In recent years, football’s status as "the world’s sport" has shown little sign of waning. From increasing participation at grassroots levels and to the highly lucrative media rights deals secured by the top elite clubs, the game appears to be thriving as it continues to excite and enthral billions of people around the globe. Nevertheless, there are a number of challenges and opportunities facing the football industry today that warrant further examination. This book brings together leading international researchers to survey the current state of the global football industry, exploring contemporary themes and issues in the marketing of football around the world. With contributions from Europe, Asia and the Americas, it discusses key topics such as football club management, the economics of the football industry, match-fixing, social media, fan experiences, the globalized marketplace, and the growing popularity of the women’s game. Offering insights for researchers, managers, and marketers who are looking to stay ahead of the game, The Global Football Industry: Marketing Perspectives is essential reading for anyone with an interest in international sport business.

Soccer is the world’s most valuable sport, generating bigger revenues, as well as being watched and played by more people, than any other. It is virtually impossible to understand the business of sport without understanding the football industry. This book surveys contemporary football in unparalleled breadth and depth. Presenting critical insights from world-leading football scholars and introducing football’s key organisations, leagues and emerging nations, it explores key themes from governance and law to strategy and finance, as well as cutting edge topics such as analytics, digital media and the women’s game. This is essential reading for all students, researchers and practitioners working in football, sport business, sport management or mainstream business and management.

Sport has a number of distinctive characteristics whichimpact onthe extent of its globalization. This book seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the unique development in sports, its governance, its logic of co-creation of value and the advancement of the industry towards internationalisation, professionalization and commercialization

The commercialization of sport since the 1990s has had a number of consequences. The market forces that have defined commercialization, notably pay-per-view television, whilst initially welcomed as important new sources of revenue, have also had the unanticipated consequences of de-stabilizing many sporting competitions and institutions, undermining the financial future of clubs in their traditional role as key social and cultural institutions. This has been manifested in the paradox of chronic financial loss-making amongst professional sports’ clubs in an era of exponential revenue growth, a trend exemplified by the experience of Italy’s Series A and the English Premier League – both cases examined in detail in this book. But, at the same time, some traditional sporting organizations have sought with some success, to chart a middle way, retaining traditional sporting movement objectives whilst also embracing a form of commercialism. The Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland, the supporter-owned FC Barcelona football club, and New Zealand rugby union, offer illustrative examples of such strategies examined in detail. This book explores the background to this clash of commercial and traditional sporting objectives, and debates the consequences for wider sports governance. This book was published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.

This book tackles issues of globalization in the English Premier League and unpicks what this means to fan groups around the world, drawing upon a range of sociological theories to tell the story of the local and global repertoires of action emanating from the popular protests at Liverpool and Manchester United football clubs.

In contemporary society, it is vital for countries to consistently seek new ways to provide stable growth for their increasing populations. As such, it is important to stay on top of the most current strategies and trends that promote strong industrial and economic development. Transcontinental Strategies for Industrial Development and Economic Growth provides a comprehensive examination of the latest strategies and techniques for growing and maintaining an economically-sound community. Highlighting innovative research on relevant topics such as budget preparation processes, management philosophies, and global competitiveness, this publication is an ideal resource for all professionals, practitioners, business owners, and researchers who are seeking advanced academic perspectives on strategies for industrial development and economic growth.

The sports industry had impressive global growth over the years, with factors from the introduction of e-sports and new streaming and viewing methods to sponsorships and digital media contributing to its rise. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought upon a rapid change in this sector. Sports' seasons ended abruptly, people’s escape from reality suddenly vanished, their spending attitudes changed, live games and commercial flights were suspended, hotels were impossible to book, and consumers practically turned into prisoners within their own homes. No live sports matches were to follow on any media either, so specialized sports channels were forced to play old recordings rather than broadcasting new events. Even athletes themselves struggle to stay relevant and thus, try to utilize creative methods to enhance their brand value in these difficult times. With most of the sports leagues shut down during the pandemic, with a few exceptions which performed in empty venues, the restrictions diminished the sports experience compared to the pre-COVID-19 era and the impacts were widespread. Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era explores the changes that have been and will continue to be created by the unexpected disruptions that occurred as a result of the pandemic within the sports industry, fans consumption, and recreational habits. The chapters explore the status of sports after the pandemic, paths to recovery, and the future of sports, along with the many impacts and issues that have arisen due to changes in the industry necessitated by COVID-19. Covering important topics such as mental health, impacts on athletes and coaches, the market value for professional sports, consumer behavior during COVID-19, and the changes in marketing, tourism, and business, this book is ideally intended for sports managers, marketers, broadcasting agencies, media specialists, brand managers, fitness professionals, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the impacts on the sports industry and the outlook for sports in the post-COVID-19 era.