member schools, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Georgia, immediately <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1983/83-271">filed suit to gain control of their television rights</a>.</p>
<h2>From the gridiron to the Supreme Court</h2>
<p>After both district and circuit courts ruled that the broadcast restrictions qualified as unfair restraint on the free market, the NCAA appealed to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments took place on March 20, 1984. By June, the court had ruled against the NCAA, allowing the CFA to oversee media contracts for its members. </p>
<p>By 1996, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/01/sports/college-football-its-power-eroding-cfa-will-disband.html">the major conferences broke from the CFA</a>, which ceased operations in 1997, and began negotiating on their own in an environment that now included a number of national and regional networks <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/cowboys/2013/08/25/exploring-the-history-of-college-football-media-rights/60887384007/">interested in broadcasting college football</a>. </p>
<p>In 1987, NCAA member schools also voted to allow conferences with two divisions of at least six teams to hold a conference championship that wouldn’t count against their game limit. This motivated conferences to gain control of their television rights and <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2014/05/16/conference-championship-games-rule-origin">leverage a championship game for more money</a>.</p>
<h2>A flood of money</h2>
<p>As conferences took control of their media rights, TV networks continued to pour money into college football and were soon joined by streaming services. The Big Ten alone commands over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/sports/ncaafootball/big-ten-tv-deal-student-athletes.html">US$1 billion</a> in media rights, up from $10 million in 1996. </p>
<p>In addition to the conference media rights, the bowl games and College Football Playoff negotiated separate contracts – the latter of which was signed with ESPN in February 2024 for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cfp-espn-34efc26e96a0596547b8b0dbcfb3287a">$1.3 billion a year</a> over six years. </p>
<p>This flood of money comes at a time when <a href="https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2023/americans-favor-college-athletes-pay-harris-poll-1234734402/">67% of Americans</a> question the relationship between the NCAA, conferences, colleges and student-athletes. The NCAA has allowed athletes to profit from their <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-image-and-likeness-policy.aspx">name, imagine and likeness since 2021</a>, after several states legalized the practice. The same year, NCAA initiated new rules <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/04/14/ncaa-transfers-rule-change-football-basketball">giving athletes more freedom to transfer</a>.</p>
<p>In spite of these changes, the NCAA faces several lawsuits that challenge the <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/39485414/nlrb-lawsuits-mounting-legal-challenges">nonemployee status of student-athletes</a>. Formerly regional conferences have become national businesses, and it’s becoming harder to argue that college athletes are amateurs as their talent brings in more and more revenue for schools. </p>
<h2>The Conference of Champions connection</h2>
<p>So, what does this have to do with the Pac-12 as it faces extinction? Everything. In 2022, the Big Ten negotiated a historic deal that would pay schools, including Pac-12 defectors University of Southern California and University of California Los Angeles, <a href="https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2022/09/13/the-big-ten-breakdown-how-uscs-move-to-the-big-ten-will-affect-the-school-the-fans-and-players-alike/#:%7E:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20average%20Pac,dollars%20annually%20from%20that%20deal.">between $80 million and $100 million a year from media rights</a>. </p>
<p>Even without the Los Angeles market, Pac-12 administrators tried to cash in, countering ESPN’s $30 million-a-school offer with <a href="https://arizonasports.com/story/3531384/big-12-yormark-brought-urgency-tv-deal-pac-12-didnt">one valued at $50 million a year</a>.</p>
<p>But ESPN quickly walked, and when the only deal on the table was a short-term one with Apple TV for just $25 million per school, eight more universities <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2023/08/11/pac-12-espn-media-rights-negotiations-50-million-ask-per-report">left for other conferences</a> offering more lucrative deals. This is why the conference with the most NCAA championships may not have another opportunity to add to its trophy case in 2025.</p>
<p>Although many people saw changes on the horizon, few could have imagined this much “madness” when the court ruled in favor of the University of Oklahoma back in 1984 The nearly 75-year television tug of war isn’t over, and the money it generates will continue to transform college sports. Money has seemingly toppled tradition, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-09-01/pac-12-obituary">as the Pac-12 schools walk away from 108 years of history</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222672/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jared Bahir Browsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>March Madness might look very different if not for the Supreme Court.Jared Bahir Browsh, Assistant Teaching Professor of Critical Sports Studies, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2258942024-03-19T19:44:12Z2024-03-19T19:44:12ZCan AI improve football teams’ success from corner kicks? Liverpool and others are betting it can<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582686/original/file-20240318-26-ut2che.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2005&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google DeepMind</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last Sunday, Liverpool faced Manchester United in the <a href="https://www.espn.com.au/football/report/_/gameId/699283">quarter finals of the FA Cup</a> – and in the final minute of extra time, with the score tied at three-all, Liverpool had the crucial opportunity of a corner kick. A goal would surely mean victory, but losing possession could be risky.</p>
<p>What was Liverpool to do? Attack or play it safe? And if they were to attack, how best to do it? What kind of delivery, and where should players be waiting to attack the ball?</p>
<p>Set-piece decisions like this are vital not only in football but in many other competitive sports, and traditionally they are made by coaches on the basis of long experience and analysis. However, Liverpool has recently been looking to an unexpected source for advice: researchers at the Google-owned UK-based artificial intelligence (AI) lab <a href="https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/advancing-sports-analytics-through-ai-research/">DeepMind</a>.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45965-x">paper published today</a> in Nature Communications, DeepMind researchers describe an AI system for football tactics called TacticAI, which can assist in developing successful corner kick routines. The paper says experts at Liverpool favoured TacticAI’s advice over existing tactics in 90% of cases.</p>
<h2>What TacticAI can do</h2>
<p>At a corner kick, play stops and each team has the chance to organise its players on the field before the attacking team kicks the ball back into play – usually with a specific prearranged plan in mind that will (hopefully) let them score a goal. Advice on these prearranged plans or routines is what TacticAI sets out to offer.</p>
<p>The package has three components: one that predicts which player is most likely to receive the ball in a given scenario, another that predicts whether a shot on goal will be taken, and a third that recommends how to adjust the position of players to increase or decrease the chances of a shot on goal.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing a soccer field with player positions marked, as well as a network diagram." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582707/original/file-20240319-28-xag9u9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=325&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">TacticAI represents a corner-kick setup as a ‘graph’ of player positions and relationships, which it then uses to make predictions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45965-x">Wang et al. / Nature Communications</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Trained on a dataset of 7,176 corner kicks from Premier League matches, TacticAI used a technique called “geometric deep learning” to identify key strategic patterns.</p>
<p>The researchers say this approach could be applied not only to football, but to any sport in which a stoppage in the game allows teams to deliberately manoeuvre players into place unopposed, and plan the next sequence of play. In football, it could also be expanded in future to incorporate throw-in routines as well as other set pieces such as attacking free kicks.</p>
<h2>Vast amounts of data</h2>
<p>AI in football is not new. Even in amateur and semi-professional football, AI-powered auto-tracking camera systems are becoming commonplace, for example. At the last men’s and women’s World Cups in 2022 and 2023, AI in conjunction with advanced ball-tracking technology produced semi-automated offside decisions with an unprecedented level of accuracy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/games-by-numbers-machine-learning-is-changing-sport-38973">Games by numbers: machine learning is changing sport</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Professional football clubs have analytical departments using AI at every level of the game, predominantly in the areas of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ai-football-soccer-scouting/">scouting</a>, <a href="https://www.engadget.com/will-ai-revolutionize-professional-soccer-recruitment-130045118.html">recruitment</a> and <a href="https://theathletic.com/4966509/2023/10/19/wearable-technology-in-football/">athlete monitoring</a>. Other research has also tried to <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/9/4506">predict players’ shots on goal</a>, or guess from a video what <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-12547-0">off-screen players are doing</a>. </p>
<p>Bringing AI into tactical decisions promises to offer coaches a more objective and analytical approach to the game. Algorithms can process vast amounts of data, identifying patterns that may not be apparent to the naked eye, giving teams valuable insights into their own performance as well as that of their opponents. </p>
<h2>A useful tool</h2>
<p>AI may be a useful tool, but it cannot make decisions about match play alone. An algorithm might suggest the optimal positional setup for an in-swinging corner or how best to exploit the opposition’s defensive tactics. </p>
<p>What AI cannot do is make decisions on the fly – like deciding whether to take a corner quickly to exploit an opponent’s lapse in concentration. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b1zjjf5EN1g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sometimes the best move is a speedy reaction to conditions on the ground, not an elaborate prearranged set play.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s also something to be said for allowing players creative licence in some situations. Once teams are using AI to suggest the optimal corner strategy, opponents will doubtless counter with their own AI-prompted defensive setup.</p>
<p>So while the tech behind TacticAI is very interesting, it remains to be seen whether it can evolve to be useful in open play. Could AI get to the stage where it can recognise the best tactical player substitution in a given situation? </p>
<p>DeepMind researchers have advanced decision-making like this in their sights for <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1613/jair.1.12505">future research</a>, but will it ever reach a point where coaches would trust it?</p>
<p>My sense from discussions with people in the industry is many believe AI should only be used as an input to decision-making, and not be allowed to make decisions itself. There is no substitute for the experience and instinct of the best coaches, the intangible ability to feel what the game needs, to make a change in formation, to play someone out of position. </p>
<h2>Smart tactics – but what about strategy?</h2>
<p>Coming back to that crucial Liverpool corner in last Sunday’s FA Cup quarter final: we don’t know whether Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp considered AI advice, but the decision was made to play an attacking corner kick, presumably in the hope of scoring a last-minute winner. </p>
<p>The out-swinging delivery into the box may well have been the tactic with the highest probability of scoring a goal – but things rapidly went wrong. Manchester United gained possession of the ball, moved it down the pitch on the counterattack and slotted home the winning goal, sending Liverpool out of the tournament at the last moment.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DKk8N2PYwCA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Even the best tactics can go wrong.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So while AI might suggest the optimal delivery and setup for a set piece, a coach might decide the wiser move is to play safe and avoid the risk of a counterattack. If TacticAI continues its career progression as a coaching assistant, it will no doubt learn that keeping the ball in the corner and playing for penalties may sometimes be the better option.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225894/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Scanlan 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>A new AI system may improve soccer tactics in 90% of corner kicks – but is it ready for the big leagues?Mark Scanlan, Lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2251992024-03-07T17:23:54Z2024-03-07T17:23:54ZCopa 71: how the first women’s World Cup was erased from footballing history<p>The young Gail Emms, who would later become world badminton champion, was great at sport. At school, she once proudly gave a detailed presentation about how her mother, Janice, had played football for England in a World Cup in the early 1970s. Her teachers enjoyed the story but thought Gail was fantasising. There was no official record of any such event taking place. </p>
<p>However, Janice Emms did indeed play for an England football team in Mexico City in 1971 – and in front of a crowd of 90,000 at that. The women and girls concerned hid their involvement because football’s world governing body, Fifa, disapproved, and England’s Football Association (FA) sought to ban those who had participated in this “unsanctioned” tournament. </p>
<p>The players involved seldom talked about Mexico later, even among themselves. But those who had been there would never forget it.</p>
<p>Copa 71, a new documentary film about this long-forgotten landmark tournament, lists US soccer star Alex Morgan and tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers. It premiered recently at the British Film Institute and, to some acclaim, at the Toronto International Film Festival. </p>
<p>Released on March 8, it interviews some of those involved and emerges at a moment when the women’s game is experiencing unprecedented commercial and popular success. The Women’s World Cup is now a major money-spinner and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/aug/04/womens-world-cup-2023-hailed-as-most-successful-in-history-at-halfway-point">global TV event</a>, and Fifa has even <a href="https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023/news/bareman-women-will-play-vital-role-in-football-s-future">embraced</a> women’s football as the “future” of the game. Times have changed.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tXx5usO4v2E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The extraordinary story of the 1971 Women’s Football World Cup.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘British Independents’</h2>
<p>In the early 1970s, Italian drinks company Martini Rosso identified untapped commercial and marketing potential in women’s football. It argued for a privately funded international tournament in Mexico in 1971 – promising to pay for the kit, travel and accommodation of any Europeans willing to be involved. </p>
<p>Six countries took part, including four from Europe. In England, there was little point engaging with the FA on such matters: women’s football had been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/13/how-the-fa-banned-womens-football-in-1921-and-tried-to-justify-it">banned</a> there for 50 years, and it was barely on the national agenda again. So, a Mr Harry Batt from Luton was contacted instead. </p>
<p>Early women footballers remember Batt fondly as a chain-smoking, rather sweary bus driver in his sixties. He and his wife, June, had started up the Chiltern Valley Ladies football club in 1969. An unlikely moderniser, Batt had recognised the demand among young women in his area for a chance to play, and built a successful and competitive regional club. </p>
<p>So, when the man from Martini Rosso came calling and asked Batt if he could put a squad together to represent England in Mexico, he jumped at the chance. Batt’s scratch team of so-called “British Independents” ranged in age from the 13-year-old Leah Caleb to a handful of more mature women players. Parental approval was needed for some squad members even to travel.</p>
<p>Did Batt really know what he was doing? His inexperienced and youthful team had only ever performed in charity matches or on uneven park pitches in front of a smattering of dogs, friends and family members. Children played alongside adults because of the paucity of women players; there was nowhere decent even for female players to change. </p>
<p>In Mexico City, this patchwork 14-player squad – by now re-labelled as England – played between daft pink-and-white goalposts in some of the largest stadia in the world, in front of enormous and enthusiastic crowds. The England women suffered injuries and lost their matches, but respect for them abroad grew.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of a crowd gathered outside a large football stadium." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580231/original/file-20240306-18-fgv5q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 1971, Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca was the world’s largest football stadium, hosting 112,000 fans for the women’s final.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Women%27s_World_Cup#/media/File:Mexico_stadium_1986.jpg">Karl Oppolzer/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Disappearing from view</h2>
<p>And Batt’s reward for all this promoting of women and girls’ football in the international spotlight? A rebuff from Fifa and a lifetime ban from the FA. Thanks for nothing.</p>
<p>The New York Times had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/27/archives/soccer-goes-sexy-south-of-border-womens-world-cup-aimed-at-the-2.html">billed</a> the Mexico tournament as “Soccer Goes Sexy South of Border”, with women’s football depicted as “a mixture between a sports event and a beauty contest … the shorts will be as close as possible to hot pants”. </p>
<p>But in fact, these international women footballers appear to have been as revered in Mexico as were men players. Some 112,000 fans watched Denmark defeat Mexico 3–0 in the final. Autograph hunters and TV presenters followed every step of the visiting England team. </p>
<p>After this sort of adulation, coming home was a real let-down. Mexico ‘71 had barely registered in England.</p>
<p>It took the dinosaurs at the FA another decade, under protest, to take the <a href="https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/Legacy/History">women’s game</a> in-house, and a blundering Fifa 20 years to organise the first official Women’s World Cup, in <a href="https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/chinapr1991">China</a>. So many wasted years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225199/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Williams 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>Thousands of fans packed out stadiums for the 1971 women’s World Cup, but it has been virtually erased from history.John Williams, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250902024-03-06T01:05:55Z2024-03-06T01:05:55ZSam Kerr’s racially aggravated harassment charge puts Football Australia in a tricky place<p>Football Australia has been engulfed in a crisis it never saw coming.</p>
<p>Global football superstar Sam Kerr – captain of the hugely popular Matildas national women’s team – has been charged in England with the racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. She stands <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/05/sam-kerr-charged-with-alleged-racially-aggravated-harassment-of-london-police-officer-after-taxi-dispute">accused</a> of using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to the officer, who was responding to a taxi dispute in London in January 2023.</p>
<p>Kerr has pleaded not guilty, with Judge Judith Elaine Coello <a href="https://www.aap.com.au/news/kerr-to-face-trial-in-england-accused-of-harassing-cop/">quoted</a> as saying to the player’s barrister:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I understand that the defence is that she didn’t intend to cause alarm, harassment or distress to the officer, [her behaviour] did not amount to it and it was not racially aggravated.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If found guilty, the public order act she has been charged under carries a prison sentence of up two years and/or a substantial fine, given the racially aggravated nature of the allegations.</p>
<p>Short of waiting for next February’s criminal hearing to be determined, what can – or will – Football Australia do now as the sport’s governing body?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-handing-out-their-own-flyers-to-sell-out-games-how-the-matildas-won-over-a-nation-211338">From handing out their own flyers, to sell-out games: how the Matildas won over a nation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Immediate challenges for Football Australia</h2>
<p>Kerr’s decision <a href="https://au.sports.yahoo.com/football-new-revelation-sam-kerr-kept-harassment-charge-secret-football-australia-034023173.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAElwgfrWdBk_7wNIOzY5CIbLHOq340csuXHjx-9bZESPkXLxGJRbmsvFqD4ag7h0dbcCXMOGMlMQMlvlgM6pdct2foabFqHGA4LR6UIo0dLf19QAq7GVJZHVSaqqbqnHvnTthyJkVdPIdHSqwhaI_kygUpkYMcX7VfxOfgihbgxY">not to inform</a> her employers of the criminal charge against her is questionable. While individuals are entitled to privacy, the celebrity status of athletes blurs that line, particularly when behaviour outside of the sport itself impacts on it.</p>
<p>The Matildas team has built its reputation on inclusion – and Kerr. They are proud, vocal advocates for football’s zero tolerance to racism or discrimination of any kind. Against such a backdrop the shock news of Kerr’s criminal charge was even more pronounced.</p>
<p>Football Australia CEO James Johnson and Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson have both admitted to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/matildas-coach-tony-gustavsson-shocked-by-sam-kerr-police-charges/news-story/a6047330b0bc498c9d46863921fdc2bc">not knowing</a> anything about the charge until media reporting of it. It soon became evident they had as many questions as the journalists who were peppering them for answers.</p>
<p>Until the criminal trial reaches its conclusion, with a four-day hearing set down for February 2025, the case will hang over Kerr who is currently out of action for club and country as she recovers from ACL reconstruction.</p>
<p>While Kerr is entitled to the presumption of innocence as she prepares for her trial almost a year away, Football Australia’s challenges are more immediate, as it decides how to navigate a serious event involving the captain of its most adored team.</p>
<p>No one other than the involved parties know the full extent of what happened that night in January 2023, when police were called to a dispute over a taxi fare in Twickenham and the alleged racial harassment occurred. What is known, however, is that the employer of Sam Kerr – one of the world’s most recognised athletes – appears not to have been made aware of the incident.</p>
<p>Professional athletes are aware of the heightened responsibility they shoulder given their public profile and their role model status. Kerr is revered by the Australian public. Her name is a key driver that has seen Matildas merchandise currently outselling that of the Socceroos two to one.</p>
<h2>Difficult questions</h2>
<p>For many of Kerr’s fans, it is the presumption of innocence that trumps all other considerations.</p>
<p>But for a sports governing body, there is not just the accused’s personal reputation at stake. There’s also a sport’s image and integrity carefully crafted over many years, seemingly so easily pierced.</p>
<p>The National Rugby League (NRL) has a controversial “no-fault standdown” policy, allowing the rugby league to suspend a player facing serious criminal charges until the legal case is finalised.</p>
<p>Take the case of NRL player <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/de-belin-charges-dropped-but-there-s-no-fault-in-stand-down-rule-20210528-p57w6m.html">Jack de Belin</a>, who was stood down while he fought charges (he was not convicted). This case shows why the policy has been questioned, given an athlete cannot get back the time lost during a period of suspension, nor, it can be argued, their reputation when charges are dropped or they are found to be not guilty.</p>
<p>Football Australia’s <a href="https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/sites/ffa/files/2021-04/FA%20Code%20of%20Conduct%20and%20Ethics%20%282021%29.pdf">national code of conduct and ethics</a> says the organisation can issue a “no-fault interim suspension” in any circumstance where, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>in the reasonable opinion of Football Australia, the reputation of Football Australia or football generally would be damaged if the Constituent was not suspended on an interim basis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But will they?</p>
<p>Football Australia must consider difficult questions like:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>how do they balance supporting their player’s welfare and respecting the victim of the alleged racially aggravated harassment?</p></li>
<li><p>is it suitable for a team built around a zero-tolerance policy on racism to have as its captain a player charged with racial abuse?</p></li>
<li><p>although Kerr is injured and unlikely to play at the Olympics in Paris this year, should she still be welcomed to play a role motivating the team?</p></li>
<li><p>when Kerr has recovered from her injury, should she automatically resume her captaincy – or be considered for selection – if the trial has not yet reached its verdict?</p></li>
<li><p>what will be the impact on sponsorship and support of the Matildas brand if Kerr remains as captain prior to the trial?</p></li>
<li><p>what ramifications will there be if Kerr is stood down, as the policy allows, and she is later found not guilty of the charges?</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>A matter of trust</h2>
<p>At a pre-scheduled press conference to announce details of a two-match pre-Olympics series against China (which was ambushed by the Kerr news), Johnson said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve got our own questions that we’d like to know, we’ve got to find out what actually happened.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That he doesn’t know means Johnson has two problems when it comes to Kerr: one a matter of law, and the other a matter of trust.</p>
<p>The court will decide one. Football Australia must decide the other. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wouldnt-want-to-be-on-any-other-team-the-queer-joy-of-watching-the-matildas-at-the-outest-world-cup-ever-211681">‘Wouldn't want to be on any other team’: the queer joy of watching the Matildas at the 'outest' World Cup ever</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Holmes 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>While Sam Kerr is entitled to the presumption of innocence as she prepares for her trial almost a year away, Football Australia’s challenges are more immediate.Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2243022024-03-05T16:10:04Z2024-03-05T16:10:04ZKylian Mbappé has trademarked his iconic goal celebration – why a pose can form part of a player’s protected brand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578872/original/file-20240229-30-v6whau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5978%2C3982&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kylian Mbappé celebrating a goal with his trademark celebration. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kylian-mbappe-celebrates-goal-after-scoring-2313795107">Victor Velter/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>French football superstar Kylian Mbappé celebrates most of his goals by crossing his arms and tucking his hands underneath his armpits. It has become one of the most iconic goal celebrations in the world. </p>
<p>Mbappé, who is due to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68346321">move</a> to Spanish giants Real Madrid at the end of this season, has already taken steps to <a href="https://en.as.com/soccer/kylian-mbappe-takes-steps-to-protect-name-and-brand-n/">register</a> a logo depicting his celebration as a trademark in several countries, as well as in the <a href="https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#basic/1+1+1+1/100+100+100+100/017157355">European Union</a>. He has done the same for his <a href="https://www.tmdn.org/tmview/#/tmview/results?page=1&pageSize=30&criteria=C&basicSearch=Mbapp%C3%A9%20">surname</a>, <a href="https://branddb.wipo.int/en/quicksearch/brand/EM500000017157348?sort=score%20desc&start=0&rows=30&asStructure=%7B%22_id%22:%22af5d%22,%22boolean%22:%22AND%22,%22bricks%22:%5B%7B%22_id%22:%22af5e%22,%22key%22:%22applicant%22,%22value%22:%22Mbappe%22,%22strategy%22:%22Simple%22%7D%5D%7D&_=1708963392591&searchBy=applicant&fg=_void_&i=7">initials</a> and most famous <a href="https://branddb.wipo.int/en/quicksearch/brand/EM500000018326248?sort=score%20desc&start=0&rows=30&asStructure=%7B%22_id%22:%22af5d%22,%22boolean%22:%22AND%22,%22bricks%22:%5B%7B%22_id%22:%22af5e%22,%22key%22:%22applicant%22,%22value%22:%22Mbappe%22,%22strategy%22:%22Simple%22%7D%5D%7D&_=1708963392591&searchBy=applicant&fg=_void_&i=12">quotes</a>.</p>
<p>The black-and-white <a href="https://twitter.com/EU_IPO/status/1758470179686604921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1758470179686604921%7Ctwgr%5E6632f5e3550abb68ddc2bb93edd8d49fad4dccf5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.as.com%2Fsoccer%2Fkylian-mbappe-takes-steps-to-protect-name-and-brand-n%2F">logo</a> depicts a smiling Mbappé, celebrating in his usual fashion. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1758470179686604921"}"></div></p>
<p>Mbappé is not the only famous athlete who has looked to secure exclusive rights to their signature celebration. In 2022, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt applied to trademark a <a href="https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97552042&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch">logo</a> in the US showing his victory celebration pose – an application with the US trademark office that is still pending.</p>
<p>The reason well-known athletes look to trademark these poses, and other aspects of their image, is obvious. They wish to turn them into successful brands that can be used commercially in a wide range of markets. </p>
<p>Among the products covered by Mbappé’s trademark registrations are clothes, textiles, footwear, toys, video games, umbrellas, bags, jewellery, perfumery, cosmetics and toothpastes. Any products or brands that wish to use his specific logo, name or quotes will need to pay Mbappé or be granted permission by Mbappé himself.</p>
<p>But how can even the celebratory pose of a sporting star become a brand? To answer this question, we need to look at the nature and function of trademarks. </p>
<h2>What trademark law says</h2>
<p>A trademark is used in the course of trade to distinguish the goods and services of a company from those of competitors. The key, though not only, function is to indicate the commercial origin of a product.</p>
<p>Logos representing a famous athlete’s iconic pose may satisfy this requirement. Such postures can create a stronger association between the player and the products to which their image is affixed, offering a more distinctive characterisation compared with a traditional portrait-style image. Such branding allows consumers to distinguish the products from the goods sold by others, effectively functioning as an indication of commercial source.</p>
<p>For example, if we see a <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saint-Germain-Collectable-Football-Collect-Favourite/dp/B0BJ2X2PK3/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GG1cGhqjdxGCbbyM2RboACiXMD-QZ8LDKRRNro-Mv2y0n8N_T03Mk_-Hvf0edLUlOaLOrj22wTkcdWxmU5bhD4D7aCCpjqXRXyOwtxd6I2CU0qgeYAzPHkbqktN9fYgleTcbRsxLNPdBqd-JVKey-dv8mUplHkVz95fEFPTf18WIexAgZc5Y9o4q0bAA8tQxDSKNmJfpKXubWDSGyzHvWWrpcDev6PpsfQOuh66ZlnKog3FosnXDkj3ldaOX8cxRoBfVZPVVl3lGqkOQSN_uDs118QGAMCaBkl1aktkW4dc.L1hJr0klWKPAdOknhxw1gUFY6OSLcQW3EKBbYod9Xow&dib_tag=se&keywords=mbappe&qid=1709104613&sr=8-6">toy</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Soft-Fleece-Blanket-Skin-friendly/dp/B0BL2SN57B/ref=sr_1_23_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GG1cGhqjdxGCbbyM2RboACiXMD-QZ8LDKRRNro-Mv2y0n8N_T03Mk_-Hvf0edLUlOaLOrj22wTkcdWxmU5bhD4D7aCCpjqXRXyOwtxd6I2CU0qgeYAzPHkbqktN9fYgleTcbRsxLNPdBqd-JVKey-dv8mUplHkVz95fEFPTf18WIexAgZc5Y9o4q0bAA8tQxDSKNmJfpKXubWDSGyzHvWWrpcDev6PpsfQOuh66ZlnKog3FosnXDkj3ldaOX8cxRoBfVZPVVl3lGqkOQSN_uDs118QGAMCaBkl1aktkW4dc.L1hJr0klWKPAdOknhxw1gUFY6OSLcQW3EKBbYod9Xow&dib_tag=se&keywords=mbappe&qid=1709104613&sr=8-23-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1">blanket</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mbapp%C3%A9-Football-Birthday-Card-Anniversary/dp/B0CJYL8BNZ/ref=sr_1_27?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GG1cGhqjdxGCbbyM2RboACiXMD-QZ8LDKRRNro-Mv2y0n8N_T03Mk_-Hvf0edLUlOaLOrj22wTkcdWxmU5bhD4D7aCCpjqXRXyOwtxd6I2CU0qgeYAzPHkbqktN9fYgleTcbRsxLNPdBqd-JVKey-dv8mUplHkVz95fEFPTf18WIexAgZc5Y9o4q0bAA8tQxDSKNmJfpKXubWDSGyzHvWWrpcDev6PpsfQOuh66ZlnKog3FosnXDkj3ldaOX8cxRoBfVZPVVl3lGqkOQSN_uDs118QGAMCaBkl1aktkW4dc.L1hJr0klWKPAdOknhxw1gUFY6OSLcQW3EKBbYod9Xow&dib_tag=se&keywords=mbappe&qid=1709104613&sr=8-27">birthday card</a> or <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Decorative-Painting-Posters-Picture-08x12inch/dp/B0CJS1HH6K/ref=sr_1_104?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J38YBIPs5sgfYm5fJl_5IXO57eQa-d1JvSIEpEQ_SoKyEQxQaQkmRvfXZtvLWkSFqJOeapgyHqDz7WhgEsenLzr1hvHZWzTK3SU6b3wzYntbmHEg0AVDj5j0B3eCesn84wHee9kGkEFYprsqf9elUDHpV4cJStV6pfz4utYwmh8MTRQm9hscQLi8QO0f7bhrkTqt1Rq53B4o7-mbXDTNM1Z2LSUMt7E0fFZF2jiIQuWh3kjkl98DpHHMeBhqG58tTD8WiXky4eBd6td2G20VVI1VHUiDBXMHgHEwZYhGxnw.uZd71RzvHyyd1WMKQ-2E4P7RVJ0GeAdcG84Jib86ILw&dib_tag=se&keywords=mbappe&qid=1709104845&sr=8-104&th=1">poster</a> in a shop that features Mbappé’s trademarked celebration logo (or any other trademarks incorporating his image, name and initials), we will probably think those products are marketed by Mbappé himself. </p>
<p>So, if a business sells such branded goods without his authorisation, it will probably be a trademark infringement. This is because consumers would buy the product in the erroneous belief that they are official Mbappé merchandise.</p>
<p>Mbappé is a sports icon with hundreds of millions of fans and followers, including 112 million on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/k.mbappe/">Instagram</a>. Thus, his trademarks may soon become notorious to a large range of consumers, especially if he ramps up the manufacture, sale and promotion of a variety of products bearing his brand. Owners of famous brands have a higher chance of prevailing in trademark infringement cases.</p>
<p>It would then be enough for Mbappé to show that a business which has sold a replica product incorporating his pose wants to take unfair advantage of the reputation of such a trademark. The same outcome would materialise if he could show that such a product is detrimental to his brand – for example, if the replica product bearing his brand is of poor quality.</p>
<p>Other celebrities have done the same. In 2016, Australian popstar Kylie Minogue <a href="https://theconversation.com/kylie-vs-kylie-who-will-win-the-legal-battle-between-minogue-and-jenner-55682">started a battle</a> with TV personality Kylie Jenner over the trademarking of their shared first name. Minogue claimed that her Kylie brand would be tarnished if Jenner were allowed to register an identical or similar trademark, describing her as a “secondary reality TV personality”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kylie-vs-kylie-who-will-win-the-legal-battle-between-minogue-and-jenner-55682">Kylie vs Kylie – who will win the legal battle between Minogue and Jenner?</a>
</strong>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Kylie Minogue posing for a photo in front of a large crowd of cameramen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578873/original/file-20240229-28-zfu1pd.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kylie Minogue complained when Kylie Jenner filed a trademark application for her first name.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cannes-france-may-27-kylie-minogue-200809382">Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Protecting free speech</h2>
<p>But there are also downsides to a trademark protection strategy based on the registration of every aspect of an athlete’s image and personality. It may limit the freedom of the public – and especially sports fans – to celebrate or criticise their icons.</p>
<p>Take, for instance, a website dedicated to Mbappé that serves as a forum where fans can exchange opinions about the player’s sporting performance and marketing activities. And let’s imagine that the website’s homepage features Mbappé’s trademarked celebration pose, his name or a famous quote prominently, and hosts fan commentaries that are highly critical of any of his activities.</p>
<p>Mbappé could, in theory, enforce his trademark rights to stop what he may consider a use of his trademark that tarnishes or even takes advantage of its reputation. This would be even more applicable if the website hosts advertising banners and sponsored sections, as Mbappé could claim that his brands are being somewhat exploited commercially.</p>
<p>But such an enforcement would unduly restrict the right of football fans to free speech. It would also unjustifiably allow trademark owners to stop their brands being used for purposes that are not strictly commercial. We should all be entitled to celebrate or criticise our favourite players by posting commentaries about their behaviour on and off the pitch, and including their iconic pose.</p>
<p>Mbappé’s trademark protection strategy is certainly legitimate and in line with the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/07/13/the-power-of-celebrity-brands/?sh=739fb0a4d30d">current branding trends</a> of most celebrities. But the French football star would be better advised not to enforce his trademarks against whoever simply expresses opinions and ideas about him without a strict economic purpose. </p>
<p>The risk is not only to lose the legal case, but also alienate fans who may end up disappointed about their idol’s willingness to be overly litigious.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224302/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>Kylian Mbappé has secured a commercial trademark for his celebration pose, and is looking to protect his name and quotes too.Enrico Bonadio, Reader in Intellectual Property Law, City, University of LondonAndrea Zappalaglio, Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235132024-02-21T17:28:02Z2024-02-21T17:28:02ZThe 100-hour war between El Salvador and Honduras is famous for starting with a football match – the truth is more complicated<p>A recent football match in Hong Kong has flared geopolitical tensions. A sell-out crowd was left disappointed when Inter Miami’s Argentinian superstar, Lionel Messi, did not come onto the field. Their disappointment soon turned to anger as, just days later, Messi played in another game in Japan.</p>
<p>Chinese state media, Hong Kong politicians and frustrated fans interpreted the act as a sign of disrespect, suggesting that there were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/08/lionel-messi-injury-return-japan-anger-china-benching-unfit">political reasons</a> for Messi’s absence. Two Argentina friendlies that were scheduled to take place in China in March <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/09/sport/china-cancels-argentina-match-messi-backlash-intl-hnk/index.html">have been cancelled</a>. Some Hong Kong officials have demanded an “explanation and apology” from the player, while fans <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/08/china/lionel-messi-china-backlash-hong-kong-japan-miami-intl-hnk/index.html">claimed</a> that Messi should no longer be welcome in China.</p>
<p>Football has flared up tensions before, with lasting political consequences. In 1990, a game between Zagreb’s Dinamo team and Belgrade’s Red Star <a href="https://www.croatiaweek.com/33-years-ago-today-the-most-famous-derby-never-played/">erupted into violence</a> between fans and the police. The violence is believed by some to have sparked the ensuing Croatian war of independence (1991–95). </p>
<p>But one case in particular holds the reputation for a war that was started over a series of football matches. </p>
<p>In 1969, El Salvador and neighbouring Honduras played each other three times in the qualifying stages of the 1970 Fifa World Cup. The two matches that took place in Tegucigalpa (June 8) and San Salvador (June 15) were marred by violence between fans. </p>
<p>On the same day as the third match, in Mexico City on June 29, the Salvadoran government cut diplomatic ties with Honduras. Military action began two weeks later with aerial bombardment and a ground invasion, before coming to an end after a ceasefire was negotiated four days later. For its brevity, the conflict is known as the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27868774">100-hour war</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, it would be silly to look for the causes of war in an ugly tackle, or in questionable decisions by referees. More than silly, to reduce the causes of war to a football match is disrespectful to the memories of the thousands of civilians displaced and killed in the conflict. </p>
<p>For that reason, as pivotal as these matches might have been for that war, it is essential to understand the broader context in which such an escalation of conflict becomes possible.</p>
<h2>The war of the dispossessed</h2>
<p>El Salvador is a fraction of the size of Honduras. But, despite the difference in area, El Salvador has a much larger population. At the start of the 20th century, Salvadoran farmers began migrating to Honduras in large numbers, primarily because of the greater availability of land across the border.</p>
<p>By the 1960s, the issue of land ownership had fuelled social tension in Honduras against the large population of Salvadoran migrants. The National Federation of Farmers and Livestock Farmers of Honduras was created to promote a land reform aimed at <a href="https://html.rincondelvago.com/la-guerra-no-fue-de-futbol_eddy-jimenez-perez.html">expelling Salvadoran peasants</a> from Honduran land. </p>
<p>This allowed large property owners, including foreign companies like the US-based United Fruit Company, to increase their ownership share of arable land. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Central America." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577015/original/file-20240221-20-1haedq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&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">Honduras is roughly five times as large as El Salvador.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/central-america-map-150994196">Rainer Lesniewski/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After a coup in 1963, the then Honduran president, General Oswaldo López Arellano, pursued the interests of these agrarian elites through the suppression of political opposition and systematic institutionalised violence. </p>
<p>Arellano’s brutal repression of peasant movements, with a specific nationalist sentiment mobilised against Salvadorans, <a href="https://catalogosiidca.csuca.org/Record/UCR.000022943/Description">caused the displacement</a> of thousands of rural workers in the years before those football matches. This is why <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/87/3/889/95948?redirectedFrom=fulltext">research</a> on the topic usually refers to the conflict as the “war of the dispossessed”. </p>
<h2>Escalating conflict</h2>
<p>The level of violence against Salvadorans led the government in San Salvador to formally accuse Honduras of genocide. The <a href="https://www.diariocolatino.com/una-guerra-breve-y-amarga/">communication</a> sent by the Salvadoran chancellor to inform Tegucigalpa of the severed diplomatic ties in 1969 clearly frames the conflict in these broader terms.</p>
<p>“In this republic [Honduras] there is still … homicide, humiliation and violation of women, dispossession, persecution, and mass expulsion that have targeted thousands of Salvadorans due simply to their nationality, in events that have no precedents in Central America, nor in America as a whole.”</p>
<p>The football matches simply added a mobilising element that contributed to escalating an already existing conflict. The number of displaced Salvadoran peasants after the conflict reached hundreds of thousands. After the ceasefire, El Salvador had to deal with this large population of refugees. </p>
<p>The conflict also increased the Salvadoran nationalistic sentiment and the political role of the armed forces, setting the stage for the political disputes in the 1970s that would culminate in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/El-Salvador/Civil-war">Salvadoran civil war</a> in 1979.</p>
<p>Many of the Salvadoran refugees already had experience of political organisation from the land disputes in Honduras and ended up joining the <a href="https://prism.librarymanagementcloud.co.uk/port/items/686599?query=el+salvador+civil+war&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Del%2Bsalvador%2Bcivil%2Bwar">Farabundo Martí Popular Forces of Liberation</a>. This was a faction of the Salvadoran Communist Party that later became a left-wing military organisation with support from Cuba and the Soviet Union.</p>
<h2>Messi will not start a war in China</h2>
<p>The idea that football started a war is misguided. The violence in those matches in 1969 would not have escalated without the broader sociopolitical context of violent dispossession. Lacking a similar context, the declarations of frustrated fans who expected to see Messi in Hong Kong will not escalate. </p>
<p>This is not to say that football lacks political relevance. The inflamed reaction by fans and Chinese authorities shows the effect that a political statement (or one perceived as such) by a celebrity can have on global politics. Messi himself recently published a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/messi-sets-record-straight-over-hong-kong-absence-2024-02-19/">statement</a> on Weibo (China’s most popular microblogging site) denying any political motivation for not playing in Hong Kong. </p>
<p>Messi has avoided getting involved with politics, especially during Argentina’s heated general election in 2023. But others have done the opposite. Perhaps former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52072592">calling</a> for a ceasefire in Ivory Coast in 2007 can serve as an inspiring example of how footballers can use their popularity to influence global politics and even stop wars.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223513/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pedro Dutra Salgado 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>Messi will not start a war in China, but this is not to say that football lacks political relevance.Pedro Dutra Salgado, Lecturer in International Relations, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208252024-02-09T03:53:35Z2024-02-09T03:53:35ZLamar Jackson is the NFL’s MVP. He’s also the NFL’s most valuable negotiator.<p><a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-honors-2024-lamar-jackson-wins-league-mvp-ravens-star-youngest-qb-to-capture-the-award-twice/">Lamar Jackson has been named the National Football League’s Most Valuable Player</a> for the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28614953/ravens-qb-lamar-jackson-unanimous-pick-nfl-mvp-historic-season">second time in his career</a>. Evidenced by his <a href="https://www.nfl.com/players/lamar-jackson/stats/career">3,678 passing yards, 821 rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns</a>, and in leading the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC championship game, Jackson has more than earned the MVP designation. </p>
<p>However, just as impressive, but perhaps less well known, was Jackson’s <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lamar-jackson-baltimore-ravens-260-million-dollar-extension-nfl-highest-paid-player/">remarkable off-the-field performance at the negotiating table in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>Leading into the NFL’s 2023 season, Jackson was without a long-term contract extension and without representation. <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/lamar-jackson-player-injuries">Season-ending ankle and knee injuries in each of the previous two seasons</a> could have impacted teams’ willingness to meet Jackson’s demands for a long-term contract with significant guaranteed compensation. </p>
<p>Yet despite those challenges and concerns, Jackson was able to advocate and negotiate — for himself — <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/lamar-jackson-ravens-agree-to-terms-on-new-contract">the most lucrative contract in the history of the NFL</a>: a five-year, US$260 million contract.</p>
<h2>Objective criteria</h2>
<p>There are several negotiation principles that impacted the Jackson negotiation. The first negotiation principle that helps explain how Jackson was able to achieve US$52 million per season, despite the issues and concerns discussed, is objective criteria. </p>
<p>In their book <a href="https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/six-guidelines-for-getting-to-yes/"><em>Getting to Yes</em></a>, Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton argue that using objective criteria, such as fair market value and professional and moral standards, helps focus negotiating parties on shared principles like fairness while de-emphasizing winning at the expense of the other party.</p>
<p>In Jackson’s case, the clearest example of objective criteria is the <a href="https://overthecap.com/position/quarterback">comparable NFL quarterbacks’ contracts at the time of the negotiation</a>, like those of Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers. </p>
<p>Since Jackson’s contemporaries were earning US$45 to $50 million per season (see above: fair market value), it suggests his eventual negotiated agreement with the Ravens would fall within the same ballpark — that is, if the Ravens agreed with Jackson’s assessment that his unique skills and on-field performance/potential were at, or near the top of, the NFL.</p>
<p>The lesson for those of us not in the NFL is the importance of discovering and articulating reasonable objective criteria in negotiations. For example, in a salary negotiation, we might point to colleagues who make more than we do for similar work and/or performance. While <a href="https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/employment-law/ontario-introduces-pay-transparency-law/381144">publicly available figures can be hard to come by</a>, using external examples can also be effective. </p>
<p>However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that determining what qualifies as reasonable objective criteria is only half the battle. To effectively use objective criteria in negotiations, both sides must agree on it.</p>
<h2>Building a golden bridge</h2>
<p>A second negotiation principle illuminated by the Jackson negotiation is the importance of managing the relationship by “<a href="https://www.beyondintractability.org/bksum/ury-gettingpast">building a golden bridge</a>.” </p>
<p>Particularly useful in heated negotiations, the golden bridge principle invites parties to set aside their often self-defeating ambition to win at all costs, and instead, imagine how they can make it as easy as possible for their negotiation counterpart to say yes.</p>
<p>In Jackson’s case, the relationship between him and the Ravens organization appeared compromised throughout the negotiation, in part because <a href="https://theathletic.com/4427133/2023/04/19/lamar-jackson-ravens-contract-negotiation/#">the Ravens’ side held certain asymmetric powers over Jackson</a>, including the ability to trade the quarterback and/or unilaterally sign him to a one-year extension at US$32.4 million. </p>
<p>As a result, the relationship deteriorated to the point where Jackson announced on social media that he had <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/ravens-qb-lamar-jackson-says-he-requested-trade-on-march-2">requested a trade</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1640365154880704514"}"></div></p>
<p>Remarkably, at the very same time, <a href="https://x.com/Ravens/status/1640365741277937664?s=20">Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was speaking to media at the NFL owners’ meeting</a>, and, calm and composed, reiterated his endorsement of Jackson as the team’s quarterback for the future. </p>
<p>Later, in substantive negotiations, both sides embraced the golden bridge principles by incorporating both sides’ ideas and helping one another save face. This approach played a crucial role in repairing the strained relationship between Jackson and the Ravens organization.</p>
<h2>Lessons for all of us</h2>
<p>There are valuable lessons to be learned from Jackson’s negotiation. First, it’s crucial to recognize and appreciate tensions and frustrations that put our relationships at risk can and do occur in high-stakes negotiations. </p>
<p>Second, these tensions and frustrations can be overcome through careful and composed attention to the relationship between parties — using reasonable objective criteria and building the golden bridge.</p>
<p>In the case of Jackson and the Ravens, their use of objective criteria and the golden bridge principles ultimately resulted in a win-win — a five-year, US$260 million contract extension, of which US$185 million was guaranteed. </p>
<p>This extension allowed the Ravens to secure their franchise quarterback for the future and overcome the pressure to abandon their long-term financial interests and guarantee US$185 million instead of US$260 million.</p>
<p>Jackson’s US$52 million annual salary meant he had reasons to celebrate as well. Not only did he become the NFL’s highest paid player, but he also negotiated the highest per-year contract in the league’s history. Credit is due to Jackson and the Ravens for achieving this remarkable win-win.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220825/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>Despite being without a long-term contract extension and representation, Lamar Jackson was able to advocate and negotiate the most lucrative contract in the history of the NFL. Here’s how.Ryan Clutterbuck, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Brock UniversityMichael Van Bussel, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228532024-02-09T00:36:19Z2024-02-09T00:36:19ZHigher, faster: what influences the aerodynamics of a football?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573580/original/file-20240203-27-i63qjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In addition to a player's ability to throw it, a number of factors will influence a ball's flight, including its size, inflation pressure and texture.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/super-bowl-lvii-averages-audience-of-113-million-viewers-fox-sports">113 million viewers in the United States</a> and 40 million more around the world, the Super Bowl is the most popular sports event in North America. This year’s event on Sunday – with the added attraction of a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2024/02/06/super-bowl-players-vegas-taylor-swift-wire-nc-vpx.cnn">romance in the spotlight</a> – promises to attract as many fans.</p>
<p>In Canada, the most recent Grey Cup final, last November, reached a <a href="https://twitter.com/RDS_RP/status/1726722586816430330">record audience</a> of 3.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch the Montréal Alouettes’ victory.</p>
<p>The two leagues definitely don’t enjoy the same popularity – far from it. Nor do they have the same rules. But there is another difference: although similar in appearance, the famous oval balls used in football have specific characteristics on both sides of the border that can affect their aerodynamics, i.e. the forces exerted by the air on the ball during its flight. The design and characteristics of the ball have an impact on the magnitude of these forces.</p>
<p>It might be news to football players, but their talent for throwing balls long distances is not the only thing that matters. A number of factors affect the ball’s aerodynamics, including the way it is made and its inflation pressure.</p>
<p>As a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Québec’s École de technologie supérieure, I am interested in experimental fluid dynamics. I study the physics of fluid flows and certain applications (e.g. propulsion of aquatic vehicles, aerodynamic applications). Fluid dynamics is a vast field and affects many aspects of our lives, such as the flow of blood in the heart, the flight of aircraft, the beautiful swirling patterns in Jupiter’s atmosphere or the perfect football pass for a touchdown.</p>
<h2>Ball size affects flight stability</h2>
<p>The NFL and CFL have the same <a href="https://cfldb.ca/faq/equipment/#:%7E:text=The%20CFL%20football%20dimensions%20are,to%2028%201%2F2%20inches">rules</a> regarding the dimensions of their balls. They must be between 11" and 11.25" long. They must also be inflated to between 12.5 psi and 13.5 psi, giving them a maximum circumference of between 28" and 28.5" around the length and between 21" and 21.25" around the width.</p>
<p>These dimensions are important. The football acts like a gyroscope. The higher the speed of rotation, the more stable the ball will be during its flight. Different dimensions can therefore have specific effects on the stability of the ball’s flight.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An American football player catches a ball in mid-flight on a field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573219/original/file-20240203-25-y5at9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The size of the football matters. The ball acts like a gyroscope. The higher the speed of rotation, the more stable the ball will be during its flight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A larger circumference suggests that more of the ball’s mass is located away from its centre line. This means that it will have a higher moment of inertia (resistance to rotation) and, therefore, that the same force applied to make it rotate will result in a lower speed of rotation.</p>
<h2>Two stripes and laces make a difference</h2>
<p>While there are two white stripes on the Canadian ball, as well as laces, American rules don’t mention these.</p>
<p>The differences between the Canadian and American balls can have an effect on their drag. A drag force is the resistance to a moving object in a fluid. In this case, it is mainly the resistance caused by the air (a fluid), which is called form or pressure drag.</p>
<p>Let’s take the example of a golf ball. Its dimples encourage turbulence, which allows the airflow to stick to the ball and reduce its total drag. Less drag means the ball can fly further with the same force applied.</p>
<p>The laces on a football and any other significant modification to its surface (a logo, a valve), in combination with the rotation of the ball, will to some extent have the same effect. It would be interesting to study how <a href="https://www.engineering.com/story/the-aerodynamics-of-a-football">these differences</a> between NFL and CFL footballs affect their respective drag.</p>
<h2>NFL or CFL, which ball is better?</h2>
<p>To do this, we could use a wind tunnel (an experimental installation in the form of a tunnel with a controlled airflow) to simulate the movement of air (fluid flow) around the two balls that will be fixed in space, put into rotation and subject to an airflow speed that would imitate the balls’ speed of flight.</p>
<p>An aerodynamic force balance could be used to measure the differences in drag between the two balls subjected to the same conditions. Ideally, to eliminate other factors of variability, the two balls would have the same dimensions.</p>
<p>The passage of air around the ball could be visualized using smoke or particle image/tracking velocimetry. The latter is a method in which the air is seeded with particles (helium-filled soap bubbles or oil droplets). The movement of these particles could then be captured using a camera to quantify the airspeed at all points around the ball. This would allow regions of flow separation and recirculation to be seen, and provide an idea of the distribution of aerodynamic forces around the ball.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A gloved hand holds a football on a grassy surface" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573221/original/file-20240203-21-3s2qf1.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">A ball about to be kicked. A number of factors will influence the aerodynamics of the ball.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Different rotation speeds and flight speeds could be examined, as there is always the possibility of developing flow instabilities, which would lead to a change in its behaviour around the ball. </p>
<p>This would help determine whether the NFL or CFL ball is better.</p>
<h2>Ball texture influences drag</h2>
<p>There is another type of drag, this one attributable to the friction between the air and the surface of the ball. This is called friction drag.</p>
<p>It depends mainly on the texture of the ball and its speed. The rougher the texture of the ball, the greater the friction drag for the same speed. Similarly, a faster ball speed will have a higher friction drag.</p>
<p>By reducing the form drag, we further reduce the total drag of the ball, which can therefore go further and faster on the football field.</p>
<h2>And then there’s the weather!</h2>
<p>The weather also plays a role in the aerodynamics of the football.</p>
<p>Cold or hot temperatures can affect the size of the ball by reducing or increasing the air pressure inside it.</p>
<p>Similarly, temperature can have some effect on the material properties of the ball, with colder temperatures making it stiffer and warmer temperatures making it softer.</p>
<p>Temperature and humidity also play a role in the physical properties of air, altering its density and viscosity.</p>
<p>Rain will also directly affect drag as, in a sense, it affects the texture of the ball’s surface as felt by the air.</p>
<p>But that won’t be an issue in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 for the Super Bowl game, since Allegiant Stadium is covered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222853/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giuseppe Di Labbio 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>A football’s dimensions, pressure and texture affect its aerodynamics, i.e. the forces exerted by the air on the ball as it flies.Giuseppe Di Labbio, Professeur adjoint, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223492024-02-07T13:13:04Z2024-02-07T13:13:04ZCould flag football one day leapfrog tackle football in popularity?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573480/original/file-20240205-21-8bd16d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C6%2C2032%2C1355&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Youth flag football players run drills with their coach before a game in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 8, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/flag-football-team-beavercreek-raiders-run-drills-with-news-photo/1850858257?adppopup=true">Megan Jelinger/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One hundred years into the future, what if millions of people gathered every February, not to watch the Super Bowl, but to instead watch the annual world flag football championship?</p>
<p>Once a casual activity played at family reunions, the competitive sport of flag football is “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2023/10/22/flag-football-why-sport-is-becoming-so-popular-with-girls-kids/71270522007/">soaring</a>,” “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/17/sport/flag-football-nfl-olympics-cec/index.html">exploding</a>” and “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flag-football-popularity-girls-women/">skyrocketing in popularity nationwide</a>,” according to mainstream news outlets.</p>
<p>There’s some data behind the breathless headlines: According to the <a href="https://nflflag.com/about">NFL’s official flag football program</a>, since 2015 the number of kids ages 6 to 12 who play flag football has risen by 38%, to more than 1.5 million.</p>
<p>In my recent book, “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">Emerging Sports as Social Movements</a>,” I explore nontraditional sports like flag football and disc golf. One of my key findings is that splashy headlines about trendy sports rarely capture a sport’s true reach and staying power. </p>
<p>For every sport like pickleball that gains widespread, sustained popularity, there are several – <a href="https://www.usara.com/new-to-adventure-racing/whatisadventureracing">adventure racing</a>, paintball and wakeboarding – that remain firmly ensconced in their niche.</p>
<p>In the case of flag football, there are a handful of recent trends that truly do point to a promising future. But there are also some red flags that could end up hampering its growth.</p>
<h2>A fun, fast, safer alternative</h2>
<p>Though its rules are similar to tackle football, flag football is currently gaining attention for what makes it different. </p>
<p>It’s considered a no-contact sport. A “tackle” involves snatching one of two flags that hang from the hips of the ball carrier. While players face injury risks, they sustain <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pubs/youth_football_head_impacts.html">far fewer head impacts</a> than athletes who play tackle football.</p>
<p>With the public’s concerns about brain injuries <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-24/youth-football-participation-declining-amid-safety-concerns">on the rise</a>, many parents are opting for flag football instead of tackle for their kids.</p>
<p>Obscurity is a powerful barrier to emerging sports. But getting noticed may not be a problem for flag football.</p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee <a href="https://www.nfl.com/partners/flag-football/">announced in October 2023</a> that flag football would be headed to the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028. It’s not clear yet if active NFL players can compete, but if they are eligible – and if the U.S. assembles a “<a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/dream-team-roster-history-usa-1992-olympics/4o78v2slilky1inrskk8h6wkb">Dream Team</a>” like the Olympic men’s basketball team of 1992 that included superstars Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson – flag football could get on the radar of millions of casual sports fans in 2028.</p>
<p>The Olympic version of flag football is fast-paced.</p>
<p>Games are shorter than a typical game of tackle football. Five players compete on 50-yard fields with 10-yard end zones for two 20-minute halves. This format made its first big appearance in the <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/flag-football-rules-players-origins-things-to-know">2022 World Games</a> in Birmingham, Alabama, where the U.S. men won gold and the women took home silver.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6SwoD74l-wQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A short overview of how to play flag football.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The NFL cultivates the grassroots</h2>
<p>Although it may come as a surprise, the NFL is embracing flag football and taking its growth seriously.</p>
<p>In 2021, the NFL and Nike committed <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-and-nike-court-a-new-football-market-girls-11612854854">US$5 million in equipment</a> to support high school flag football teams across the nation. The NFL’s <a href="https://playfootball.nfl.com/about-youth-football/find-a-league/">official flag football program</a> operates more than 1,600 local leagues and receives sponsorships from top brands like Visa, Gatorade and Subway.</p>
<p>Most NFL teams are currently supporting the grassroots of flag football with summer camps, clinics and regional tournaments.</p>
<p>During last year’s Super Bowl, an estimated 115 million viewers watched <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/videos/sports/Ad-Meter/2023/02/13/ad-meter-2023-nfl-run/11245547002/">a flag football TV commercial</a> featuring Mexican quarterback Diana Flores bobbing and spinning to evade NFL players and celebrities as they attempted to take her flag. </p>
<p>On Feb. 4, 2024, the Pro Bowl – the NFL’s annual all-star game – sidelined tackle football for the second year in a row. In its place was a 7-on-7 flag football game that aired on ESPN and ABC and streamed on ESPN+.</p>
<p>Prior to that game, on Feb. 2-3, the league also hosted the <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-hosts-12-international-youth-flag-football-teams-at-2024-pro-bowl-games">International NFL Flag Championships</a> as part of the Pro Bowl Games, featuring young athletes from 12 countries.</p>
<h2>By the numbers</h2>
<p>Flag football may be having a moment, but the question remains: Is the sport actually experiencing a meaningful surge in participation that could extend into the future?</p>
<p>According to figures collected annually by the <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/">National Federation of High Schools</a>, 21,980 students played high school flag football in 2023. To put this number in context, however, tackle football attracted 47 times more students – roughly 1 million players – the same year. Track and field, basketball and soccer have roughly 1 million participants apiece.</p>
<p>Interest in flag football seems to be concentrated in a few regions, with roughly <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/">80% of high school players</a> living in just three states: Florida, Georgia and New York.</p>
<p>Though high school participation in flag football has <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/">increased steadily</a> since 2007, almost all the growth comes from the girls’ side.</p>
<p><iframe id="D5FkA" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D5FkA/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>A nationwide <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">sports participation survey</a> finds that the number of casual players of flag football is up, but core participation is down. The study defines “casual players” as those who play fewer than 50 times per year, whereas “core players” participate 50 or more times each year.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">share of Americans</a> who play casually increased by 41% between 2016 and 2022. But core participation declined by 13% during this period.</p>
<p><iframe id="0oquc" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0oquc/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>For sustainable growth, nontraditional sports need to generate excitement among both core and casual players. Top-down investments and marketing strategies may attract new players, but grassroots organizing keeps them coming back.</p>
<p>Take pickleball. In recent years, the sport has generated plenty of cultural clout, with high-profile athletes like LeBron James investing in the professional circuit, and <a href="https://www.paddletek.com/blogs/news/celebrities-in-pickleball">celebrity pickleball players</a> making headlines. There has also been <a href="https://theconversation.com/pickleballs-uphill-climb-to-mainstream-success-193052">tremendous growth</a> in pickleball’s social and physical infrastructure. For these reasons, both casual and core participation in pickleball <a href="https://sportsmarketanalytics.com/home.aspx">more than doubled</a> between 2016 and 2022.</p>
<h2>Red sport, blue sport</h2>
<p>In the end, the future of flag football may hinge on the public debate over tackle football’s safety. Over the past decade, <a href="https://theconversation.com/childrens-high-impact-sports-can-be-abuse-experts-explain-why-222651">several studies</a> have found a link between repeated head impacts and the risk for serious brain injuries, <a href="https://www.bu.edu/cte/our-research/significant-research-findings/">including chronic traumatic encephalopathy</a>, or CTE.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-youth-tackle-football-ban-clears-first-legislative-hurdle-assembly-committee-ab734/">recent efforts</a> to make tackle football safer for young athletes have been met with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/jsm.2019.0002">fierce resistance</a> from families, fans and organizers. In many regions of the U.S., tackle football is deeply ingrained in the culture, leading to strong opposition to any changes.</p>
<p>New rules to protect NFL players have seeped into mainstream politics. For instance, in 2019, former <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2019/02/03/donald-trump-who-wants-more-violence-in-the-nfl-doesnt-want-his-son-playing-football/?sh=5ffeb68a342a">President Donald Trump</a> dubbed the NFL’s concussion protocol “soft” and said that safety measures were “ruining the game.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Democratic state lawmakers in New York, Illinois and California have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/governor-newsom-says-he-wont-sign-bill-banning-tackle-football-for-young-kids/">introduced bills to ban tackle football for kids under 12</a>, often citing flag football as a suitable alternative. None of these bills, however, have passed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two teenaged girls fight for a ball." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573483/original/file-20240205-27-v9xcvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flag football has become more popular among girls and women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/long-beach-ca-lilianna-sarmiento-of-jordan-reaches-for-a-news-photo/1743556245?adppopup=true">Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2018.1524784">Democrats are more likely to trust concussion science than Republicans</a>. Democrats also <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.655890">pay more attention to news about concussions</a> than Republicans. </p>
<p>As beliefs about the dangers of tackle football become polarized, the perceived benefits of flag football will likely follow suit. As I showed in a recent study of sport popularity in 207 areas of the U.S., <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2022.2074516">flag football is more popular in regions that tend to vote Democratic</a>, with tackle football more popular in Republican areas.</p>
<p>So in addition to going after the resources needed for sustainable growth – investment, organization, visibility, legitimacy – flag football’s advocates will also need to navigate a nation divided by politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222349/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Woods does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The NFL’s embrace of the sport points to a promising future. But gender and political divides could stand in the way.Josh Woods, Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182722024-02-02T16:25:27Z2024-02-02T16:25:27ZPremier League transfer spending has plummeted in January 2024 – an expert explains why belts have been tightened<p>Premier League transfer windows can be a noisy affair, with vast amounts of money being thrown around, as deals are made and players bought and sold. The summer of 2023 reached a record spend of £2.36 billion, straight after a high-spending <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/records-tumble-as-premier-league-clubs-spend.html">January window before that</a> (£815 million). </p>
<p>January 2024, though, has been <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68082438">eerily quiet</a>, closing on just £100 million. </p>
<p>So what has made club owners so reluctant to splash their considerable amounts of cash this winter? Are they just all happy with the squads they have already bought? </p>
<p>A more likely reason is that transfer activity has been hit by several outside factors coming in to play at the same time, all leading to a tightening of the Premier League purse strings. Here are some of the reasons for the spending slow down.</p>
<h2>Financial rules starting to bite</h2>
<p>The end of 2023 saw some big clubs facing scrutiny in relation to the Premier League’s “profitability and sustainability” <a href="https://resources.premierleague.com/premierleague/document/2024/01/04/21175cfd-faa3-4b01-bbad-65894fead686/PL_Handbook_2023-24_DIGITAL_04.01.24-final-.pdf">regulations</a>, which determine how much money clubs are allowed to lose over a certain period. Everton were found to have <a href="https://theconversation.com/everton-fc-lost-ten-valuable-points-for-breaking-financial-rules-but-football-fans-may-eventually-consider-it-a-win-218274">broken the rules</a> a few years ago and were docked ten points in November as a result (a sanction they are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67591673">appealing</a>). </p>
<p>Then Chelsea reported themselves over incomplete financial reporting under their previous ownership and are <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league-todd-boehly-uefa-roman-ukraine-b2389814.html">now under investigation</a>, having already been fined <a href="https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/club-statement-28-07-23">€10 million (£8.5 million) by Uefa</a> for the same thing. </p>
<p>Meanwhile Manchester City are still <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/3045970">facing 115 charges</a> in relation to alleged breaches going back to 2015-2016. And Everton (again) and Nottingham Forest were both then <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67978537">found to be in breach</a> of the rules for the 2022-23 season. </p>
<p>While each case is different, the focus here is clearly on financial management. In such a competitive league, all clubs will be wary of having points deducted, or even being relegated as a punishment, so are keen to have their books in order. </p>
<h2>The Saudi slow down</h2>
<p>Some <a href="https://theconversation.com/saudi-arabias-football-spending-spree-is-just-the-start-of-a-long-game-plan-213106">huge spending</a> by the Saudi Pro League was a major contributor to the sums spent in the Premier League over the summer. </p>
<p>Then, clubs in receipt of that money were able to buy new players, creating an upward spiral of transfer spending. But in January 2024, the Saudi appetite for Premier League players has not returned (for now), which has slowed the market overall. </p>
<p>In fact, some of the players who signed to Saudi clubs over the summer have <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/39347602/ex-man-city-star-laporte-saudi-move-many-players-unhappy">expressed dissatisfaction</a> with their moves. It may be that this has influenced other players who had been considering a similar change. </p>
<p>Italian teams too have spent less in this transfer window after the government recently scrapped a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/soccer-italy-scraps-plans-extend-tax-breaks-clubs-foreign-signings-2023-12-29/">tax break of up to 50%</a> on the wages of sport clubs’ new signings from abroad. </p>
<h2>Rising costs</h2>
<p>There is also the issue of how transfers are paid for. Continuously large or <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-record-spending-could-help-make-english-football-fairer-and-more-competitive-but-it-depends-on-liz-truss-190271">record-breaking transfer windows</a> have left clubs with debts that are <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/18b877a4-b633-448e-b7c6-64a8c6b2ee61?shareToken=f5b6f5a2992d8b28b486805e377ae239">spread over many years</a>, as deals are usually paid off in instalments. Combined with financial regulations, these costs mean there is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforming-club-football-governance-consultation-response/research-report-still-ill-assessing-the-financial-sustainability-of-football-2023">less money available</a> in the current transfer market. </p>
<p>As a way of dealing with those costs, January 2024 has seen quite a few loan deals instead of permanent transfers. These are cheaper because the loaning club retains overall ownership, but can reduce their salary bill at the same time, which is a big factor in the financial regulations they need to be mindful of. </p>
<h2>It’s not all bad…</h2>
<p>There is one transfer market that has had a fairly buoyant month, and that’s in women’s football. The sums involved are <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SBM-10-2022-0088/full/pdf">much smaller</a>, and the squads are not subject to such strict financial regulations, but still, the market is on an upward trajectory. </p>
<p>Chelsea broke the British transfer record for a women’s player with Colombian international <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68102016">Mayra Ramirez</a> (€450,000 (£383,000)), while Manchester City bought <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68130577">Laura Blindkilde Brown</a> out of a £200,000 release clause. </p>
<p>In the men’s game though, the January transfer window has been quiet because of timing. Different issues have come together all at once to dampen the market, and most of these are things that clubs will just need to get used to. </p>
<p>Once they have adjusted, we will no doubt be seeing more activity – and eye-watering sums – in future transfer windows. Research has shown that Premier League clubs are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970.2022.2059858">pretty resilient</a> to economic change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218272/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Philippou is affiliated with the RAF FA and teaches on the Premier League's education programmes</span></em></p>A winter wind appears to have cooled spending among even the biggest clubs.Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220962024-02-02T16:25:24Z2024-02-02T16:25:24ZEight things grassroots football clubs can do to reach net zero<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572833/original/file-20240201-29-eyaceu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">De Montfort University students volunteering at Leicester Nirvana Football Club to promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Charlton</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Germany and England might be bitter rivals when it comes international football – but some of their amateur clubs have found common ground leading the charge to tackle climate change in sport.</p>
<p>I’m investigating the sustainability tactics of grassroots teams including Leicester Nirvana, Germany’s Eintracht Peitz and International Berlin. As well as sharing expertise with a global network of amateur clubs, the Net Zero Football Project I’m working on at De Montfort University is researching how best to enable coaches, players and their families to play a blinder for the planet. This will develop into a blueprint for teams wanting to transform a game which both contributes to, and is impacted by climate change.</p>
<p>Often, clubs are at the forefront of environmental impacts. A women’s club in the Gambia, Yakaar Academy, is feeling the effects of a changing planet as extreme weather <a href="https://www.afdb.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/gambia_cfr_2022.pdf">impacts</a> agricultural production, the economy and health in the country.</p>
<p>Leicester Nirvana’s pitch was submerged in the <a href="https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/flooding-leicester-expected-subside-county-9012791">recent UK floods</a>, meaning football was cancelled for weeks leaving the kids of Highfields estate, one of the poorest postcodes in the country, with little to do. And clubs in Germany are busy offering solace from the backlash of a stifling economy, the cost of living crisis and growth of the far-right populists and climate change deniers – the Alternative for Germany (AfD) – amidst plans for a green energy transition.</p>
<p>Football clubs have the potential to bring people together to tackle the climate crisis collectively and Green Football Weekend (3-5 February) is a time to kick off with eight simple ways improve your club’s sustainability credentials.</p>
<h2>1. Recruit a captain</h2>
<p>Appoint a volunteer sustainability officer to oversee the club’s plans. They can create a sustainability checklist of things to do after matches and training like turning off the lights and taps, or putting the recycling out. Ideally, this person should report to a sustainability committee that involves managers and players. Leicester Nirvana has its own UN Sustainable Development Goal <a href="http://www.leicesternirvana.com/updates">champion</a>, Ivan Liburd. As coach and part of the management team, he finds ways to promote climate action amongst players, tackle racism and violence in the community while ensuring the clubhouse lights are switched off when he goes home.</p>
<h2>2. Buy in bulk</h2>
<p>Make simple switches and show others how to protect the planet and save money. Buy recycled toilet paper, install LED lightbulbs that are more energy-efficient than <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/lighting/">conventional bulbs</a> and wash team kits with biodegradable washing powder. Harness the club’s buying power to make sustainability demands on suppliers. At International Berlin, kit companies must meet certain criteria if they want to tender to supply their squads. As a big club, that can mean substantial business for the right sportswear brand if they commit to the necessary changes. </p>
<h2>3. Park the bus</h2>
<p>In recent <a href="https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2023/november/dmu-researchers-discover-exactly-how-local-football-club-produces-carbon-emissions.aspx#:%7E:text=Dr%20Ozawa%2DMeida%2C%20a%20Senior,and%20in%20less%20extent%20to">emissions tests</a> done at Leicester Nirvana, we found team and fan travel to be the one of the largest contributors to the club’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Where possible use a minibus or share cars to cut costs and reduce emissions when heading to training or games. Eintracht Peitz invested in a minibus for its team with club logos and sponsors emblazened on the side, so it’s hard to miss on match days. </p>
<h2>4. Put more plants on plates</h2>
<p>Reducing meat and dairy consumption <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-014-1104-5?sa_campaign=email/event/articleAuthor/onlineFirst&error=cookies_not_supported&code=69712fa0-329b-4333-abc2-85ddccfe122d">cuts carbon footprints</a> massively. Encourage players to go vegan whenever possible. Buy local produce where you can, but be mindful it’s <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local">important to consider</a> what you eat rather than just where it is from. Install a compost bin for food waste. Many drinks sold at amateur football games are unhealthy and come in plastic bottles. Follow the lead of Leicester Nirvana and encourage the use of reusable bottles for all players.</p>
<h2>5. Green your club</h2>
<p>When a player joins Eintracht Peitz, they’re handed a spade and invited to plant a tree as part of their <a href="https://klimakids-peitz.de/en/start/">growing with the club</a> programme. While most urban green spaces are not managed with nature in mind, lots of towns and cities make space for nature in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/8-cities-rewilding-their-urban-spaces/">innovative ways</a>. Enhancing biodiversity within the club grounds is a big win. By rewilding some of the green spaces beside the pitch, unused corners and verges can become a haven for wildlife.</p>
<h2>6. Communicate creatively about climate</h2>
<p>Lots of work needs to be done to educate, inspire and empower players through environmental action. Media messaging and discourse can create feelings of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8431103/">eco-anxiety and helplessness</a>. Use resources from environmental charity <a href="https://climateoutreach.org/">Climate Outreach</a> to get positive messages across in creative ways. Encourage coaches and players to sign up to <a href="https://carbonliteracy.com/">Carbon Literacy training</a> or take part in a fun <a href="https://climatefresk.org/">Climate Fresk workshop</a>. Birmingham County Football Association offers carbon literacy sessions for its <a href="https://www.birminghamfa.com/news/2023/feb/17/carbon-literacy-course">local clubs</a>.</p>
<h2>7. Shout about your success</h2>
<p>Lead by example and show others that there are alternative ways to run a football club. Encourage players to be advocates for the planet. Share what you are doing through social media and invite the local press to cover your stories. </p>
<h2>8. Goals win games</h2>
<p>Set clear targets for the coming season. To find inspiration and access free resources that outline key goals, join sustainable sports networks, such as the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/footballforthegoals">UN Football for the Goals</a>, <a href="https://pledgeball.org/">Pledgeball</a> and De Montfort University’s <a href="https://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/themes/net-zero/index.aspx">Net Zero Football Project</a>.</p>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Charlton 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>By inspiring collective action, amateur football clubs can drive positive behaviour change and embed sustainability tactics in grassroots sport.Mark Charlton, Net Zero Research Theme Director, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224262024-02-01T16:18:26Z2024-02-01T16:18:26ZHow to make a Premier League club truly climate-friendly<p>Whether it’s the controversy over Newcastle United being taken over by oil-rich Saudi Arabia or the social media backlash when top players take private jets to sign for a new team on transfer deadline day, the environmental implications of elite football are facing growing scrutiny.</p>
<p>At the same time, events like <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/12801274/green-football-weekend-returns-help-your-club-fight-against-climate-change">Green Football Weekend</a> – on February 2-5 this year – show how football can change, and even be a force for good in energising a climate change response across wider society. </p>
<p>But what might a sustainable Premier League club look like, now and in future?</p>
<p>Let’s start with day-to-day operations. When I reviewed the evidence on the topic for a recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2022.2147895">academic paper</a>, I discovered multiple studies, both from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.138">UK</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2021.1932562">overseas</a>, which found that travel constitutes the biggest part of football teams’ carbon dioxide emissions. Of this, the largest share comes from players and supporters travelling to away fixtures. </p>
<p>The wealthier a team is, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06141-y">the higher the level it plays at</a>, the higher these emissions are likely to be. Elite teams are more likely to be travelling further for international competitions, and by air to and from domestic fixtures.</p>
<p>One of the most immediate ways a Premier League club can improve its sustainability performance, therefore, is to look at how its players and supporters travel. This means using trains and coaches to get to away games in the UK.</p>
<p>Better coordination between match timings and public transport schedules would help, by ensuring that matches finish in time for away fans to catch the last train back to their home town. This is a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/jan/12/football-daily-email-burnley-luton-tv-fans">common complaint among Premier League fans</a>, whose games are particularly vulnerable to TV schedulers.</p>
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<p>European fixtures at both club and national level are tougher to crack, especially when bodies like Fifa and Uefa are pushing for more tournaments and fixtures rather than fewer. One way to reduce the overall carbon footprint would be to play the early rounds in regional groups, so that teams play those geographically near to them.</p>
<p>The good news is that smart scheduling doesn’t have to mean a drop-off in the quality or competitiveness of top-flight football. Researchers in the US looked at their “big four” sports during the pandemic, when restrictions made it harder for teams to travel and fixtures had to be grouped together. They found the reduction in travel and related decrease in stress on players <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c03422">helped to keep things exciting</a> on the field.</p>
<h2>Stadiums and kits</h2>
<p>There are other sources of pollution which are more prominent at the highest levels of football. A big stadium needs to be powered and lit, and grass pitches need water and energy inputs to maintain. Green energy can help with this, and clubs such as Forest Green Rovers are even starting to <a href="https://www.fgr.co.uk/another-way">generate renewable electricity on-site</a>. </p>
<p>The ever-increasing number of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2022.2096661">replica kits</a> that teams produce also comes at an environmental cost. It’s been estimated that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60196764">a polyester football shirt has a carbon footprint of 5.5kg</a> – about the same as driving a petrol-powered car 45 kilometres.</p>
<h2>Follow the money</h2>
<p>But the emissions associated with the everyday running of a football club are just one part of the picture. Companies, individuals and even state-linked investment organisations who make their money from high-emitting industries have an important role in sponsoring or even owning top-flight teams. </p>
<p>This can prompt accusations of “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2015.1127850">greenwashing</a>” or “sportswashing”, where big polluters or other contentious industries use the positive feelings associated with sport to distract from harmful business practices. Such accusations aren’t limited to petro-states. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who recently bought a stake in Manchester United, is the chairman and CEO of Ineos, a chemicals company that has been heavily involved in <a href="https://theathletic.com/4245022/2023/02/25/manchester-united-takeover-jim-ratcliffe-ineos-environment/">oil and gas</a>.</p>
<p>One could therefore argue that a “sustainable” Premier League club would not rely on funding from environmentally damaging activities such as oil and gas production, car manufacturing or aviation. Arts and culture organisations have come under increasing pressure in recent years to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2017.1416904">divest</a> from fossil fuel sponsorship, and organisations such as <a href="https://www.fossilfreefootball.org/">Fossil Free Football</a> are similarly campaigning to break the link between football and high-polluting sponsorship.</p>
<p>These can be difficult conversations to have with supporters. Everyone wants their team to do as well as they can on the pitch, and the most effective way to achieve that is by attracting sponsorship or ownership that can be invested in players and infrastructure. </p>
<p>In some cases, clubs can be intrinsically linked with industries that can be markers of pride and identity locally, but sources of pollution globally. Nagoya Grampus and VfL Wolfsburg, for example, were founded as works teams for Toyota and Volkswagen respectively. So, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-fair-deal-for-ex-steelworkers-would-look-like-as-the-industry-decarbonises-221797">“just transition”</a> that respects the people and places whose livelihoods depend on carbon-intensive industries may also entail thinking about what the energy transition means for the football teams who are intrinsically linked to high-emitting industries.</p>
<h2>Calls for change</h2>
<p>The climate challenge may seem insurmountable to Premier League teams, precisely because there’s so much money wrapped up in the current way of doing things. However, there are signs that clubs and players themselves are leading the calls for change. <a href="https://pledgeball.org/new-sustainable-travel-charter-for-football-clubs-launched-to-help-teams-reduce-their-environmental-impact/">Bristol Rovers, Bristol City and Millwall</a> from League One and the Championship are among a group of clubs who have adopted “no-fly” policies or sustainable travel strategies for domestic games.</p>
<p>News outlets including the BBC having picked up on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65017565">Premier League teams flying short distances</a> for fixtures shows that clubs’ environmental practices are coming under greater scrutiny as the climate crisis intensifies. Premier League players in both the men’s and women’s games are likewise speaking up as <a href="https://footballforfuture.org/blog/nikeathletesclimatechampions">“climate champions”</a> to not only campaign for change within football, but also empower their fellow professionals to act.</p>
<p>Green Football Weekend is a great point of departure for thinking about how the sport might change in response to the climate crisis. The fact that events like this are happening regularly shows the needle is shifting on the professional game’s environmental impacts. Getting fans, players and ultimately clubs on board is vital to cracking some of the tougher aspects of football’s climate challenge.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leslie Mabon is an Ambassador for the National Centre for Resilience in Scotland, a cross sector partnership spanning Scottish universities, government and practice which is committed to improving countrywide resilience to natural hazards. Leslie is also an Associate Member of the First Minister's Environmental Council in Scotland; and a Member of the Young Academy of Scotland. However, the views expressed in this Conversation article are personal, and are based on a programme of research Dr Mabon has conducted independently of the above organisations. At the time of writing, Leslie has received no external funding for his work into football and climate change.</span></em></p>An evidence-based look at how football clubs can reduce their climate impact.Leslie Mabon, Lecturer in Environmental Systems, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221702024-01-31T18:29:02Z2024-01-31T18:29:02ZJürgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool may herald a new era for wellbeing in football<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572433/original/file-20240131-23-jiofzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C3%2C2547%2C1697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jurgen Klopp is one of the most admired and respected managers in football.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/liverpool-fans-display-a-jurgen-klopp-banner-during-the-news-photo/1967618146?adppopup=true">Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At 10:36am on January 26 2024, an <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/jurgen-klopp-announces-decision-step-down-liverpool-manager-end-season">announcement</a> from one of football’s most respected managers rocked fans across the world: Jürgen Klopp had decided to leave Liverpool FC. </p>
<p>As a Liverpool FC fan, I did a double take when my mobile pinged with the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68104699">news alert</a> and I experienced a moment of shock and a sense of loss. Klopp has had an enormous impact on football – and it seems that his legacy will continue to be felt long after his exit from Anfield.</p>
<p>Klopp’s announcement was accompanied by a <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/jurgen-klopp-extended-interview-why-ive-made-decision-leave-liverpool">25 minute interview</a>, during which the football manager outlined his reasons for leaving. “My energy source is not endless”, he explained, implying that his general wellbeing had diminished over time. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jürgen Klopp explains why he made the decision to leave Liverpool FC.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Wellbeing and high performance football coaches</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/89/238">Wellbeing is a complex concept</a> that encompasses how a person feels as well as how they function – it speaks to how satisfied they are with their whole life.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2023.2260377">research</a> focuses on how professional football coaches experience and make sense of wellbeing. I interviewed coaches to ask what they think wellbeing is and how they experience it. They discussed how their physical and mental energy is influenced by a combination of factors, including their home and work lives and relationships with colleagues and family. Their focus on energy aligns with Klopp’s own reflections. Several coaches also admitted during this research that it was their first opportunity to speak openly about their wellbeing. </p>
<p>That’s perhaps unsurprising. After all, high performance coaches rarely speak publicly about their wellbeing. By speaking openly and honestly, Klopp has set a precedent for other football coaches – and his interview could leave a lasting legacy for the sport.</p>
<h2>Vulnerability and abuse in high-performance sport</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2016-0010">High-performance sports environments</a> aren’t always safe for athletes and managers to talk about feeling vulnerable or ask for support, because doing so can be perceived as a sign of weakness.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2023.2207481">research</a> has shown that there should be more conversations about vulnerability in high performance sports given that athletes and managers are at higher risk of being attacked, harmed or injured, either physically or emotionally. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Premier League footballers are abused every four minutes on social media.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Unfortunately, there have been many examples over the last few years, including the assault on Newcastle manager <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/sep/08/leeds-united-fan-jailed-assault-newcastle-manager-eddie-howe">Eddie Howe by a fan</a> in 2023. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/02/seven-in-10-premier-league-players-are-sent-abusive-tweets-study-shows">Several footballers have reported the abuse</a> they receive both on and off the pitch. And it’s not just players and managers who’re affected: Premier League <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/feb/08/referee-mike-dean-reports-death-threats-to-police-and-asks-for-weekend-off">referee Mike Dean stood down</a> in February 2021 after he and his family received death threats. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102488">My research</a> has shown that the verbal abuse and stressors experienced by Premier League managers doesn’t just affect their wellbeing but that of their families, too. In 2021, for example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/feb/12/mikel-arteta-told-arsenal-of-online-threats-to-his-family#:%7E:text=Mikel%20Arteta%20says%20his%20family,better%20protection%20against%20online%20abuse.">Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta</a> disclosed that his family had received threats through social media. </p>
<p>One of the main contributing factors to the relentless abuse and lack of support is football’s masculine culture.</p>
<h2>Win at all costs</h2>
<p>Men’s football culture is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690206075417">synonymous with aggressive masculinity</a>. There is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2021-0026">win-at-all-costs</a> mentality and an expectation to conform to socially desirable <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2016.1160092">gender norms and behaviours</a>, such as partaking in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2021.1987966">banter</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/01/patrice-evra-toxic-masculinity-in-mens-football-abuse">abusive behaviour</a> – often at the expense of those displaying vulnerability.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2023.2260377">in my research</a>, one of the coaches relayed an incident when they asked for wellbeing support and was told to “f*** off” by their manager. Unsurprisingly, then, many don’t always feel <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-023-01912-2">safe enough to display any signs of vulnerability</a>, sometimes through fear of losing their job. Consequently, seeking support for mental health is often stigmatised in male football. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Mental health issues can be stigmatised in football.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Contrastingly, there have been reports where football players like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDL9EUIdy0">Dele</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37635302/manchester-united-jadon-sancho-working-overcome-physical-mental-issues-ten-hag">Jadon Sancho</a> have defied the game’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63476095">hypermasculine culture of silence</a> by voicing their wellbeing struggles.</p>
<p>In comparison, professional football coaches have not been as forthcoming – until now. </p>
<h2>Klopp is encouraging other coaches to prioritise their well-being</h2>
<p>Klopp’s honesty about his circumstances could pave the way for coaches to be more open about their wellbeing and destigmatise displays of vulnerability.</p>
<p>The effect of Klopp’s interview seemed to be immediate. Within 24 hours, Barcelona manager <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68120429">Xavi</a> voiced his own wellbeing struggles and announced that he too would be stepping down. “I’ve been a man of the club. I’ve prioritised it above even myself. I’ve given everything I have,” he said “From a mental health level, it’s tough … the battery levels keep running out.” His statement echoed the sentiments of Klopp and the coaches who participated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2023.2260377">in our research</a>.</p>
<p>Hopefully, such announcements are an indication of things to come – more high performance sports coaches helping to reshape the culture of men’s football for the better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Higham 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>Jürgen Klopp may have left Liverpool FC but the legacy of his honesty about mental health and wellbeing will endure.Andrew Higham, Doctoral Researcher, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2222692024-01-31T16:50:24Z2024-01-31T16:50:24ZSuper Bowl ads: It’s getting harder for commercials to score with consumers<p>With the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers set to face off in the 2024 Super Bowl, another conversation now begins in earnest about the TV commercials that will run during one of the most-watched television events of the year. And while some of the usual suspects will once again advertise on-air to the <a href="https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/super-bowl-2023-viewership-numbers-1235253521/">more than 110 million viewers</a> watching the game in the U.S., other regulars will be noticeably absent.</p>
<p>As professors who <a href="https://harbert.auburn.edu/directory/linda-ferrell.html">study marketing</a> and <a href="https://harbert.auburn.edu/directory/oc-ferrell.html">business ethics</a>, we’re keenly interested in Super Bowl advertising. So we looked at the roster of advertisers in search of trends. </p>
<p>The most interesting thing we found may be who’s not advertising. <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/america-4-largest-car-makers-224356471.html">Gone are the Big Four automakers</a> – Ford, General Motors, Chrysler parent Stellantis and Toyota – which have chosen to dedicate their ad dollars to more tightly targeted marketing campaigns. Only Kia and BMW are stepping up to promote their new electric vehicles, while Volkswagen has advertising lined up to celebrate its 75th anniversary in the U.S.</p>
<p>Also missing this year will be GoDaddy, whose Super Bowl ads have generated buzz over the years. Its <a href="https://adage.com/article/ad-age-podcast/why-godaddy-still-sitting-out-super-bowl/2534516">management has indicated</a> that the company is exploring other marketing options that create more engagement for their target markets.</p>
<h2>Advertisers seeking a touchdown</h2>
<p>Super Bowl ads this year, which <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/super-bowl-commercials-sold-out-cbs-tv-advertising-1235777413">sold out by early November 2023</a>, are dominated by food and beverage brands. These products appeal to a broad target audience. First-time advertisers like Popeyes, Drumstick, Nerds, and Pepsi’s new lemon lime soda, Starry, will join perennial advertisers Reese’s, M&M’s, Pringles, Frito-Lay and Mountain Dew, among others.</p>
<p>The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, plans to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/01/36779729/bud-light-to-make-a-comeback-at-super-bowl-2024-with-humorous-ad">run multiple ads</a> across its various brands, including <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4155908-how-a-15k-bud-light-giveaway-needlessly-cost-ab-inbev-27-billion/">recently tarnished Bud Light</a>, hoping to add to its history of producing iconic Super Bowl commercials. </p>
<p>At a cost of <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/cbs-reportedly-selling-super-bowl-lviii-ads-at-staggering-price-nearly-sold-out-before-2024/ar-AA1jtQs2">up to US$7 million</a> for a 30-second spot – the same as last year – this brief stint on the big stage doesn’t come cheap. And that’s before taking into account the <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-expensive-super-bowl-commercials-130041725.html">cost to create the ads themselves</a>, often more than twice what they will spend to run them on game day. All together, one spot can cost companies more than $20 million.</p>
<p>What are these advertisers hoping to gain, and is it worth it? For some, it clearly can be.</p>
<p>To start, consider that the most effective ads – those that stand out above the crowd – are visible long before the game begins and for weeks and even years afterward. Teasers, trailers and sometimes the full ads themselves are typically released in the weeks prior to the Super Bowl and reviewed on TV, online and across social media.</p>
<p>That coverage also continues after the game, with polls and feature stories ranking which ads worked and which didn’t as Monday morning advertising quarterbacks weigh in. Some of the best Super Bowl ads even take on a life of their own that lasts long after they first ran. Who can forget the iconic 1980 <a href="https://davidjdeal.medium.com/hey-kid-catch-how-coca-cola-and-mean-joe-greene-launched-a-legend-ab7b9492c84d%23:%7E:text=The%252520Reinvention%252520of%252520a%252520Football%252520Legend&text=NBC%252520turned%252520the%252520commercial%252520into,of%252520the%252520ad%252520for%252520Downy.">Coca-Cola commercial</a> featuring Pittsburgh’s Mean Joe Greene tossing a young fan his jersey? While the ad originally aired in late 1979, it reached a much broader audience during the game a few months later.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The classic Super Bowl ad ‘Have a Coke and a Mean Joe Greene.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>That ad has remained so popular that it was remade as a commercial for Coke Zero 30 years later featuring fellow Steelers player Troy Polamalu. Pre- and post-Super Bowl coverage in recent years often revives them both, as well as other iconic ads – decades later.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A 2009 Super Bowl ad inspired by ‘Have a Coke and a Mean Joe Greene.’</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The TV tide is turning — a little</h2>
<p>So why are the Big Four automakers, GoDaddy and other former Super Bowl advertisers forsaking the big game? Gen Z, in particular, is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2023/02/08/super-bowl-ads-may-need-to-evolve-to-target-gen-z--that-will-include-a-social-media-component/?sh=4e70a3162b3e">not impressed by Super Bowl ads</a>, and complicating the matter is their lack of interest in broadcast TV. </p>
<p>Marketers know TikTok and other social sites are <a href="https://www.shopify.com/blog/tiktok-marketing">better platforms</a> for delivering messages to targeted demographics. The return on investment for advertising is far easier to track in these venues, and the ad spend is easier to justify – especially considering how often these ads will be shared with family and friends in a matter of seconds with just a few keystrokes.</p>
<p>Still, in today’s fractured media landscape, the Super Bowl is a rare event with truly mass appeal: <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/super-bowl-lvii-total-viewing-audience-estimated-at-200-million">More than 60% of Americans</a> tuned into last year’s game, according to the NFL. That’s a lot of eyeballs.</p>
<p>In the end, today’s marketing executives recognize that Super Bowl TV commercials work best when they promote mass market products – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2011.581302">through humor, use of animals, nostalgia and celebrities</a> – as well as social causes that resonate with consumers. Linking a brand with memorable and creative storytelling is also an effective way to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/03/perspectives/super-bowl-ads-google-loretta/index.html">boost overall brand</a> visibility.</p>
<p>That’s the formula for success in this year’s Super Bowl.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222269/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Marketers are increasingly focused on reaching narrow audiences – but when it comes to mass appeal, the Super Bowl doesn’t miss.Linda Ferrell, Professor of Marketing, Auburn UniversityO.C. Ferrell, Professor of Ethics, Auburn UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221142024-01-30T16:53:08Z2024-01-30T16:53:08ZHow Jürgen Klopp reconnected Liverpool FC with Shankly’s socialist soul<p>In his first press conference after arriving at Anfield in 2015, Jürgen Klopp <a href="https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1224366407757987840?lang=en">stated</a>: “It’s not so important what people think when you come in. It’s much more important what people think when you leave.” </p>
<p>After nine years, his words resonate through the hearts of Liverpool FC fans. On January 26, Klopp <a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/jurgen-klopp-announces-decision-step-down-liverpool-manager-end-season">announced</a> that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.</p>
<p>Klopp has given Liverpool fans many memories to cherish. In 2019, his side staged a miraculous comeback against Barcelona on the way to lifting the Champion’s League trophy in Madrid. The following year, he ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a Premier League title.</p>
<p>Klopp inherited a Liverpool squad without any promising potential and a board that lacked vision and desire. Between 2010 and 2015, Liverpool had won just a single trophy – the League Cup in 2012. </p>
<p>However, Klopp delivered his first elite European trophy within three years of being appointed. From that point onward, he’s gone on to win all major trophies, guide Liverpool to four major European finals, and lose out on two Premier League titles by a single point. </p>
<p>Klopp will leave a legacy similar to that of Liverpool’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly. Between 1959 and 1974, Shankly transformed the club from second-division obscurity to three-time English champions and winners of the Uefa cup (Europe’s second-rank club competition). </p>
<p>Shankly endeared himself to fans of Liverpool FC, a club with deep working-class roots, by embracing the ethos of socialism (where individuals work together as a collective) as a fundamental principle for team success. Klopp’s persona as a man of the people – through his style, attitude and background – also strongly resonates with Liverpool’s socialist roots and blue collar community.</p>
<p>For instance, Klopp insists that every Liverpool player must <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-anfield-sign-norwich-jordan-18924539">earn the right</a> to touch the famous “This is Anfield” sign by winning silverware. The iconic Anfield sign was first hung up on the wall of the player’s tunnel by Shankly to remind opponents of the spirit of Anfield.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Jürgen Klopp announcing he will leave Liverpool FC at the end of the season.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Socialist Spirit</h2>
<p>Klopp has never sought to create a hierarchy between himself, the players and the fans. Early on in his tenure, he referred to himself as “<a href="https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/238155-the-normal-one">the normal one</a>” and has, on several occasions, been spotted sharing a drink with local people in the pub. In his press conferences, Klopp has often said that the team drew <a href="https://www.football365.com/news/klopp-on-cl-inspiration-we-do-it-for-carol-and-caroline">inspiration</a> from the staff at the club’s training ground.</p>
<p>Since his appointment, Klopp has also recognised the power of Liverpool fans, referring to them as the 12th man responsible for supplying energy to the squad. As Anfield reverberates today with the chant “I am so glad that Jurgen is a red”, the echoes of such intense emotions are a reminder for loyal Liverpool supporters of a legacy still sung about around half a century later.</p>
<p>Klopp has brought the same fiery socialist spirit back to Liverpool that Shankly managed to harness in the 1960s. Two managers separated by generations but bound as Merseyside icons who understood that success stems from people.</p>
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<h2>Engaging with the fans</h2>
<p>Like Shankly before him, Klopp has resurrected Liverpool by understanding what the club’s fans craved more than silverware – someone who embodies the club’s working-class soul. A leader to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with through good times and bad. </p>
<p>From Klopp’s iconic fist pumps after victories, to his <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11635563/Humiliated-Jurgen-Klopp-apologises-Liverpools-travelling-fans-Brighton-defeat.html">meaningful apologies</a> to fans during times of crisis, show his authentic relationship with the club and the fanbase. He celebrates goals in nerve-wracking victories by running up and down the sideline (once <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37638431/when-goal-celebrations-go-bad-liverpool-boss-jurgen-klopp-pulls-hamstring">pulling his hamstring</a> in the process). And he openly <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11635563/Humiliated-Jurgen-Klopp-apologises-Liverpools-travelling-fans-Brighton-defeat.html">asked supporters for forgiveness</a> after a humbling 3–0 defeat by Brighton in 2023. </p>
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<p>Klopp’s outgoing authenticity has also resonated powerfully with Liverpool supporters around the world. He actively embraces fan media like “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theredmentv">The Redmen TV</a>” YouTube channel, and makes an effort to appear in person for interviews and podcasts. He even once wrote a letter to a young fan reassuring him over his feelings of personal anxiety.</p>
<h2>Revolutionary vision</h2>
<p>When Shankly was appointed in 1959, he was frustrated with Liverpool’s training regime and facilities. Previously, players had become accustomed to running on the street as part of their training routine. However, Shankly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy/2018/dec/01/liverpool-boot-room-throw-in-jurgen-klopp-bill-shankly">revamped the training regime</a>, introducing sessions on the training ground where players could run and practice while wearing appropriate football boots.</p>
<p>In a similar way to Shankly, Klopp has helped the club evolve. He insisted on building modern training facilities where the youth academy could be integrated with the first team, and played a part in the development of the club’s new training ground.</p>
<p>Liverpool’s managing director Andy Hughes <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/12134609/liverpool-boss-jurgen-klopp-delighted-with-new-kirkby-training-ground">praised</a> the combined efforts of Klopp, sporting director Michael Edwards and academy director Alex Inglethorpe for their “instrumental role” in creating the new facility. </p>
<p>Klopp’s legacy at Anfield, in the Premier League and in modern football, is beyond doubt. As was the case for Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley, the next Liverpool manager certainly has big boots to fill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ronnie is an avid Liverpool FC fan and has carried out research into transforming management practices in English football.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wasim Ahmed 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>Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool with a remarkably similar legacy to the club’s iconic manager, Bill Shankly.Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Digital and Data Science, AudenciaWasim Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219532024-01-29T19:11:13Z2024-01-29T19:11:13ZAfcon 2023: Africa’s diaspora footballers are boosting the continent’s game – but they are also creating challenges<p>The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is approaching its conclusion in Ivory Coast and speculation is rife about which team will be the ultimate winner. It could be one of the continent’s footballing heavyweights such as Morocco or Senegal. Alternatively, a relative minnow like Angola or Cape Verde may emerge as the unexpected victor.</p>
<p>Last time out, at the 2021 edition in Algeria, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/feb/06/senegal-egypt-africa-cup-of-nations-final-match-report">Senegal captain</a> Kalidou Koulibaly lifted the trophy. Before that, Algeria’s 2019 triumph in Egypt saw Riyad Mahrez become the victorious captain. Significantly, neither player was born in Africa and there is a distinct possibility that the winning captain of this year’s tournament will also have been born elsewhere.</p>
<p>Of the <a href="https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/sports/the-allure-of-the-diaspora-at-afcon-2024-4491490#:%7E:text=2%20hours%20ago-,The%20number%20of%20Diaspora%20players%20in%20the%202024%20AFCON%20is,in%20the%20tournament%20this%20year">630 players</a> who were registered to play by teams competing in the 2023 edition, 200 weren’t born in Africa. The non-African country with the most players at the tournament is France, with 104. Second is Spain with 24, then England with 15. Even players born in Ireland and Saudi Arabia are competing in this year’s tournament. </p>
<p>The Moroccan national team has the largest number of diaspora players. Eighteen of its squad members were born outside of Morocco, with only nine born in the country. Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo have 17 and 16 diaspora squad members, respectively.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Africa showing the contribution of non-African countries to this year's Afcon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571856/original/file-20240129-21-d2jfov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The birthplaces of the African diaspora playing at 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Widdop</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The phenomenon seems to be on the rise and has allowed some African teams (and several with very limited footballing history) to rise up the footballing ranks in recent years. But some people argue that diasporas are undermining the progression of African football, principally by engendering a culture of complacency.</p>
<h2>Bolstering their ranks</h2>
<p>The fact that African teams are increasingly relying on players born elsewhere is not a surprise. After all, there’s an <a href="https://football-observatory.com/Inflation-in-the-football-players-transfer-market">intense talent battle</a> taking place in world football. This often involves the <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/international-athletes-world-cup-nationality">naturalisation of individuals</a> who find themselves playing for one national team even though they may already have played for another, and the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/fifa-world-cup-2022/2022/12/07/every-moroccan-is-moroccan-regraguis-fight-to-include-foreign-born-players-vindicated/">targeted recruitment</a> of players in countries around the world.</p>
<p>However, the case of Africa is particularly distinctive. It’s a reflection of both the continent’s <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2019/02/20/diaspora-diaries-and-football-politics/">colonial past and its global diasporas</a>. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/12/leicester-city-riyad-mahrez-father-dream-algeria-world-cup">Mahrez was born</a> in Paris to parents of Algerian and Moroccan origin. The French capital is home to 331,000 Algerians and 254,000 Moroccans. <a href="https://onefootball.com/en/news/chelsea-defender-koulibaly-explains-choosing-senegal-over-france-35927795">Koulibaly</a> was also born in France to parents originally from Senegal. Figures suggest there are more than 100,000 Senegalese in France.</p>
<p>But this is not just a story about France. Nigeria’s <a href="https://dailypost.ng/2023/02/09/no-regrets-choosing-nigeria-over-england-lookman/">Ademola Lookman</a> was born in London, Ghana’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/africa/62549049">Iñaki Williams</a> comes from Bilbao in Spain, and Morocco’s <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2023/01/16/the-political-dimension-of-moroccos-success-in-the-world-cup/#:%7E:text=Similarly%2C%20Sofian%20Amrabat%20is%20known,from%20them%20and%20preferred%20Morocco.">Sofyan Amrabat and Hakim Ziyech</a> are of Dutch origin. </p>
<p>Self-identity and family dynamics are a couple of reasons why players choose to play for teams from the birthplaces of their parents rather than their own. In 2022, Ziyech <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2022/12/10/hakim-ziyech-a-magician-at-the-heart-of-moroccan-love-story/">explained it thus</a>: “Choosing one’s national team is not done with the brain but with the heart. I have always felt Moroccan even though I was born in the Netherlands. Lots of people will never understand.” </p>
<p>Williams has <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/inaki-williams-made-right-choice-ghana-over-spain/blt005c8219a89b044e">spoken</a> of his grandparents’ influence, claiming that a decision is “easier when you see the [Ghanaian] people and your family support you to be a Black Star”. Such instances reveal a multidimensional sense of place. </p>
<p>Yet cynics argue that other such players are simply not good enough to play for the European nations in which they were born or in which they have been naturalised. For instance, former Arsenal starlet <a href="https://www.completesports.com/ex-everton-star-ball-iwobi-not-good-enough-to-play-for-toffees/">Alex Iwobi</a> has gone from being a potential future England star to a sometimes criticised Fulham midfielder and Nigerian international.</p>
<h2>But at what cost?</h2>
<p>Others express concerns about how diasporas are undermining African football. One concern is that bringing talent in from Europe and elsewhere is simply a fast-track strategy to success that is <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2018/09/11/is-africas-football-talent-finally-coming-back-home-football-planet/">eroding the long-term health</a> of football across the continent.</p>
<p>Even so, the approach seems to be working. At the Qatar World Cup in 2022, Morocco became the <a href="https://theconversation.com/morocco-at-the-2022-world-cup-6-forces-behind-a-history-making-performance-196359">first African nation</a> to reach the tournament’s semi-final stage. This has helped the country become the current highest-ranked team in Africa and the 13th-best team worldwide. </p>
<p>Senegal is also in the world’s top 20, while <a href="https://www.3addedminutes.com/international/cape-verde-mauritania-fairytale-afcon-match-stories-behind-it-4493235">Cape Verde’s</a> recent performance shows that even Africa’s traditionally less successful footballing nations can prosper. Cape Verde, a string of ten islands in the Atlantic Ocean with a population smaller than the city of Bristol, just finished top of a tough group, including Egypt and Ghana at the 2023 Afcon.</p>
<p>The likes of former Cameroon goalkeeper <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2022/11/25/world-cup-2022-the-problem-with-african-football-is-the-leaders_6005649_9.html">Joseph-Antoine Bell</a> remain less positive about such achievements. Bell claims that diaspora players make the job of African football’s leaders, managers and coaches too easy, which is engendering a culture of complacency. He also thinks it demotivates players born, brought up and living in Africa.</p>
<p>Though the practice of <a href="https://www.versus.uk.com/articles/diaspora-fc-why-its-time-for-this-generation-to-go-back-to-their-motherlands">diasporic talent recruitment</a> appears to be increasing (the effect of <a href="https://sports-chair.essec.edu/resources/research-reports/sport-and-national-eligibility-criteria-in-the-era-of-globalization">globalisation</a> must also be acknowledged as an influence), there are still some countries that rely more on players born and brought up domestically - Namibia and South Africa are examples of this.</p>
<p>Bell would no doubt approve, having previously called for Africa to develop its own solutions to talent identification and development. The problem is, this takes time, money and patience – precious commodities in football generally, not just in Africa.</p>
<p>Whatever happens when the tournament’s final game is staged at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa-cup-of-nations-showcases-the-continents-finest-footballers-and-chinas-economic-clout-220313">Alassane Ouattara Stadium</a> in Abidjan, it will be a proud moment for and a big celebration of African football. However, the birthplace of the captain who eventually lifts the trophy will probably fuel further debate about the importance of African football’s diasporas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221953/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>Around one-third of the players that have been called up to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations were born outside of Africa.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMA Business SchoolPaul Widdop, Associate Professor, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209822024-01-23T13:29:34Z2024-01-23T13:29:34ZNick Saban’s ‘epic era’ of coaching is over, but the exploitation of players in big-time college football is not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570442/original/file-20240120-29-zjm5sz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nick Saban was an outspoken critic of changes to NIL rules and the transfer portal that empowered players.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/alabama-crimson-tide-head-coach-nick-saban-leads-his-team-news-photo/1895738790">John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Nick Saban, the legendary University of Alabama football coach, announced his retirement at age 72 in January 2024, various analysts and colleagues depicted his departure as the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/10/sports/nick-sabans-retirement-shock-brings-about-end-of-an-era/">end of an “epic era” of coaching</a>. </p>
<p>“WOW! College football just lost the GOAT to retirement,” the outspoken University of Colorado coach, Deion Sanders, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10104506-deion-sanders-reacts-to-nick-sabans-alabama-retirement-just-lost-the-goat">stated on X</a>. Sanders went on to lament how college football has changed so much that it “chased the GOAT away.”</p>
<p>Without a doubt, Saban’s college coaching record of <a href="https://rolltide.com/news/2024/1/10/football-nick-saban-announces-retirement-after-17-seasons-at-alabama.aspx">297 wins, 71 losses and 1 tie</a> – not to mention seven national championships – puts him in an elite group of college coaches.</p>
<p>However, as the author of a book on the <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/document/1057480">racially exploitative nature of college sports</a>, I don’t see Saban as having been “chased away.” Rather, I see Saban’s retirement as his stepping away from an evolving college sports system that is increasingly empowering athletes in ways that he vocally condemned.</p>
<p>Saban was no champion for college athletes’ rights. Instead, he sought to maintain a status quo that <a href="https://uscpress.com/The-NCAA-and-the-Exploitation-of-College-Profit-Athletes">exploited players</a> while enriching coaches, schools and corporate sponsors. </p>
<h2>Opposed athlete endorsements and transfer portal</h2>
<p>Saban is outspoken about his <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nick-saban-keeps-fighting-against-nil">discontent with recent rule changes</a> concerning name, image and likeness, or NIL. The new rules allow college athletes to sign endorsement deals and profit from their reputation.</p>
<p>Saban felt the NIL changes would allow programs to lure players to their teams by offering more money for the players and their families. In other words, any school with wealthy donors could use enticing NIL packages to secure the top talent and outbid other schools with less resources. Ironically, the NIL changes <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-recruiting-rankings-teams-with-the-best-classes-over-a-five-year-average-entering-2021/">did not widen the existing recruiting gap</a> between the top Power 5 schools – such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Louisiana State University – and their peers within the same subdivision. </p>
<p>And yet, had he kept coaching, Saban would have earned a staggering <a href="https://collegefootballnetwork.com/nick-saban-salary-contract-net-worth-2024/">US$11.1 million</a> salary in 2024. That included a $1.1 million annual base salary and a $10 million <a href="https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/making-sense-of-college-coaching-contracts">talent fee</a>, which was to increase $400,000 each year. Talent fees are typically paid by universities using revenue generated from sponsorships and rights deals, and cover being able to use the coach’s NIL. He also was able to benefit from <a href="https://www.caclubindia.com/wealth/nick-saban-net-worth-forbes-cars-salary">multimillion-dollar endorsement deals</a> from Nike, Chevrolet and other brands as a result of his high-profile coaching status. </p>
<p>Saban also <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/alabama-crimson-tide/news/nick-saban-addresses-how-the-transfer-portal-has-impacted-his-approach-to-coaching-players/">criticized changes to the NCAA transfer portal</a>, which, beginning <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/04/14/ncaa-transfers-rule-change-football-basketball">in 2021</a>, has enabled players to switch schools without having to sit out a year after the transfer. Saban said the portal makes it harder for coaches to maintain player loyalty. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, for years, coaches could <a href="https://lsusports.net/news/2004/12/24/166309/">leave programs abruptly</a> for better-paying jobs regardless of promises made to their recruits or former players. Saban himself left Louisiana State to coach the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in 2004. </p>
<h2>A system that exploits players</h2>
<p>College football players are the primary labor force for the multibillion-dollar college sports industry. Given how much money they make for their universities, coaches and corporate sponsors – and the fact that a majority of them will not make it to the NFL – this is a period of their lives when they have a lot of earning power.</p>
<p>But unlike their coaches, who are compensated based on their market value, the players’ compensation – <a href="https://www.athleticscholarships.net/cost-of-attendance-spending-money">by way of scholarships</a> – are artificially capped. Their earnings are limited to tuition, room and board, a meal plan, termed medical coverage and small stipends.</p>
<p>This means athletes in Power 5 football and Division I men’s basketball are being <a href="https://uscpress.com/The-NCAA-and-the-Exploitation-of-College-Profit-Athletes">denied full economic rights</a>, or the opportunity to be paid market value for their labor. </p>
<p>Furthermore, scholarships are not guaranteed each year – a coach can deny an athlete’s scholarship from being renewed. The scholarship agreements also require players to attend practices and meetings, maintain academic eligibility, adhere to in-season and out-of-season coaching mandates, and perform in athletic competitions. </p>
<p>One study of Pac-12 athletes found that players spend <a href="https://sports.cbsimg.net/images/Pac-12-Student-Athlete-Time-Demands-Obtained-by-CBS-Sports.pdf">on average 50 hours per week on athletics</a>. In addition to attending practices, film sessions and competitions, they have to spend time on athletic training, travel and physical therapy treatments. Although the NCAA has a 20-hour-per-week maximum when it comes to required athletic activities, there are activities that are described as voluntary, even as <a href="https://m.heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/umem53&div=33&id=&page=">noncompliance involves penalties</a>.</p>
<p>Then there are injuries.</p>
<p>In a study of 300 college football players, Harvard professors found that <a href="https://hcp.hms.harvard.edu/news/college-athletes-underestimate-risk-injury">one-third reported having had at least one concussion</a>. Two-thirds reported having had one or more injuries of another type. This highlights the occupational hazard and long-term health risks associated with the sport.</p>
<h2>A new golden era</h2>
<p>In other words, the presumed epic era of coaching excellence that <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39281965/alabama-nick-saban-best-college-coach-ever">ESPN analysts believe Saban represents</a> was also a period of exploitation and disempowerment for college athletes.</p>
<p>This highly exploitative system is contrary to the <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/6/28/mission-and-priorities.aspx">NCAA’s stated mission</a>, which claims to value its athletes more than its staff or corporate partners.</p>
<p>And this exploitation has had glaring <a href="https://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RA_2017_11.pdf">racial implications</a>. </p>
<p>The Division I coaches, conferences, NCAA and corporate sponsors secured many millions of dollars for themselves while systematically <a href="https://www.ncpanow.org/news-articles/the-6-billion-heist-robbing-college-athletes-under-the-guise-of-amateurism">depriving a largely Black college football labor force</a> from earning their market value.</p>
<p>A new <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2024/01/19/draft-nil-bill-aims-save-college-sports-we-know-it">bill regarding NIL rights</a> intends to provide federal guidelines for NIL parameters and establish an independent oversight group. Yet the authors of the legislation still seek to prevent college athletes from being classified as employees. Without employee and union status, the benefits that could be achieved through collective bargaining and create a more equitable playing field for college athletes will remain elusive. </p>
<p>Nick Saban will inevitably be inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, his retirement, I believe, does not symbolize the end of a golden era of coaching excellence. Rather, it marks a potential shift toward a true golden era of equitable big-time college sports, one that treats college athletes as deserving of their fair share of the revenues they generate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph N. Cooper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nick Saban was one of the most successful coaches in college football history. But he was not a champion of players’ rights.Joseph N. Cooper, Endowed Chair of Sport Leadership and Administration, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210572024-01-18T13:27:31Z2024-01-18T13:27:31ZBill Belichick’s hidden playbook – the 19th century origins of ‘The Patriot Way’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569590/original/file-20240116-15-uaomih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C224%2C1429%2C936&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bill Belichick during his last game as head coach of the New England Patriots.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/new-england-patriots-head-coach-bill-belichick-looks-on-in-news-photo/1915226241?adppopup=true">Winslow Townson/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>To the New England Patriots fans enrolled in my <a href="https://www.coursicle.com/qu/courses/SPS/362/">Story of Football</a> class at <a href="https://www.qu.edu/">Quinnipiac University</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Education_of_a_Coach.html?id=7a92PwAACAAJ">Bill Belichick</a> is the only Patriots coach they’ve ever known.</p>
<p>The 71-year-old coach and team owner <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kraft">Robert Kraft</a> amicably parted ways after 24 years on Jan. 11, 2024, following the end of a dreary season. </p>
<p>Despite my students’ familiarity with the image of Belichick stalking the sidelines, the coach’s world – at least, as far as technology goes – has had little, if anything, in common with theirs. </p>
<p>When he began coaching the Patriots in 2000, and for years afterward, Belichick seemed to ignore the digital revolution erupting around him. He’d joke about a reporter being on “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7U2ew9nMxo">Snapface</a>,” or he’d call Facebook “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GPemM8FAfo.">Your Face</a>.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Education_of_a_Coach.html?id=7a92PwAACAAJ">Belichick’s moments of social media virality</a> have been rare – and usually limited to <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/18/bill-belichick-patriots-coach-hates-tablets/?sr_source=Twitter">his abuse</a> <a href="https://www.nfl.com/videos/bill-belichick-throws-tablet-on-sideline-after-chiefs-late-td-401238">of the blue Microsoft Surface tablets</a> NFL coaches and players use on the sidelines to study instant replays. </p>
<p>Most of the time, though, he exudes stoicism – some might say arrogance – offering little words of value to the fans and the media.</p>
<p>Yet his legendary terseness and his rejection of the latest technology belie a wealth of knowledge about the game and its history. If there ever were a living historian-coach, it was Belichick.</p>
<h2>Historian at the lectern</h2>
<p>Most reporters covering the Patriots learned the drill during Belichick’s news conferences: ask him about next week’s starters, and you’d get a vague retort, perhaps followed by a snort or a sneer.</p>
<p>But prompt him on football history, and he’d respond like a scholar. </p>
<p>During a 2021 new conference, he delivered a 1,500-word soliloquy on the history of the <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bill-belichick-offers-1500-word-discourse-on-long-snappers-off-the-top-of-his-head">long snapper</a>, which is perhaps the most specialized, obscure position on a football team – a player tasked with snapping the football during punts and field goal attempts. Before a 2020 game against the Denver Broncos, <a href="https://nesn.com/2023/12/watch-bill-belichick-give-history-lesson-on-3-4-defense-1978-broncos/">Belichick analyzed the evolution</a> of a defensive formation consisting of three linemen and four linebackers, known as the “<a href="https://footballtoolbox.net/3-4-defense">3-4 defense</a>,” which he learned in 1978 during his one year as an assistant to Broncos defensive coordinator <a href="https://denvergazette.com/sports/denver-broncos/legendary-broncos-defensive-coordinator-joe-collier-looks-back-at-an-incredible-career/article_8e291b8c-1393-11ee-bed4-df445c0a2fd6.html">Joe Collier</a>.</p>
<p>Sports Illustrated senior writer Greg Bishop <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/01/11/bill-belichick-unparalleled-legacy-new-england">described Belichick as</a> “part librarian in addition to all coach,” and the more than <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2015/01/28/bill-belichick-library-steve-belichick-naval-academy">400 football books</a> that the coach donated to the Naval Academy Athletic Association in 2006 reflect his lifelong love of the game’s history. </p>
<p>That passion was spurred on by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/21/sports/football/steve-belichick-coach-who-wrote-the-book-on-scouting-dies.html">his father, Steve</a>, who started collecting the works after World War II. The elder Belichick even published a book himself in 1962: “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9pkjHN2C4tUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=steve+belichick&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi7i5adz-KDAxV7rYkEHbppBSkQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=steve%20belichick&f=false">Football Scouting Methods</a>,” a respected primer on how to properly assess opponents by observing their games and detecting tendencies and patterns of play.</p>
<h2>The father of football informs ‘The Patriot Way’</h2>
<p>The oldest book in the donated collection is “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=-vS_ZugKGTcC&pg=PP9#v=onepage&q&f=false">American Football</a>,” written in 1891 by Yale football coach Walter Camp, who’s credited with inventing rules, such as <a href="https://operations.nfl.com/learn-the-game/nfl-basics/terms-glossary/glossary-terms-list/line-of-scrimmage/">the line of scrimmage</a>, which made the game distinct from rugby. </p>
<p>In the book, Camp also detailed the physical requirements and roles of each position, such as guard and quarterback, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=-vS_ZugKGTcC&vq=specator&pg=PA165#v=snippet&q=specator&f=false">and included a chapter</a> for spectators to teach the game to the growing number of fans. </p>
<p>In 1896, Camp updated the book, this time with a co-writer in Harvard coach Lorin Deland. They simplified the title to “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=z4soAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false">Football</a>.”</p>
<p>One chapter, titled “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=z4soAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA180#v=onepage&q=don&f=false">Football Don'ts</a>,” lists 40 tips to help coaches and players win. Belichick never used the expression “<a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/kevin-faulk-patriots-way">The Patriot Way</a>,” the phrase the New England sports media used to describe the Patriots’ team-first culture and disciplined approach under Belichick. But a sampling of the “Football Don'ts” reveals that The Patriot Way has 19th century origins. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white photo of mustached man wearing heavy winter coat and a fedora." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569581/original/file-20240116-25-yz6xu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Walter Camp is known as the ‘Father of American Football.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/walter-camp-father-of-american-football-1925-news-photo/106500770?adppopup=true">Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Don’t answer back to a coach upon the field, even if you know him to be wrong. Do exactly what he tells you to do, so far as you are able, and remember that strict obedience is the first requirement of a player.”</p>
<p>In short, “<a href="https://nesn.com/2017/01/bill-belichicks-do-your-job-mantra-goes-way-back-as-this-2000-interview-shows/">Do Your Job</a>” – the mantra that Belichick drilled into his players to remind them that he’s given them each a specific task to accomplish. Everything else is noise. </p>
<p>“Don’t fail to play a fast game. Line up instantly after each down. Your game is twice as effective if there are no delays.”</p>
<p>In 2012, the Patriots ran <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/2012.htm#all_team_stats">1,191 plays</a>, the second-most ever at the time. </p>
<p>“Don’t be satisfied with a superficial knowledge of the rules. Master every detail.”</p>
<p>“Players say Belichick is constantly plucking obscure penalty situations from across the league and showing his players tape every week,” wrote <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/2/1/16958718/super-bowl-new-england-patriots-bill-belichick-rules-penalties-study">The Ringer’s Kevin Clark in February 2018</a>.</p>
<p>“Don’t be an automaton. Thoroughly master each principle, and then vary your play as emergencies arise.”</p>
<p>In 2019, in the two weeks before Super Bowl LIII against the high-scoring Los Angeles Rams, Belichick <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25920798/how-patriots-defense-stymied-sean-mcvay-super-bowl-liii">overhauled the Patriots’ defensive line formation and pass coverage</a>. </p>
<p>The Patriots <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401038115/patriots-rams">held the Rams to three points</a> en route to Belichick’s sixth Super Bowl title as a head coach.</p>
<h2>On to the next challenge</h2>
<p>Belichick routinely credits other coaches for his success: <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/belichick-credits-parcells-after-using-the-wind-to-patriots-advantage">Bill Parcells</a>, whom he worked under for the New York Giants and Patriots, and Paul Brown, the co-founder and first coach of the Cleveland Browns, a franchise that still bears his name.</p>
<p>Brown was the first coach to use a playbook and the first to suggest that coaches and players communicate via headsets.</p>
<p>“It was very insightful to see how far ahead of his time he was. What a great, great football mind,” <a href="https://www.bengals.com/news/six-degrees-for-bengals-pats-17880223">Belichick said in a 2016 interview</a>.</p>
<p>“Everything I do today, Paul Brown did. It all started with Paul Brown,” <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bill-belichick-proclaims-paul-brown-the-greatest-coach-in-pro-football-history">Belichick added in 2019</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white photo of man wearing fedora and long overcoat patrolling the football field with his hands in his jacket pockets." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569582/original/file-20240116-21-s6m6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Cleveland Browns were named after Paul Brown, their co-founder and first coach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/photo-shows-paul-brown-head-coach-of-the-cleveland-browns-news-photo/514968198?adppopup=true">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even the deflection and praise seem to be an intentional part of Belichick’s approach to the game.</p>
<p>In “Football,” Camp also discussed coaching, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=z4soAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA194#v=onepage&q=thoughtful&f=false">delivering a lesson</a> about the importance of coaches’ keeping a low profile.</p>
<p>He wrote: “The thoughtful man who finds himself appointed to such a position will make his influence felt in all important matters, but he will himself be rarely. His power is well-nigh paramount, but the public display of his exercise of that power might easily become intolerable.”</p>
<p>Belichick has certainly heeded Camp’s advice in his refusal to make himself the story. After losses, there are no excuses, no second guesses, no calling out individual players. Instead, he’ll often reiterate that he has to do a better job – that everyone has to do a better job.</p>
<p>After a brutal <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/400554325/patriots-chiefs">41-14 loss</a> to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, Belichick infamously responded to a barrage of questions from reporters with the same phrase, repeated ad nauseam: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GaUO67FYok">We’re on to Cincinnati</a>,” the team’s next opponent. <a href="https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2024/01/11/bill-belichick-on-to-cincinnati-interview/72191389007/">One reporter</a> noted that Belichick used the word “Cincinnati” 15 times.</p>
<p>Now, Belichick will stalk the sidelines <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/11/style/bill-belichick-hoodie-patriots.html">in his trademark hoodie</a> somewhere else.</p>
<p>If not to Cincinnati, Belichick will almost certainly coach again. He has interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons. Other teams are also rumored to be in the mix. </p>
<p>Maybe the interviewers should add a question about long snappers. That way, they can see how they’ll be getting more than just a coach.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221057/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rich Hanley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The coach’s legendary terseness and his rejection of technological trends belie a wealth of knowledge about the game and its history.Rich Hanley, Professor Emeritus of Journalism, Quinnipiac UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210212024-01-17T15:41:47Z2024-01-17T15:41:47ZGhana won Afcon four times, but the last time was 40 years ago. What went wrong with its football team?<p><em>The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is the most important football tournament in Africa. It has been contested by the male national teams of countries on the continent <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/Africa-Cup-of-Nations">since 1957</a>. Egypt is the <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/caf-history-makers-tracing-egypts-seven-africa-cup-of-nations-conquests">most successful</a> country in the tournament’s history, with seven wins, the most recent in 2010. Previously, Ghana was the dominant force with four wins. In spite of producing world class players, the country has not won the tournament in four decades.</em></p>
<p><em>As the 2023 edition plays out in Côte d'Ivoire, The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo speaks to sports scientist Ernest Yeboah Acheampong on what has gone wrong for Ghana.</em></p>
<h2>Ghana produces players who feature in top leagues. What’s its record at Afcon?</h2>
<p>Ghana has a strong attachment to football. Its first president, <a href="https://theconversation.com/nkrumah-and-football-how-ghanas-top-players-ended-up-in-north-america-179097">Kwame Nkrumah, used</a> the sport as part of his strategy to promote national unity. He pushed the sport as a preferred option for Ghanaian youths and even <a href="https://www.modernghana.com/sports/590298/afcon-trivia-nkrumahs-role-in-ghanas-all-conquering-feat.html">set up a team</a> that competed in the local league. This laid the platform for a country that has consistently produced footballers of continental renown who have contributed to the success of their club teams. They include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abedi-Ayew-Pele">Abedi Pele</a> (UEFA Champions League winner with Olympic Marseille), <a href="https://citifmonline.com/2015/10/from-a-shoe-shine-boy-to-kotoko-president-meet-legend-sammy-kuffour/">Samuel Kuffour</a> (Bayern Munich), Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Essien">Michael Essien</a> (Chelsea FC) and <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/asamoah-gyan-ghanas-shining-star-hangs-boots-following-glittering-global-career">Asamoah Gyan</a>. </p>
<p>The conveyor belt of quality players produced by Ghana led to the country dominating the Afcon tournament. It <a href="https://www.ghanafa.org/about-ghana-football-association/what-we-do/history">won titles</a> in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. But despite having several high quality players in its national team, Ghana’s best performance in recent tournaments has been a <a href="https://ghanasoccernet.com/afcon-2015-ghana-lose-final-penalties-ivory-coast">finals appearance in 2015</a>.</p>
<h2>What is the problem?</h2>
<p>The issues include poor preparation, poor commitment levels of players, unhealthy team politics and disputes over remuneration. There has also been a decline in the quality of the local league as Ghanaian clubs have struggled to attract fans to their games and to compete among their continental peers. Then there is interference by the political elite as the government often seeks to use the sport to achieve and enhance its public standing.</p>
<p>Ghana’s youth football system used to prioritise the progress of talent through different age categories. This no longer exists. Competitor countries like Senegal, Morocco and Algeria have <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/67864876">built their recent success</a> on sound practice like this. There is also difficulty in getting qualified and experienced coaches or trainers who understand growth and development in talent identification and advancement. The inability of the country’s football federation to maintain an efficient database of talented players means some of the most talented players do not get noticed. </p>
<p>Finally, there is the long held perception that some players are selected based on their ability to remit money or their personal relationships to influential members of the football association and sometimes the technical team.</p>
<h2>What must change?</h2>
<p>Ghana can improve its chances of winning Afcon when key stakeholders are able to remove obstacles, wastefulness and undesirable practices that hamper the progress of the national team. There should be an appropriate grassroots structure for all the national teams which guarantees the smooth progress of talent. This supports the development of football talent through the ranks as recommended by <a href="https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/fwc2022/scaling-the-pyramid/part-1-introduction.php">Fifa’s pyramid </a>(grassroots for the foundation, youth before elite level). </p>
<p>The authorities must not appoint leaders who do not have the requisite knowledge in football and management practices. Investment in football infrastructure and capacity building of coaches is crucial for development and to improve the chances of winning. Senegal, Morocco and Algeria have all used this path. This investment should cut across the domestic leagues and grassroots structure and systems. </p>
<p>The selection of players must follow specific criteria that prioritise talent who feature regularly at their clubs. These approaches, inspired by the practices in countries where sport scientists and managers play pivotal roles, can improve Ghana’s chances of ending its 40 year drought. Also, it is time to give technocrats the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the activities of the football association in various capacities based on their scientific knowledge and experience. </p>
<p>There is a need to develop a robust database of Ghanaian players both abroad and domestically to ensure effective supervision and monitoring of their performance in their leagues. Importantly, coaches and trainers should be more concerned about modern methods of training and management of talents since the sport has become more scientific.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernest Yeboah Acheampong 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>Ghana’s recent Afcon record does not reflect its status as an African football powerhouse.Ernest Yeboah Acheampong, Senior Lecturer, Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports (HPERS), University of Education, WinnebaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203132024-01-02T16:50:14Z2024-01-02T16:50:14ZAfrica Cup of Nations showcases the continent’s finest footballers – and China’s economic clout<p>When the Africa Cup of Nations begins on January 13, the opening match between Guinea Bissau and the hosts, Ivory Coast, will be played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. The state-of-the-art venue is <a href="https://footballgroundguide.com/news/afcon-stadiums-ivory-coast-afcon-2023">one of six stadiums</a> being used during the football tournament. </p>
<p>At a ceremony to mark the beginning of its construction in 2016, the former prime minister of Ivory Coast, Daniel Kablan Duncan, was accompanied by several Chinese embassy officials based in the country. </p>
<p>Their presence was no surprise. After all, the stadium was <a href="https://footballgroundguide.com/news/afcon-2023-guide-to-alassane-ouattara-stadium-abidjan.html">designed by</a> the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design and <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2020/10/04/ivory-coast-inaugurates-60-000-seater-stadium-ahead-of-afcon-2023//">built by</a> the Beijing Construction Engineering Group. Both of these are Chinese <a href="https://2017-2021.state.gov/communist-chinese-military-companies-listed-under-e-o-13959-have-more-than-1100-subsidiaries/">state entities</a>.</p>
<p>China was <a href="http://www.chinafrica.cn/Homepage/202311/t20231106_800348030.html">heavily involved</a> in building other tournament venues too. In San Pedro, the Laurent Pokou Stadium was <a href="https://footballgroundguide.com/competitions/afcon-2023-laurent-pokou-stadium-san-pedro.html">built by</a> the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (again, state owned). And the China National Building Material group served as <a href="https://footballgroundguide.com/news/afcon-stadiums-ivory-coast-afcon-2023">general contractor</a> on the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo.</p>
<p>All of this is part of a long-term policy of “<a href="https://www.policyforum.net/china-fuelling-african-cup-nations/">stadium diplomacy</a>” which China has been deploying across the continent. Linked to the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative">belt and road initiative</a>, which is intended to promote trade and foster interdependence between China and other nations, stadiums have frequently been gifted to African nations (or else paid for using relatively <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-debt-banking-loans-financial-developing-countries-collapse-8df6f9fac3e1e758d0e6d8d5dfbd3ed6">cheap loans</a>).</p>
<p>For instance, when Gabon co-hosted (with Equatorial Guinea) the Cup of Nations in 2012, <a href="http://stadiumdb.com/news/2015/07/gabon_one_more_chinese_afcon_coming_up">China was involved</a> in building both of its stadiums. Five years later, when Gabon hosted the tournament again, China <a href="https://venturesafrica.com/how-china-will-play-a-key-role-as-gabon-hosts-2017-afcon/">built another two</a>. </p>
<p>Gabon now sends around <a href="https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/gab/partner/chn#:%7E:text=Gabon%2DChina%20In%202021%2C%20Gabon,and%20Sawn%20Wood%20(%24205M)">15% of its exports</a> – mostly crude petroleum and manganese – to China. </p>
<p>And just as construction of the Alassane Ouattara Stadium got underway, Ivory Coast’s president – who happens to be named Alassane Ouattara – visited Beijing to finalise a <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2021/04/28/china-is-gabon-s-most-profitable-trading-partner-from-2009-to-2020/">strategic cooperative partnership</a>. </p>
<p>By 2020, China had invested <a href="https://rpb115.nsysu.edu.tw/var/file/131/1131/img/2375/CCPS1(2)-Tsao-Lu-Yeh.pdf">US$1.5 billion</a> (£1.2 billion) in Ivory Coast. Now the African nation <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/ivory-coast/total-exports-to-china">exports US$700 million worth</a> of natural resources and goods to China, up from US$100 million in 2016.</p>
<p>Chinese stadium diplomacy, which also exists in countries including <a href="https://medium.com/@qaraqra/building-stadiums-and-alliances-chinas-diplomatic-approach-to-dominance-6a6ce8842643">Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Mali</a> and <a href="https://africachinareporting.com/chinese-stadia-in-cameroon-revive-football-and-smes/">Cameroon</a>, is officially framed as being mutually beneficial. But some critics <a href="http://jpinyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Submission2.pdf">disagree</a>. </p>
<p>For while recipient nations get gleaming new sports infrastructure, inward investment and export deals, <a href="https://indepthsolomons.com.sb/the-negative-impacts-of-chinas-global-stadium-diplomacy/">questions remain</a> about the <a href="https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/chinas-investments-in-africa-whats-the-real-story/">economic and political consequences</a> in terms of control and exploitation. </p>
<p>For China though, the benefits are clear. Stadium diplomacy enables the country to extend its sphere of influence in Africa, often creating a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/who-benefits-from-china-africa-relations/a-59979169">political imbalance</a> which leaves African nations at the behest of Beijing. At the same time, Africa has become a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chinas-engagement-with-africa-from-natural-resources-to-human-resources/">source of raw materials</a> that help sustain China’s economic growth and global dominance in sectors such as battery manufacturing and telecommunications.</p>
<h2>A new player</h2>
<p>But China has a strategic rival. Saudi Arabia also wants a piece of the football diplomacy action.</p>
<p>The Gulf powerhouse is charging ahead with its own economic transformation and development, part of which involves investing <a href="https://nepf.org.au/index.php/playing-for-power-a-deep-dive-into-saudi-arabias-global-sports-ambitions/">hundreds of millions of dollars in sport</a>. And at the heart of Saudi plans is the intention to position itself as an “Afro-Eurasian” hub of international football. </p>
<p>At one stage in 2023, it appeared as though the kingdom would bid to host the 2030 Fifa World Cup <a href="https://nepf.org.au/index.php/saudi-arabia-china-red-sea-geopolitics-the-2030-world-cup/">in conjunction with Egypt and Greece</a>. As part of the proposed arrangement, Saudi Arabia was <a href="https://nepf.org.au/index.php/saudi-arabia-china-red-sea-geopolitics-the-2030-world-cup/">reportedly offering</a> to build new stadiums in each of its partner countries.</p>
<p>In the end, Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be hosting that event, and Saudi Arabia is now the sole bidder for the 2034 competition instead. But that too will probably involve some <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/08/saudi-arabias-neom-project-bring-huge-investments-egypt">collaboration with Egypt</a>, as Neom, the US$500 billion mega-city Saudi Arabia is building, would probably form part of its hosting plans. </p>
<p>In other developments, Saudi Arabia has become the <a href="https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/african-football-league-visit-saudi-sponsorship-caf-visa-afc/">main sponsor</a> of the African Football League. And the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has agreed a deal with the <a href="https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2023/06/14/saudi-fa-keeps-building-influence-africa-mauritania-latest-sign/">Mauritanian Football Association</a> to develop infrastructure and train referees, as part of efforts to <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2341281/saudi-arabia">boost relations</a> between the two nations. </p>
<p>These moves have provoked a mixed response. Some commentators accuse Saudi Arabia of trying to get Africa <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/27/revealed-saudi-arabia-plan-poor-countries-oil">hooked on oil</a> as part of a plan to offset decreasing demand elsewhere. Others <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/saudi-arabia-has-strategic-advantage-sourcing-critical-minerals-africa">have observed</a> that Saudi Arabia needs access to Africa’s natural resources (such as lithium, cobalt and copper) to drive its economic reforms.</p>
<p>We have already seen another Gulf nation, Qatar, setting out a template for engagement with Africa. Having hosted the 2022 Fifa World Cup, it decided to <a href="https://www.qatar-tribune.com/article/93860/sports/generation-amazing-launches-sports-for-development-programme-in-rwanda">fund football projects</a> in Rwanda, while state-owned Qatar Airways made a bid to acquire significant stakes in both Air Rwanda and <a href="https://www.mininfra.gov.rw/updates/news-details/qatar-to-take-60-stake-in-rwandas-new-international-airport">Kigali’s new international airport</a>.</p>
<p>Africa has clearly become a source of great interest to some wealthy countries looking for places to spread influence and investment. The Africa Cup of Nations is a prime example of this – with the diplomatic prizes at stake being as valuable as any of the fixtures being played in China’s new stadiums around Ivory Coast.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220313/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>Geopolitical tactics are already on display.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMA Business SchoolChris Toronyi, PhD Candidate and Lecturer, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1941532023-11-27T19:27:23Z2023-11-27T19:27:23ZRepeated concussions can alter heart activity and impact the ‘heart-brain’ axis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513107/original/file-20230302-16-tocrry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=114%2C122%2C2510%2C1803&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Exploring the interaction between the heart and the brain, known as the heart-brain axis, has shown how heart function changes due to a concussion.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/repeated-concussions-can-alter-heart-activity-and-impact-the-heart-brain-axis" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Mild traumatic brain injury or sport-related concussions occur frequently in contact sports such as football, rugby and ice hockey. A concussion doesn’t just affect the brain; <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci7080100">it results in stress to the entire body</a>. </p>
<p>In our laboratory comprised of exercise scientists and clinicians, we focus on studying heart function in patients with a concussion. After a concussion, there are increased demands on the body to maintain proper brain activity. To compensate for these demands, there are changes in heart function.</p>
<p>We have explored this interaction between the heart and the brain, known as the heart-brain axis, and have identified how heart function changes due to a concussion. For example, a hit to the head can send signals to the heart that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cpf.12487">shifts the body to a stressful “fight-or-flight” mode</a>. This increases the stress on the body by causing a change in heart function.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/concussion-is-more-than-sports-injuries-whos-at-risk-and-how-canadian-researchers-are-seeking-better-diagnostics-and-treatments-189899">Concussion is more than sports injuries: Who's at risk and how Canadian researchers are seeking better diagnostics and treatments</a>
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<p>This mechanism is related to what we would describe as a neuro-autonomic cardiovascular dysfunction. This means that problems with the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are causing altered signals going to the heart. </p>
<p>The ANS controls things that we don’t actively think about like breathing, digestion and heart function. The ANS is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cpf.12487">responsible for controlling the rhythm of a heartbeat</a>.</p>
<h2>Changes in systole following a concussion</h2>
<p>Each heartbeat contains both a heart muscle contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole) phase. That’s why a <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/blood-pressure/art-20050982">blood pressure reading results in two numbers</a>: the systolic and diastolic pressures. Systolic blood pressure, which is usually listed at the top of a blood pressure reading, is generated by the heart as it contracts, pushing out blood during each heartbeat. </p>
<p>Approximately 120 mmHg is a good systolic number, and the blood pressure varies with each heartbeat. These variations between heartbeats in systolic blood pressure is known as blood pressure variability, and it is a measure that provides information about stress on the body.</p>
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<img alt="Illustration of a heart rhythm and a brain and a heart" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559964/original/file-20231116-15-2k6zrn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=431&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">Within five days after sustaining a concussion, systole — the phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscle contracts to allow blood to flow into the body — is impaired, with the heart contracting for a shorter period of time during each heart beat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Concussion can also alter blood pressure. Since blood pressure can also be influenced by breathing, we controlled breathing rates in concussed athletes when conducting tests within five days of injury. We showed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/life12091400">blood pressure variability is suppressed during concussion</a>. </p>
<p>Within five days after sustaining a concussion, systole — the phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscle contracts to allow blood to flow into the body — is impaired, with the heart contracting for a shorter period of time during each heart beat. This has the potential to lower the efficiency with which blood is pumped from the heart. </p>
<p>Furthermore, there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2022.2102918">elevated stress on the heart</a>, causing it to squeeze harder to get blood into the body. These changes are typically transient and return to normal as concussion symptoms alleviate.</p>
<h2>Long-term concussion symptoms</h2>
<p>Concussion symptoms such as headache and pressure build-up in the head reflect the ANS not working properly. These symptoms can last if the brain is injured. Research suggests that a history of repeated concussions can have long-lasting effects. Specifically, those with a history of at least three concussions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2022.2109737">show altered oxygen activity in the brain</a>.</p>
<p>Each heartbeat provides blood and oxygen to the brain. Therefore, heart complications can result in altered brain activity. This is evident during strenuous activity such as repeated squat-stand manoeuvres (10-second squat, then a 10-second stand, repeated 15 times), which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2022.2109737">can result in reduced brain oxygen in those with a history of concussion</a>. This reduction in brain oxygen activity can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12111443">associated with elevated stress on the heart due to the concussion</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, in our lab, four women suffering from post-concussion syndrome (symptoms that last for months or even years after a concussion) presented with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/cjpp-2021-0395">decreased systolic blood pressure variability</a>. Monitoring heart function in patients with sustained concussion complications can aid with recovery.</p>
<p>In another case study, a male patient had a history of multiple concussions that elicited heart complications. Remarkably, treatment of the heart issues alleviated all concussion symptoms in a matter of days when the patient’s cardiologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7154120">treated him with the heart medication amiodarone, which is used to treat heart rhythm problems</a>.</p>
<p>Specifically, our case study presented a patient with almost 20 per cent abnormal heartbeats, which is very unusual. The stress on the heart stresses the body, which can worsen the concussion symptoms. This is the first report of a patient in whom treatment of abnormal heartbeat cleared concussion symptoms.</p>
<p>There is still limited research about the heart-brain axis. For example, it is known that <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/02/04/chronic-stress-can-cause-heart-trouble">stress and anxiety are risk factors for heart disease</a>. For concussion, a hit to the head can send signals to the heart, resulting in higher stress levels on the heart. As shown in our research, the higher stress levels on the heart can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/life12091400">measured by systolic blood pressure activity</a>. More research is being done to better understand the heart-brain axis.</p>
<h2>Future research and potential treatment options</h2>
<p>Research is beginning to investigate how compounds from the cannabis plant, such as cannabidiol (CBD), may help concussion recovery. For example, four female patients between the ages of 42 and 52 suffering from post-concussion syndrome consumed CBD oil under guidance from their physician. This was followed by improvements in their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/cjpp-2021-0395">systolic blood pressure variability</a>. Furthermore, their concussion symptoms improved, leading to reduced perception of anxiety. </p>
<p>This led us to complete a literature review on the implications of cannabinoids, such as CBD, on concussion. Our findings suggest that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/cjn.2020.23">cannabinoid therapy may have a beneficial effect on concussion recovery</a>.</p>
<p>We have recently been funded by the National Football League/National Football League Players Association to <a href="https://www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/health-and-wellness/pain-management/nfl-awards-1-million-to-study-impact-of-cannabis-and-cbd-on-pain-management">study CBD’s potential influence on brain-heart function and effect on concussion symptoms</a>. This will enable us to better understand how these cannabinoids may influence the heart-brain axis relationship.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>J. Patrick Neary receives funding from the National Football League/National Football League Players Association for his cannabinoid and concussion research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jyotpal Singh and Payam Dehghani 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>Concussion doesn’t just affect the brain, but the whole body. The interaction of the ‘heart-brain axis’ means that as the brain works to heal its injury, it puts extra stress on the heart.Jyotpal Singh, Postdoctoral fellow, Kinesiology & Health Studies, University of ReginaJ. Patrick Neary, Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology & Health Studies, University of ReginaPayam Dehghani, Associate Professor, Cardiology, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182742023-11-24T17:18:20Z2023-11-24T17:18:20ZEverton FC lost ten valuable points for breaking financial rules – but football fans may eventually consider it a win<p>On November 16 2023, fans of Everton FC may have been reasonably satisfied about how the football season was shaping up. They were 14th in the English Premier League, and had recently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/everton">recorded wins</a> against West Ham and Crystal Palace.</p>
<p>Then on November 17 everything changed. The club were <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67448714">docked ten points</a> for breaching the league’s <a href="https://resources.premierleague.com/premierleague/document/2023/08/31/132475d9-6ce7-48f3-b168-0d9f234c995a/PL_Handbook_2023-24_DIGITAL_29.08.23.pdf">“profitability and sustainability” rules</a>, pushing them down to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/everton/table">19th place</a> and into the relegation zone.</p>
<p>The rules that Everton broke are designed to force clubs into being financially sustainable businesses, by allowing them to build up footballing losses (separate to spending on things like infrastructure or community projects) of no more than £105 million over a three-year period.</p>
<p>Everton were found to have exceeded this limit by <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13010180/everton-deducted-10-points-by-the-premier-league">£19.5 million</a>, with relevant losses of £124.5 million to the end of the 2021-2022 season. At this time Everton had the largest Premier League wage bill <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/sports-business-group/deloitte-uk-annual-review-of-football-finance-2023.pdf">in proportion to revenue</a> and failed to achieve desired returns when trying to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/nov/18/everton-pay-price-of-leaderships-manic-spending-and-blind-eye-to-sense">sell unwanted players</a>.</p>
<p>Everton originally filed returns showing <a href="https://theathletic.com/5071224/2023/11/18/everton-10-point-penalty-explained/">£87 milllion of losses</a>, well within the limit. However, an <a href="https://resources.premierleague.com/premierleague/document/2023/11/17/49989e4e-01a2-44f9-a012-c3a31ae5536b/2023-11-17-Premier-League-v-Everton-FC-Decision-for-Publication.pdf">independent commission</a> decided that this figure was lower than the true value. </p>
<p>Everton also claimed there were mitigating circumstances, including losses on “player X” who was arrested in 2021 and ultimately had his contract terminated, additional losses due to an inability to sell players because of COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine affecting the club’s <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-invasion-everton-cuts-ties-with-russian-sponsors-including-firm-owned-by-oligarch-alisher-usmanov-12555498">sponsorship deals</a> with <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-invasion-everton-cuts-ties-with-russian-sponsors-including-firm-owned-by-oligarch-alisher-usmanov-12555498">Russian companies</a>. But the excuses were dismissed by the commission which said the breach was of Everton’s “own making” and due to “mismanagement”.</p>
<p>Everton are reportedly “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/everton-deducted-10-points-breach-profitability-sustainability-rules-2023-11-17/">fuming</a>” with what they call an “<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/everton-deducted-10-points-for-breaching-profit-and-sustainability-rules-13010240">unprecedented and disproportionate</a>” decision, which they are <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/five-key-questions-after-evertons-record-points-deduction-13010332">expected to appeal</a>. </p>
<p>Everton said in a statement: “The club believes that the commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.” </p>
<p>It added: “Both the harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted.” The severity of the punishment has even been <a href="https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/61551/sanctions-imposed-on-everton-football-club">debated in parliament</a>. </p>
<p>Yet some consider Everton to have been <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/city-demotion-would-bring-joy-to-the-nation-but-sadly-united-too-fx5qtlzj7">lucky</a>. If the points deduction had been applied last season, when Everton were in a tense <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-everton/platzierungen/verein/29">relegation battle</a>, they almost certainly would have been demoted to the Championship. This season, under new <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2023/nov/14/everton-relegation-table-sean-dyche-team">manager Sean Dyche</a>, they still have a decent chance of staying in the Premier League, despite the points deduction.</p>
<p>But if Everton are relegated, the financial consequences could be severe. The club’s annual revenue, last listed as <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00036624/filing-history">£181 million</a>, would fall significantly due to massively reduced broadcast income (and despite the so-called “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24704067.2018.1441740?casa_token=kT_Mj6WStiUAAAAA%3AbgcrSxiS_MZf0QZ84otoEB8v6LZShx0tpF4ekonY9_1TmD7aV1NAiKJ3nFqMbmx7SNH6Boa7Odmm3w">parachute prepayments</a>” that clubs demoted from the top flight receive). </p>
<p>Then there’s the cost of the new <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/everton-sale-stadium-farhad-moshiri-lampard-b2268496.html">£760 million</a> 53,000 seater stadium, which is due to be completed in <a href="https://www.evertonfc.com/news/3624678/everton-stadium-two-years-of-progress#:%7E:text=Everton%20Stadium%2C%20due%20for%20completion,the%20city%20of%20Liverpool%2C%20annually">2024</a>, and possible <a href="https://talksport.com/football/1645473/everton-financial-fair-play-leeds-leicester-burnley-sue/">legal claims</a> for damages of up to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12762017/Burnley-Leeds-Leicester-SUE-Everton-300million.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton">£300 million</a> by six clubs, including Burnley, Leeds and Leicester, who were recently relegated from the Premier League while Everton clung on. </p>
<h2>Sticky situation for the toffees</h2>
<p>In effect, Everton’s rule-breaking loss of £19.5 million over the limit may lead to much bigger losses further down the line. And this could well act as a <a href="https://theathletic.com/5071224/2023/11/18/everton-10-point-penalty-explained/">strong deterrent</a> to other clubs thinking of pushing football’s financial boundaries. </p>
<p>It may also be a show of force by the Premier League to try and limit the scope of the soon-to-be appointed independent football regulator, which some in the league consider to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/20/premier-league-independent-regulator-english-football#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20do%20have%20a%20concern,that%20support%20where%20it's%20required.%E2%80%9D">an intervention too far</a> into the business of football. Perhaps the Premier League is trying to demonstrate that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/everton-sanction-premier-leagues-way-limiting-regulators-power-experts-2023-11-17/">regulatory powers should be limited</a> and that it is perfectly capable of governing itself. </p>
<p>Of course, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fan-led-review-of-football-governance-securing-the-games-future">the fan-led review</a> of English football came to a very different conclusion, which is why a regulator is part of the UK <a href="https://theconversation.com/english-football-is-ready-for-a-rule-change-when-it-comes-to-financial-management-217034">government’s plans</a>. Its aims are to prevent breakaway leagues, limit undesirable club owners, and further reduce <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">financial unsustainability in English football</a>, including making clubs more resilient to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/14660970.2022.2059858?needAccess=true">financial shocks</a> such as the one engendered by <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FV017063%2F1#/tabOverview">COVID</a>. </p>
<p>One MP has <a href="https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/61551/sanctions-imposed-on-everton-football-club">argued</a> that the severity of Everton’s punishment is a clear indication that an independent regulator is needed – sentiments that have been echoed by the <a href="https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fsa-statement-on-everton-points-deduction/">Football Supporters Association</a>. It is entirely plausible to argue that if an independent regulator had been in place for the past five years, Everton may not have found itself in this position in the first place. The future regulator could, for example, operate a licensing system in which clubs have to prove they are being run within certain financial criteria – or risk having their licence revoked.</p>
<p>For now, the exact details of the regulator’s remit are yet to be decided. But a floodgate of financial sustainability controls seems to have been opened, with punishments and deterrents a key part of the sport’s future culture. It may not be what Everton wants – but it could just be what English football needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Middling is affiliated with Fair Game UK, a campaign group seeking better governance in football. </span></em></p>The club could face another challenging season.Mark Middling, Assistant Professor of Accounting, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170072023-11-08T17:02:40Z2023-11-08T17:02:40ZHow Saudi Arabia’s unchallenged 2034 World Cup bid could weaken Fifa’s human rights demands<p>In 2010, Qatar was awarded the rights to host the 2022 Fifa men’s World Cup. It marked the culmination of the small, oil-rich gulf nation’s long-term strategy to diversify its economy and strengthen its international standing through investment in sport, culture and tourism.</p>
<p>However, from the moment the hosting rights were awarded until the event’s conclusion in December 2022, the Qatar World Cup was marred by controversies. These controversies included <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/sports/soccer/qatar-and-russia-bribery-world-cup-fifa.html">allegations of bid bribery</a>, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/14/qatar-rights-abuses-stain-fifa-world-cup">violations of human rights</a>, and what has come to be known as “<a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/23125473.time-blow-whistle-sportswashing-qatar/">sportswashing</a>” – the strategic use of the positive image associated with sport to divert attention away from the less palatable aspects of a nation’s social and political culture. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-repressive-states-and-governments-use-sportswashing-to-remove-stains-on-their-reputation-100395">How repressive states and governments use 'sportswashing' to remove stains on their reputation</a>
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<p>Qatari officials have consistently denied all allegations of bid bribery levelled at them. However, in 2020, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/sports/soccer/qatar-and-russia-bribery-world-cup-fifa.html">released information</a> from a US Department of Justice indictment that revealed details about payments made to five members of Fifa before the 2010 vote of Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts. </p>
<p>The New York Times also reported that over half the people involved in the voting process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, including former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, have been accused of wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Qatar’s gulf neighbour, Saudi Arabia, has now been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/31/saudi-arabia-2034-mens-world-cup-human-rights">all but confirmed</a> as the host of the 2034 edition of football’s greatest spectacle. This comes after it was left as the sole bidder once the deadline for potential hosts to declare their interest passed on Tuesday October 31. Fifa had restricted the process so only countries from Asia and Oceania could put themselves forward.</p>
<p>Upon learning that the bid process was non-competitive, the <a href="https://sportandrightsalliance.org/">Sport & Rights Alliance</a> – a coalition of human rights and anti-corruption organisations, trade unions, fan representatives, athlete survivors groups and players unions – expressed its concern. </p>
<p>In a post on Twitter (now called X), <a href="https://twitter.com/Sport_Rights/status/1718963237834588636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1718963237834588636%7Ctwgr%5E58e92ead694ae78cae12d33ed891b6da23addbb9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Fdrafts%2F217007%2Fedit">the Alliance said</a>: “Amid the triviality of extravagant sports events and gestures, activists highlight the stark reality of oppressive conditions in Saudi Arabia.” </p>
<p>It is a country where homosexuality is currently illegal, and women’s rights are restricted by a model of male guardianship. Expressing criticism of the ruling regime can also result in <a href="https://theconversation.com/saudi-arabia-is-imprisoning-women-while-the-rest-of-the-world-is-not-paying-attention-189928">immediate imprisonment</a> or, in some cases, execution.</p>
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<h2>Losing leverage over human rights</h2>
<p>According to <a href="https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/51aef03d916e5ad/original/FIFA-World-Cup-2030-and-FIFA-World-Cup-2034-Bidding-Regulations.pdf">Fifa’s own guidelines</a>, countries bidding for the men’s World Cup are required to commit to “respecting internationally recognised human rights”. This means that they must ensure human rights and labour standards are implemented by the bidding member associations, governments and all other entities involved in organising the competitions. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/qatars-death-row-and-the-invisible-migrant-workforce-deemed-unworthy-of-due-process-191017">Qatar's death row and the invisible migrant workforce deemed unworthy of due process</a>
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<p>Independent human rights risk assessments are also supposed to be carried out by bidding nations. This was done for the first time in the bidding process for the <a href="https://www.sporthumanrights.org/library/candidate-city-human-rights-proposals-for-the-2026-world-cup-summary/">2026 World Cup</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/global-fifa-should-secure-human-rights-protections-for-2030-and-2034-world-cups-as-bidding-deadline-passes/">Amnesty International</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/27/fifa-broke-own-human-rights-rules-world-cup-hosts">Human Rights Watch</a> have urged Fifa to ensure that they secure binding human rights agreements from Saudi Arabia in line with Fifa’s own stated policy. However, as Saudi Arabia are the sole bidder left in the race, there are genuine doubts as to how adherence to international standards can be guaranteed. </p>
<p>In effect, the non-competitive bidding process means that Saudi Arabia is likely to have less pressure to set challenging targets around improving its human rights because Fifa has no rival bids. </p>
<p>There were two competing bids in 2026: Morocco and the joint bid from the US, Canada and Mexico. As a result, each had to take their human rights risk assessments seriously.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has until July 2024 to submit its full bid. And <a href="https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/fifa-council/media-releases/fifa-council-takes-key-decisions-on-fifa-world-cup-tm-editions-in-2030-and-2034">Fifa</a> has announced that the bid will need to adhere to all bid requirements, including those related to human rights. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-fifa-2034-world-cup-a5788a734c83be35e5ce7119456ab30a">estimated US$10 billion</a> (£8.1 billion) on offer to Fifa from a tournament hosted in Saudi Arabia appears too lucrative to risk jeopardising it.</p>
<h2>How did we get here?</h2>
<p>The fact that Saudi Arabia is on course to host football’s flagship event is no great surprise. Since 2016, the Saudi ruling family has been building towards realising their <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/">Saudi Vision 2030</a>. </p>
<p>As part of this vision, they have committed to bid for, and deliver, a series of spectacular sporting and cultural events – several of which have already happened. These events include football’s <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/fifa-club-world-cup/saudi-arabia-2023">2023 Club World Cup</a>, <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2023/Saudi_Arabia.html">Formula One</a>, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-pga.html">LIV Golf Series</a>, tennis and boxing.</p>
<p>The Saudi Public Investment Fund also acquired English top-flight football club Newcastle United in 2021. And developments within the Saudi Professional League (the highest division of football in the Saudi league system) have attracted global superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, who both moved for substantial sums of money.</p>
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<img alt="Cristiano Ronaldo at a training session in Saudi Arabia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557855/original/file-20231106-29-u8p1rf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&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">Cristiano Ronaldo joined Saudi Pro League side, Al Nassr, in December 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/riyadh-saudi-arabia-3-january-2023-2251351777">oday jamil moari/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Saudi Arabia has disrupted the sports event market by making significant financial investments to showcase their ability to host international events while also wooing influential sporting figures like Tyson Fury to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/2023/10/30/tyson-fury-saudi-arabia-francis-ngannou-oleksandr-usyk/">openly support</a> the nation’s political and cultural traditions. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/sep/23/bin-salmans-sportswashing-quip-reflected-growing-power-but-was-perhaps-a-mistake">recent interview</a> with Fox News, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman even said: “If sport washing is going to increase my GDP by way of 1%, then I will continue doing sport washing. I don’t care … I’m aiming for another 1.5%. Call it whatever you want, we’re going to get that 1.5%.”</p>
<p>Fifa appears willing to award its premiere football tournament to a nation with a dubious human rights record, despite being outwardly committed to anti-discrimination in all other aspects of its work. Yet again it is left to advocacy organisations to lobby for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14413523.2021.1955531#:%7E:text=Specific%20to%20the%20potential%20of,planning%20and%20delivery%20of%20MSEs">ethical mega events</a> while governments and sporting federations observe from the sidelines. </p>
<p><em>In response to this article, a Fifa spokesperson said that the hosts of the upcoming 2034 World Cup will have to be confirmed by the Fifa Congress in 2024 following “due process”. And that bidding regulations and hosting requirements were approved by the Fifa Council – made of 37 elected members from all around the world. Fifa said it engaged on “all matters” regarding human rights with “a wide range of stakeholders in the bidding countries”, and all relevant reports will be made available on FIFA.com.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David McGillivray 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>Saudi Arabia is on track to host the football World Cup in 2034, raising concern among human rights campaigners.David McGillivray, Professor in Event and Digital Cultures, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2153892023-10-19T13:18:25Z2023-10-19T13:18:25ZFootball and big money: what some professional players in Ghana told us about handling their finances<p>Footballers are among the best paid sportsmen in most parts of the world. </p>
<p>The unfortunate reality, however, is that the retirement <a href="https://www.theghanareport.com/top-5-players-who-went-broke-after-making-millions-in-football/">experiences</a> of many former professional footballers have been awful. Within the sports media landscape, there have been <a href="https://www.moneynest.co.uk/bankrupt-footballers/">reported cases</a> of once-wealthy footballers who have gone bankrupt soon upon retirement. Notable examples in Ghana are former Black Stars players Sammy Adjei, John Naawu, Joe Odoi, Prince Addu Poku and Amusa Gbadamoshie. </p>
<p>According to some <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:0Ha1K3SHR4kJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&scillfp=13443085754161180526&oi=lle">academics</a> this unfortunate situation stems in part from the fact that the danger of falling into a professional void is high. This is because, like most sports, football confers skills that are not easily transferable to non-sporting occupations. The availability of jobs in football is also very limited. So most footballers earn a very high income during their active career period and face a high degree of income uncertainty upon retirement.</p>
<p>The lifestyle of footballers (during the active playing period and upon retirement) has also been highlighted by several <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:cxNwMuOE4DsJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&scillfp=5439326496234156066&oi=lle">reports</a> as a key driver of the financial mess that some footballers have got themselves into. </p>
<p>Again, there have been reported cases of footballers engaging in irresponsible financial behaviour. Examples include gambling, spending on luxurious brands, lavish parties and generally maintaining an expensive and unsustainable lifestyle. A lack of financial knowledge has often been associated with this kind of financial behaviour.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://ugbs.ug.edu.gh/ugbsfaculty/profile-faculty_member/godfred-matthew-yaw">professor</a> of accounting who, with others, has conducted a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23750472.2023.2248150">study</a> to investigate the level of financial literacy of professional footballers in Ghana and ascertain its impact on their financial behaviour and financial wellbeing. </p>
<p>We found low levels of financial literacy, and poor financial behaviour, among footballers. The results suggest that to promote responsible financial behaviour among footballers, enhancing their financial literacy is key. We found very strong support for the argument that responsible financial behaviour, proxied in this study by savings and investment behaviour, is key to attaining financial wellness in life.</p>
<h2>The study design</h2>
<p>Financial literacy has been described as the ability to use the needed knowledge and skills to manage one’s financial resources effectively to improve welfare in the future. </p>
<p>Financial behaviour, on the other hand, can be <a href="https://www.grin.com/document/934971">described</a> as the “ability to regulate planning, budgeting, checking, managing, controlling, searching and storing daily funds”. It covers spending and saving habits, borrowing patterns, budgeting and access to financial products. </p>
<p>Using questionnaires, we surveyed 300 footballers who competed in the 2020 Ghana Premier League.</p>
<p>The questionnaire had two sections: one on the demographic details of the respondents; the other on their financial literacy, financial behaviours and financial wellbeing.</p>
<p>Currently, the Ghana Premier League has 18 registered clubs. At the time of the study, these clubs employed 480 registered footballers. Compared with clubs in Europe, England, Asia and even many other parts of Africa, the net worth of Ghanaian clubs is very <a href="https://www.fifa.com/en/media-releases/fifa-publishes-global-transfer-report-2021">low</a>. Revenues from international transfers – an important funding source for most Ghanaian clubs – have been very low over the years. For instance, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) in its 2021 report on international transfers <a href="https://www.fifa.com/en/media-releases/fifa-publishes-global-transfer-report-2021">recorded</a> that Ghanaian football clubs together made a net profit of only US$50 million in the last decade.</p>
<h2>Footballers’ finances</h2>
<p>Our study revealed that the population of footballers was largely youthful. Nearly 90% were 30 years old or below, which is similar to footballers in other countries. This is expected as footballers are mostly active in their prime years. About 86% had some form of education, mainly up to senior high school level. The majority of the respondents were married and close to 58% of them had three or more dependants aside from their nuclear family. Thus, most of the footballers were providers for families although 39% said they lived with their parents or friends. On average, these footballers earned GHS2,000 net monthly income (US$177 at the time of the study), which, compared to other professionals, is low. </p>
<p>Overall, we found that the footballers had a low level of financial literacy. They ranked setting of long-term goals high but their interest in seeking financial knowledge was very low. It was therefore not surprising that most of the footballers seemed uncertain about where their money was spent.</p>
<p>We found that the footballers, generally, did not exhibit responsible financial behaviour. Very few had any interest in products such as bonds, stocks, mutual funds and insurance policies. But they seemed diligent in comparing prices when purchasing a product or service in a shop.</p>
<p>Interestingly, footballers were optimistic about their financial wellbeing. Most of those surveyed were confident in their capacity to meet current financial needs, had a very positive outlook on their future financing needs and made choices to enjoy life. The average footballer is always hopeful of securing lucrative contracts in future. </p>
<h2>Better performance</h2>
<p>Efforts to enhance the financial wellbeing of footballers can begin with investing in training programmes to make them financially literate. Second, football clubs can engage financial coaches to provide practical guidance to players during their active playing days to help shape their financial behaviour. </p>
<p>Given that financial wellbeing is closely <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHASS-05-2021-0101/full/pdf">associated</a> with psychological wellbeing, such initiatives could have a positive effect on the performance of players on the field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu 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>Most Ghanaian footballers have poor levels of financial literacy and financial behaviour.Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu, Professor of Accounting, University of GhanaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.