Headgear is a particular type of headwear that protects people from serious injuries. It can prevent car racing, hockey, ski jumping, and motorsport traumas. Football has never been associated with wearing headgear, as people got used to seeing players without this item. Indeed, it is essential to consider the consequences of wearing headwear in football to understand whether it can be mandatory or not. It is vital to draw arguments discussing the necessity of headgear in football to prove its optionality in this type of sport.
One of the bright examples of a brilliant football career is Cristiano Ronaldo. He had more than 100 headed goals that became significant precedents in the history of football (Bhat, 2019). Ronaldo set a particular landmark in world football by making headed goals. It is controversial whether Cristiano Ronaldo could become a fantastic football player wearing headgear; thus, discussion of flaws attributed to this headwear is essential. One of the most common opinions states that headgear helps to prevent concussions. It is a widespread injury among young and adult sportspeople, which affects the brain. Indeed, the researchers claim that it ‘does not influence concussion incidence or severity’ (Babcock, 2020, para 2). Furthermore, concussion is not a typical trauma for football players; for example, knee and hamstring injuries are widespread among players (Soccer Bug, 2021). A concussion is caused by brain movement inside the skull; it is not opened trauma that the headwear can prevent. Therefore, headgear is obsolete to defend oneself from a concussion or internal head injuries.
Discussing sports that require wearing headgear is essential to examine the factors that affect its necessity. According to the research, headgear is obligatory in horse racing and ice hockey (Tjønndal & Wågan, 2021). For example, the need for headwear in this sport is evident, as there is a risk of falling from the horse and getting trauma. The height of a horse can become an essential factor for receiving irrecoverable head damage. Ice hockey deals with skates and razors, damaging the body and leading to adverse outcomes. In football, no player deals with extreme height or sharp objects, and it is possible to claim that the headgear is not mandatory.
In addition, football requires immediate vision reaction for the player to track the ball. Headgear can lower the reaction time and distract the player from a visual view (Miller et al., 2019). It is vital to note that headgears typically contain metal grids to protect the eyes from injuries; it can close the vision for the player. In football, peripheral vision is essential; it helps the player to follow the ball and think ahead several steps before any action. It is controversial whether the player can react quickly wearing the protective helmet. Accordingly, the weight of headgear can confuse the player, cause a slower response, and distract the person from the process. Therefore, the lower reaction can cause severe traumas and make football more dangerous for health.
However, considering counter-argument is essential, as there is a high risk of receiving traumas in sports. Several sportsmen report that wearing a helmet can help to prevent orofacial injuries (Tjønndal & Wågan, 2021, p. 4). These traumas involve the face and eye injuries, soft tissue traumas, and related face damage. Protective headgear can prevent soft tissue traumas by covering the whole face (Miller et al., 2019). Moreover, orofacial traumas can cause neural dysfunction, irrecoverable tissue, and face muscle damage (Tjønndal & Wågan, 2021). It is essential to consider the ball’s weight, especially in dynamics. The object’s speed influences its force, so the ball can have enormous power and significantly hit the tissue. Therefore, the helmet can save face and protect it from multiple damages in sports.
Indeed, football is a sport that is not attributed to wearing protective headgear. Specific requirements might be implemented for the helmet to become mandatory. For example, it should not hinder the player’s vision and lower reaction speed. Additively, the headgear has to be lightweight for the player to feel comfortable. Indeed, it is doubtful whether the helmet can protect in an appropriate way if it is lightweight and thin. Moreover, the showiness and beauty of football play a significant role. People got used to watching players without protective caps; it contributes to football’s specific charm and involvement.
Therefore, there are more disadvantages than benefits of implementing headgear in football. Knee and hamstring injuries are the most common traumas for football players, and head injuries take a minor position in this sport. Moreover, headgear does not protect the brain from a concussion and does not influence its severity. It is suggested that sports such as horse racing and ice hockey require wearing a helmet due to the increased risk of head trauma. In football, players are subject to limb traumas rather than head injuries. In addition, headwear can reduce the reaction speed and obstruct the player’s vision. Accordingly, these consequences can lead to lower quality of the play and more traumas related to decreased reaction.
Miller, R. A., Rogers, R. R., Williams, T. D., Marshall, M. R., Moody, J. R., Hensarling, R. W., & Ballmann, C. G. (2019). Effects of protective American football headgear on peripheral vision reaction time and visual target detection in division I NCAA football players. Sports, 7(9), 213.
Tjønndal, A., & Wågan, A. F. (2021). Athletes’ and coaches’ attitudes toward protective headgear as concussion and head injury prevention: A scoping review. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3.
Strategic information systems aim to provide their users with an advantage by providing them with analyses of the competitive environment. Football programs can be presented as business organizations that can acquire an advantage over others in player training and recruitment by integrating new methods of analysis into their framework. With the development of technology, this type of system has emerged in sports as a tool for professionals to improve their skills.
Virtual Reality (VR) technologies already possess a number of applications for training people in emulated environments. In sports, VR is on its way to becoming one of the essential tools for a sports organization that aims to acquire a competitive advantage. The practice on a simulated field can also provide an insight into one’s capabilities, especially strategic decision-making, turning VR into a useful tool in recruitment (Online Master of Athletic Administration, 2020).
STriVR, for example, gives teams an opportunity to review real-life situations based on past games (Designing Digitally, 2020). Online Master of Athletic Administration (2020) states that “STriVR has been credited with a significant role in pushing The Arizona Cardinals and The Minnesota Vikings into the playoffs” in 2019. By following their example, football programs can use VR to boost the performance of their players.
In conclusion, VR technologies, such as STriVR and EON, give football teams an edge in strategic positioning on the field, which leads to an increased chance of success. Moreover, they allow organizations to efficiently evaluate recruits for their ability to handle difficult game situations without the need for using an abstract. The basic purpose of a strategic information system is to provide an efficient analysis of data and give an organization an opportunity to capitalize on it, and VR technologies in sports suffice this criterion.
The concept of repetition in sports training plays a vital role for players who pursue a professional career. However, their time in the field is limited by physical and time constraints. Other than getting fatigued, players have a chance to receive traumas during practice, which significantly hinders their ability to conduct further training and harms their performance (Designing Digitally, 2020).
VR provides players with the ability to practice tasks that are otherwise difficult or dangerous to execute in the real world (Johnson, 2019). Moreover, STriVR allows players to practice anywhere and without the need for team members, as pre-recorded data within a simulation gives all the vital information to simulate situations on the field (“Sports training in virtual reality,” n.d.). STriVR and EON give organizations an edge in strategic decision-making, increasing their chances of winning.
For example, players in football programs that use VR as a training tool gain the ability to train anywhere, which is crucial for training both repetitive and strategically advanced moves. Research shows that skills obtained in a simulated environment are transferred to the situations in the real world (Johnson, 2019). Therefore, football programs can increase the potential of their players.
By including VR in a football program, an organization gains a competitive advantage, leading to a better result on the field. Football recruitment is a highly competitive environment where every benefit counts. The organizations in NHS and NCAA continue to explore new options for providing their teams with an advantage over others (Online Master of Athletic Administration, 2020). The unique opportunities offered by VR technologies are essential for football programs to increase their competitive potential.
Football is a game that is played all across the globe; millions of fans watch the game each day and enjoy the experience of watching it. Soccer is more than a game; the game has got everything in it which a person can possibly expect. Ecstasy, emotion, outburst you name it the game has got it. There are so many legends of the game, Ronaldinho, Maradona, Pele, Romario, Ronaldo just to name a few. These players have become household names and this just goes to show the popularity of the game and its global reach. There is no denying that the game has a global reach. It reaches every part of the world that one can possibly imagine. Be it Africa, America, or for that matter any other continent.
“In its broadest sense, corporate social responsibility represents a concern with the needs and goals of society, which goes beyond the merely economic. Insofar as the business system as it exists today can only survive in an effectively functioning free society, the corporate social responsibility movement represents a broad concern with the business’s role in supporting and improving that social order” (Eells, 1974).”
The world cup is the most eagerly awaited tournament of all; it brings a lot of joy to all the spectators. In addition to the world cup, there are so many other tournaments that are conducted all through the year, for instance, the EPL, the Spanish League, the Italian Serie A, and other club-level tournaments. The UEFA Champions League is probably the most difficult to win at the club level. UEFA is the governing body of European Football; it stands for Union of European Football Association. This paper will throw light on the financial position of Manchester United which is based out of England and is arguably the most popular football club in the world.
Financial Position of Manchester United
The red Devil better known as Manchester United is the richest football club among all the football clubs in the world. “Although Real Madrid laid claim to the honor for a couple of years, United officials believe their gross revenue of £245million in the year to June 2007 exceeds that of the Spanish giants by just 12 Euros if average conversion rates during the 12-month period in question are used.” (Manchester United, 2009).
The cub went into private hands and the ticket prices were increased to earn more profit. Malcolm Glazer bought Manchester United and increased the ticket price, Old Trafford is the home ground of Manchester United and it is one of the largest football stadiums in the world. The stadium can accommodate more than 90000 people. There was a very strong protest from the supporters when Glazer took over United by buying the majority of shares in the Market.
Supporters thought that the interest of the supporters will be ignored by Glazer and the only motive he will have is to make as much money as possible but this has been proven wrong by Glazer. The club has tasted success time and again and the Glazer family does not interfere in the functioning of the club, Sir Alex Ferguson has full authority to buy or sell any player he likes to. He has been the longest-serving manager and Glazer realizes this fact and appreciates it.
There are roughly about 333 Million United fans all across the globe and the majority of them are based in Asian countries like Japan, Korea, etc. The merchandise that the club sells is a good way to make a profit and the highest sales are recorded in Asian countries. Manchester United has some of the best players any team can think of having, Ronaldo is the ace of Manchester United; he recently won the FIFA World Player of the year award. His Jersey sells like hotcakes and Manchester United profits from the same. “It is little wonder the Old Trafford outfit have been able to post stunning profits of £59.6million for the 12 months to June 2007, a massive 93% rise on the previous year.” (Manchester United, 12 March 2009).
The English Premier League is the most widely watched by supporters all across the globe. Manchester United competes in the English Premier League and they have been winning the league for the past 2 seasons and are well on track to make a hat trick of Leagues. The TV rights fetch the club huge money, it is the most widely watched league and there is no denying that, considering the same the world’s richest club is expected to get richer with each passing day.
“Only eight Premier League clubs recorded an operating profit in 2006-07; total debt for all 20 clubs was up 19 percent to more than £2.4billion, although £1.25billion of that figure is accounted for by Manchester United and Chelsea, and interest charges for Premier League credit were £144m in the year.” (Boom and Bust Years, 12 March 2009).
The recent recession has knocked the stuffing out of the major football clubs in almost all the leagues. Manchester United are no exceptions, major clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool are all believed to be in debt and the recent recession has put these clubs in further trouble. Some of the sponsors of big clubs like Newcastle have become bankrupt. Northern rock a very popular bank was the sponsor of Newcastle but the bank has been adversely affected by the recession.
Even AIG the sponsor of Manchester United is trying hard to consolidate its position in the market of insurance. All these factors suggest that the future does not look bright for Manchester United financially but another viewpoint suggests that the recession will be over shortly and the club will only grow with each passing day. What happens in the future can’t be exactly predicted by anyone, we can only speculate over the same. “Manchester United looked unbeatable on the pitch this past season and it seems like they could go on winning forever, but lots of clubs have been in this position. Most recently we can look to the fall of AC Milan, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. All three clubs enjoyed major success over a two-to-five year period before falling from grace quite abruptly.” (Boom and Bust Years, 12 March 2009).
The performance of United has been really consistent over the past few years and the same has helped the club in earning more money. “Real Madrid increased revenue by €15m to take their total to €366m. Manchester United’s performances on the pitch in 2007-08 resulted in a £45m (21%) increase to £257m. Third-placed Barcelona grew its revenue by €19m (6%) to €309m.” (Manchester United’s Expense, 12 March 2009).
Football is already a global sport and the popularity of the sport is expected to pick up within the next 5 years and from that perspective, Manchester United will only get richer. The global reach of the sport will ensure lucrative TV rights for the club, giving them an opportunity to make good money and in addition to this, the merchandise will become more popular among the fans. The club will also make huge profits from selling the club merchandise. Manchester United is well on course for winning their third successive English Premier League title this season; this will also ensure more profit to the club. Barclays is the sponsor of the English Premier League and the winner gets a huge compensation. Barclays is a bank based out of Britain. Hence to conclude it is very fair to say that the future looks very promising for the club both financially and from the perspective of silverware.
References
Boom and Bust Years. In SPORTINGO. Web.
Eells, R., & Walton, C. 1974. Conceptual foundations of business (3rd ed.). Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin.
Manchester United’s expense. In Guardian. Web.
Manchester United. In Manchester Evening News. Web.
Nobody can deny the fact that football marks one of the most popular games all over the globe. Time and again, one would come across a group of people discussing the Spanish La Liga, The English Premier, or The French League 1. staunch football fans would be found arguing out that position concerning the comparison of Ronaldo and Anelka, the comparison of Alex and Cannavaro, comparison of Manchester United and Ac Milan, comparison of Serie A and J-League, comparison of the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Lone Stars of Ghana, etc. these emotional debates have sometimes ended in serious injuries and even death. This shows the seriousness of football to its fans. However, some analysts point out that the football industry is experiencing several problems that are impeding its development. What therefore are these problems that are posing a great danger to the world’s most popular game? This article will identify the challenges that the football industry is facing. It will draw its examples from different FIFA regions and clubs so that a clear picture can be drawn. In addition, this paper will also identify the effects of corruption on the development of the football industry within a country. It will draw its examples from the Nigerian football industry.
Looking at the international football stage, it is clear to rule out that the European leagues are the most favorite and most popular leagues on the globe. This could not be attributed to the standard of the game in the leagues but probably other factors within the administration and the players and fans. What therefore could make Everton FC more popular than Corinthians of Brazil or Boca Juniors of Argentina? What could make Manchester City FC more popular than Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa who astonished them in the pre-season matches by beating them 1-0 to lift the Vodacom challenge cup? With the Kaizer Chiefs’ ability to beat the star-studded Manchester City, what makes it difficult for African bigwigs like Super eagles of Nigeria from posing any great threats during the World Cup competition? (Edwards 2009)
Behind the stadiums, clubs and countries face great challenges that eventually result in some good countries failing to impress in international matches. Football organizations face great challenges that act as impediments to the development of the game within their respective regions. What are the most common challenges that impede the development of the football industry in some regions?
One of the major challenges faced by the football industry is management. Poor management structures and rifts within the structures greatly implicate the standard of the game within the club or the country. According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Social Development in Bayelsa State in Nigeria, Uchendu (2008), poor administration has greatly caused poor performance by the Nigerian teams on the International platform. Of importance is the structure of the administration of football in this football powerhouse on the African continent. While football was initially managed by the Sports Ministry, the government came up with new policies that led to the formation of the NSC to replace the ministry. While this was a good move, it brought with it great challenges. The Chairperson of the NSC was elevated in status and acted as a minister. In fact, he was given space within the Federal Executive Council (FEC). This status quo resulted in the football industry being managed as a civil service. Consequently, this caused the usual challenges that faced the civil service among them being bureaucracy.
In addition, the NSC was formed without well-calculated measures and objectives thus resulting in poorly organized organizations that led to poor performance of the Nigerian National team during the African Cup of Nations held in Ghana. It was also a formation that never involved sports experts during its formation and hence failed to cover all the diverse requirements of the football industry. It also failed to offer adequate autonomy to sports offices at the zonal level and hence failed to tap the talents from the grass root levels.
Government interference denotes another great impediment in the development of football in poor-performing countries. As a saying goes, “whoever pays the piper dictates the tune.” True to this, government interference in football matters has greatly implicated negatively on the overall performance of the teams. This clearly points out that the standard of the game is likely to be stagnated when the government remains the sole sponsor of the game within the country. However, this happens in contravention of the FIFA statutes. According to FIFA, the National Football associations are supposed to be autonomous organizations that are free from any interference of the government. Countries that have faced this challenge include Nigeria and Kenya where the governments’ interference has caused strings of poor performance on the international scene. For the case of Nigeria, the government formed decree 101 which forced the football industry within Nigeria to be run by the government through the Sports Ministry. This, therefore, caused the National Football Association to be a mere formality without any autonomy. Most of the decisions were formed by the government. This was a real contravention of the FIFA statutes that eventually led to threats from FIFA to sanction Nigeria. Accordingly, the rifts within the administration of football in Nigeria were clearly pointed out in the performance that saw Nigeria facing early elimination from the African Cup of Nations and also saw it move lower in the FIFA Rankings. This also causes a great challenge to the development of football. It is greatly impossible for national Football Associations to want full financial assistance from the government while expecting to get full autonomy at the same time. It is either the Association’s fid another alternative of revenue generation for them to be independent of the government for them to get full autonomy or they rely on the government for funding and expect government interference because the mentioned saying remains true. The payer of the piper will continue dictating the tune (Uchendu, 2008).
Fans are an integral part of the football industry. Without fans, the whole thing loses its meaning. However, the fans are continuing to be great impediments to the development of the football industry in many parts of the world. While the government of France had tried to come up with measures to curb hooliganism and other forms of crimes during the 1998 World Cup, there were several cases of these crimes during the event. Fans usually change the meaning of the game and turn it into hooliganism activities by engaging in violent confrontations one with the other hence spoiling the game. For example, during the 1998 World Cup in France, incidences of violence were reported on many occasions. English supporters, for example, engaged in a great confrontation with French counterparts in the town of Marseilles while German fans also engaged in right-wing politics maneuvered their way into France and engaged in violent confrontations in Lens. Apart from violence, several other crimes were committed during the World Cup. Among them were criminal order, drunk and incapable, robbery, forgery of tickets, etc (Forster 2002).
The following statistics pointed out the number of arrests made by the police during the World Cup in France.
Offence Number of arrests
Public order 246
Criminal damage 16
Drunk and incapable 11
Other offences 13
Total arrests 286
All these petty and great offenses contribute greatly to the interference with the marketing of the football industry of the country to the international level. For example, the event that saw Inter Milan and AC Milan FC teams facing off in San Siro during the UEFA Champions League, a game that ended in homemade rocket launching into the field by the Inter Milan fans led to sanctions by FIFA which banned any fans of inter Milan attending European Matches that involved inter Milan. This is a great loss in monetary terms. Teams depend on the revenue collected from tickets to develop their standard of the game. In addition, the reputation of the team is negatively affected and hence lowering its market value in terms of media rights (Edwards 2009).
Football policies concerning the different aspects of the game also implicate negatively on the development of the game. A good example is highlighted by the issue of fans in the above-mentioned case. With poor policies concerning hooliganism, the cases of such events are likely to continue and hence taint the image and development of football. Based on the degree of affiliation between the football teams and their fans, it is important that the government and stakeholders’ policies put this into consideration. In the 1998 World Cup, inadequate tickets from legitimate channels and the rigorous effort involved in getting one and also the government warnings to all fans not to travel without a ticket led to other fans going for other means of seeing their teams play. This led to hooligans entering France from other countries and buying tickets from touts while the police watched. This shows that the policies made by the French government and the stakeholders were faulty and hence failed to put into consideration all the needs of the fans and their diverse demographics (Garland and Rowe 2002).
Further still, the policy of the European Union which has rendered its member countries borderless between one country and another is a factor that contributes to the allowing of hooligan fans to enter the country and engage in hooligan activities. What are the implications of these policies on the development of the football industry? The national or team brands’ values are lowered. This causes great economic implications to the team (Forster 2002).
Poorly organized domestic football leagues in the African and South American regions have greatly contributed to the lack of development of football in these regions. This is a major contributor to the lack of development within the regions in the fact that the poorly organized leagues fail to cater to the needs of the players who eventually migrate to Europe where they are given satisfactory attention. Money is one of the major incentives in the attraction and retention of good players within a given league. The main reason as to why a player will want to remain in his team is whether he is getting enough money and adequate attention is being given to him. Countries that have been able to make their domestic leagues superior and well organized have been able to perform exemplarily on the international stage. A good example was Egypt, a team that used only home-based players but was able to win the African cup of nations and also retains it. The team was also able to show an outstanding performance in the Confederations Cup in South Africa (Maguire and Pearton 2002).
Political involvement in the football industry also impedes negatively the development of the industry. In many countries, the football industry has been used as a political weapon that has, unfortunately, led to a loss of revenue and publicity that would have been very instrumental in the development of the team and of football as a whole. Certain events like Hillsborough’s death of 96 Liverpool FC fans in 1989 led to a reconsideration of the fans within the political realms. While in the ’70s and ’80s fans were viewed as a respectable part of football, the image changed in the ’90s. Stricter measures were enacted to curb the fan’s behavior. These measures were not enacted by the stakeholders but by debates from high-profile legislative personalities. For example, in the British government, the merger between BSkyB and Manchester United FC was blocked by the Secretary of State Stephen Byers after great pressure from organized fans. The effort of the fans was greatly applauded by the political bigwigs. Barely had the Department of Trade and Industry announced this decision then the House of Commons had its second reading of the Football (Disorder and Offences) Bill which was aimed at controlling the football fans. This shows the frictions between government departments and their policies concerning Football. While politics could be viewed with different eyes by different perspectives, the negative implications on the development of the game cannot be sidelined (Garland and Rowe 2002).
Apart from politics in the FA, the Nigerian Football industry has also experienced great politicking that has led to low standards and slowed the development of the game. According to Achandu (2008), the appointment of Amos Adamu as the director-general of the NSC was an issue of politics that resulted in a dictatorship by the director. Accordingly, the director failed to acknowledge the contribution of other members of the Sports fraternity and ruled without being supported. As a result, he even sucked people who were more engaged in freeing the National Football Association from the government. This was the reason for the sucking of Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima. This is a strong factor in the development of the football industry. By the inclusion of politics, the National Football Associations are unable to freely make their own decisions that will be aimed at the improvement of the game instead, the politically placed directors work strongly on protecting the political situation at the expense of the game development. For example, the sacking of Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima who had good ideas and wanted the Nigerian Football Association to have autonomy led to the continued domination of the government to the sports matters and hence inefficient management which directly translated to poor performance of the team during the African Cup of Nations in Ghana.
Corruption has been termed as one of the greatest impediments in the development of a country not only in football development but in all aspects of economic development. In Nigeria, the string of poor performance has also been attributed to corruption from the high levels of management of the team. The greatest causes have been identified as a lack of integrity and transparency in people managing the team. In addition, lack of transparency and financial accountability have resulted in shunning sponsoring sports by the private sector. This has led to little participation in football development by the private sector which has great ability to improve the football standards of a given country (Achandu 2008).
Corruption also leads to substandard training facilities. The Nigerian Stadia were found wanting. This was indicated to be one of the causes of poor performance by the National team. Training facilities are very important aspects of the development of a sport. Using substandard stuff usually leads to substandard performance and hence lack of development of the sport. With transparency and accountability, private sectors like rich oil firms, Banks, constructions firms etc can greatly contribute in the improvement of the training facilities like stadia which will equally contribute positive results and development football industry. Accordingly, corruption acts as a factor which drives away potential investors from the industry and hence impedes the development of the game (Achandu 2008).
Talking of corruption in the football industry cannot be complete without mentioning Italy. This is a country well known for its corruption, not only on the pitch but also off pitch. On the pitch, Italian players are known to use non fair play methods to ensure that they win a game by all means. This was clearly portrayed in their clash against Australia where one striker (Grosso) simply dived after a soft tackle from Lucas Neil. This awarded them a penalty that led to victory. Same incidences of unfair tactics were experienced in the world cup game against France where France’s Zinedine Zidane was insulted into head butting his Italian opponent before being sent off (Pearce 2006).
In addition to this, the Serie A has been marked with cases and cases of corruption. Among the most recent cases were match fixing. Juventus, for example, was relegated after it was found guilty of massive game fixing. This happened after an article was published about an incident where a telephone conversation between former Juventus manager, Luciano Moggi and officials from the football federation was intercepted. All these cases have negatively implicated on the Italian football industry (Pearce 2006).
Italy is not the only country that has been marred with corruption. In Germany, there have been reported cases of match fixing. In 2004, Robert Hoyzer, a German referee was imprisoned for 29 months after he pleaded guilty of having fixed matches during the 2003/2004 season. This happened in exchange of 50,000 and a plasma TV. He achieved this by either red carding a player or awarding a penalty. With the cooperation of Hoyzer, the German football was forced to investigate 25 other people among them referees and 14 players (Bures 2008).
England cannot be spared from corruption. One of the greatest cases of corruption in the English Premier League was exhibited in 2007 report by Lord Stephens who found out that there were massive cases of corruption in the transfer of players in the League. Within the report, corruption was reported in more than 362 deals of player transfer. This included 26 premiership clubs. In the final report, three managers were mentioned as chief suspects. In addition, 15 agents were mentioned as chief suspects in the perpetration of corruption in transfer deals. This is very important in the development of the game. When managers are found or implicated in such corruption scandals, the reputation of the team is greatly spoilt thus causing low value of rights and other revenue generating activities (Bures 2008).
Conclusion
It is therefore important to note that football development is dependent on several factors. Failure to ensure that the factors well organized could act as an impediment to development of football. These factors include the government interference, politicizing of the game, inadequate autonomy of the National football associations, poorly organized domestic leagues, poor policies, rowdy fans and corruption. These factors greatly lead to poor development of the football industry within a given country or region. On its part, corruption touches on almost every part and aspect of football development. It involves substandard equipment, discouraging investors and participation of private sectors, appointment of qualified staff, failing to acknowledge the real need of the industry etc. cases of match fixing as exhibited by countries like Germany and Italy and many other Leagues greatly affect the rate of development of the game. In addition, transfer of players and greatly affects the balance in the league. Accordingly, the standard of the game remains low as most of the clubs that have less money are deprived of any players of value. Corruption by officials of the Football Federations as the case in Italy and referees greatly hamper the development of the game. Deserving teams therefore fail to earn their deserving wins at the expense of officials who have organized for an outcome. As a result, special measures should be taken to address these issues of corruption because for a region or country to experience development, these issues must be tackled squarely. Failure to do this, the football industry will remain stagnant.
References
Bures, R. 2008. Why Sport is not Immune to Corruption. Transparency International- Czech Republic. Web.
Forster, K. “European Law and Football: Who is in Charge?” From The Future of Football by Garland, J., Dominic Malcolm and Michael Rowe. London: Frank Cass Garland, J. AND Michael Rowe.
“The Hooligans’ fear of the Penalty.” From The Future of Football by Garland, J., Dominic Malcolm and Michael Rowe. London: Frank Cass.
Maguire, J. and Bob Pearton. “Global Sport and Migration Patterns of France ’98 World Cup Finals Players: Some Preliminary Observations.” From The Future of Football by Garland, J., Dominic Malcolm and Michael Rowe. London: Frank Cass.
Pearce, J. 2006. Corrupt and Sad Times in Italian Football. Web.
Uchendu, C. 2008. Extinguish Them! Daily Sun online. Web.
The UAE is made up of seven emirates and Abu Dhabi is the capital. “The rest are Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain” (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). The region is highly recognized for petroleum, natural gas, metals, tourism and in the recent past, real estate. Sport is considered as one of its main social and cultural activities, and enjoys a lot of sporting activity each year.
According to Jain (2007), “association football is the national sport of the United Arab Emirates. Emirates soccer clubs Al-Ain, Al-Wasl, Al-Shabaab ACD, Al-Sharjah, Al-Wahda and Al-Ahli are the most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-term regional champions”. High levels of rivalry between teams make the activities exciting and each team enjoys a significantly big audience from the citizens.
Football in the UAE is governed by the UAE Football Association. Domestic competitions include UAE League Division 1 and 2, UAE Premier League, UAE Super Cup, UAE Vice Presidents Cup and the Etisalat Emirates Cup.
The UAE national football team enjoys a lot of support from locals but has not been doing very well at global competitions. The team last qualified for world cup in 1990 but in 2007 won the Gulf Cup Championship held in the capital emirate of UAE. The two other national teams are the Under-20 football team and the under-17 football team.
Football and media
The UAE government has been putting in a lot of effort to promote good media relations between stakeholders in the game and the media. It is also doing a lot to market the game by encouraging the media to get more involved.
As reported by Seven Media (2010), “the UAE football league’s professional football league wanted a new way to promote matches and drive fans to the stadium through an effective and practical match day program that would be inserted into more than 50,000 newspapers”.
The government further understands that involving the media more as a measure may not be very helpful if it is not done in a professional manner. As a result, it has been involving the services of professionals who have the ability to promote both the relations and the game, as well as ensure that there are maximum benefits from partnerships between media and football.
In 2008, MP & Silva (MPS) was appointed as the media adviser of UAE Football League. According to Oxford Business Group (2010), “the leading international sports marketing agency, has been appointed as the exclusive media adviser of the domestic market, and the exclusive international rights holder UAE Football League (UFL)-the UAE newly created top-tier professional football league”.
Football, the internet and the social media
“Social media has influenced and manipulated the way we interact with internet and the way we interact with each other” (Boyle & Richard, 2009). As the author further explains, the internet has so far been the biggest blessing to the game. The ability to stream games live has enabled media houses to grow their audience by over 100% in the last five years. Travelers are now able to watch games on the move.
People in the villages can watch games through phones that have access to the internet. During major games, some employers allow employees a break to watch the games, which they easily do from their computers. In this age and era, there is no excuse for any game-lover to miss a game. This trend translates to a bigger audience and bigger revenues for marketers and media houses.
The social media further creates excitement in the game by communicating every small detail to the fans and other stakeholders. Dissatisfied stakeholders such as fans can air their dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the game in a timelier manner. Accessing tickets and schedules has been made easier by the social media and sports websites.
They are also among the most significant avenues through which media companies earn revenues through advertisements. Experts predict that in the next few years, revenues from online advertisements will surpass those from television and print media (Boyle & Richards, 2004).
Apart from having good revenues, it is the most appropriate and effect avenue for the UAE to market its football games to the locals and the global audience.
Role of media in growing football
Football in the UAE has come a long way in growth. The media can further use tourism success to market the game. When different football seasons are running, the number of tourists goes up due to the high level of activity. However, this is only possible when enough awareness is created.
The European leagues have fans that travel from all over the world to watch the game. They not only increase the games revenues, they play a role in the region’s development through improved tourism activity. The media plays a big role by marketing the games and the thrill that comes with them.
The amount of recognition a country gets from different stakeholders in different games depends with their marketing strategies (Kambitsis, et al., 2002). Using the media to sell a region’s capabilities make them attractive hosts for major tournaments. A good example is the upcoming world cup in Qatar.
The peak of football action in the UAE and gulf region will be the 2022 world cup in Qatar. The bid to host the world cup was met with a lot of skepticism over the region’s ability to host such a tournament. Many questions arose from the fact that football in the region has not received very little attention from the global media.
After winning the bid, Qatar and other countries in the region have seen increased attention from global media houses trying to investigate the region’s football trends, practices and strengths. This trend is expected to improve the game in the region, with teams now having more fans to entertain and please.
This is evident from increased players buying and selling activities in among teams in the region this season. The UAE can use this as motivation to have the media access more information on the game and get more support to reach a bigger audience.
A good example of how significant the media is for football is the level of success English football enjoys. The English league enjoys global audience and attention. The media not only makes a lot of money from the games in the region, but also invests a lot back to ensure the success of the game. The UAE region has both the capacity and means to grow their leagues to a global level (Walker, 2010).
However, the media has to improve its campaigns in selling the games outside the UAE. It is also important to realize that the growth of football in any region is dependent on the country’s media, and its willingness to embrace and market the game. In the recent times, football in small and developing countries continues to acquire a bigger global audience due to the attention the games receive from big media houses.
Many big players owe a big part of the career success to the media fraternity. For any player to succeed, exposure is paramount. Therefore, the role played by the media to grow players cannot be underestimated. Buying and selling players is one of the ways clubs make money.
Identifying young talent and having it sold to the world by the media plays a significant role in keeping the soccer business vibrant. This proves that the media is important in the game of football, and plays a significant role in growing the game, the players, revenues, and any other legally acceptable interest by different stakeholders.
Engaging the stakeholders
The most important stakeholders in the football game are the people of UAE. Different games attract an audience of more than 5 million people each year. The UAE can use the different leagues to market itself as a tourism destination. By so doing, the region would be able to diversify its sources of income and reduce dependence on the petroleum industry.
For visitors who are already loyal to the region, football can be used to make their stay even more entertaining. If such initiatives are taken, the people of UAE are bound to benefit from having a more developed country using increased tourism revenues.
Improving the sporting activity in a region many times means developing and improving the region’s infrastructure, a move that residents and investors would greatly benefit from. The people of UAE should therefore be involved in any decisions made to improve partnership between the game and the media.
Among the most significant stakeholders in developing football should be the business people in the region. Just by hosting the world cup, Qatar’s hotel capacity and revenues is expected to grow by over 30% by the year 2022 (World Football Insider, 2010). Businesses people in the UAE must realize that by supporting the game through the media, it will bring tremendous benefits to them.
Hotel and accommodation industries would be the biggest beneficiaries of improved football activity. When fans have to travel from one emirate to another to watch a game, they need a place to eat, sleep and get entertained.
Investors in the industry should therefore be at the forefront supporting the media. They can do that by supporting promotional programs in partnership with media companies, as well as paying well for adverts during sports programs to improve media revenues.
The government plays the biggest role in encouraging media involvement in games. “The UAE is still heavily criticized for stiffing media freedom” (Greenslade, 2009). Such obstacles need to be minimized to allow the media engage fully in the game and its development. Anytime there is a major football activity in the UAE, the government finances more than half of the preparations.
It also bears the burden of making sure other activities that are lined up to ensure a successful activity are taken care of. Most importantly to note is that the UAE spends billion of shillings every year constructing stadiums and sports infrastructure. Supporting the media can enable them increase revenues, pay more taxes and enable the government to invest more in sports.
The government further plays a significant role in ensuring that other challenges such as laws and regulations are addressed. Promoting the game means that the region benefits for a long time from the investments, rules, regulations and infrastructure put in place.
For example, infrastructure put in place to promote cricket in recent years has seen power supply being boosted and 10,000 more homes near the cricket facilities now being powered in the area due to increased power capacity. Using the media to promote the football game could bring even more and bigger benefits to the region due to the size of infrastructure that needs to be established to promote the game.
Other important stakeholders in promoting a good relationship between media and football are the sponsors and financial partners such as the banks and other external donors (Wenner, 2002). Sponsors exert pressure on the media to deliver since they expect results worth their money. They expect results that are sustainable and with high rates of returns for their investments.
The media meets the sponsors’ expectations by ensuring timely results, high quality work and prompt implementation of objectives. In the process of trying to satisfy investors and sponsors, the media is able to give results that have a long life cycle. Through negotiations and consultations, the media together with investors, who are many times club owners, are able to consult and deliver what is best for the game.
Major media houses in the UAE can be listed as follows:
Abu Dhabi Media Company
Dubai Media Inc
Middle East Broadcasting Center
CNN international
BBC World News
Radio: Arabia Radio Network
The presence of media groups that broadcast globally such as CNN international and BBC World News puts the UAE at an advantage. However, the amount of football coverage in the region can only be improved through proper negotiations and investments. Media freedom and ensuring that these media houses have access to as much information as possible is important to keep the news real.
Conclusion
The game of football in many parts of the world heavily relies on the media to stay alive and exciting. The same case applies to the UAE as a country and all its individual emirates. Teams in all the emirates enjoy a healthy level of support from all the emirates, but still lack the global attention that would sell them internationally.
Being one of the most famous tourist destinations, the region can use this to their advantage to sell their game of football. Exposing their games internationally would make the teams attractive to talented players from all over the world, as well as allow them to sell their players and skills to the most recognized teams in the world.
The media on the other hand heavily relies on sports for revenues. Football in the UAE is a widely watched game and offers an avenue for media companies to grow their revenues as the number of viewers grows.
The internet has made it possible for media houses and other advertising agencies to grow their revenues as a result of increased viewers. The young population has embraced the football game with more enthusiasm and revenues are expected to keep growing.
These realities keep the media and football stakeholders in constant interaction and negotiations with each other. The government intervenes to ensure that none of the groups take advantage of each other. This is through fair play among football teams and regulating the media coverage and marketing charges.
However, it is clear from the discussion that the media plays a significant role in the game of football in the UAE. They do so by marketing the game, acting as the communication channel between stakeholders, and being the source of information for useful trends from other parts of the world. For this reason, a good relationship between the two must be maintained at all costs.
Reference list
Boyle, R. & Richards, H. (2004). Football in the new age. New York: Routledge Publishers.
Boyle, R. & Richard, H. (2009). Power play: Sport, the media and popular culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Jain,M. (2007). Pratiyogita darpan. Agra: State Bank Colony.
Kambitsis, C. et al. (2002). “Sports advertising in print media: The case of 2000 Olympic Games”. Corporate communications: An International Journal, 7(3): 155-161.
Oxford Business Group. (2010). The report: Abu Dhabi 2010. Oxford Business Group.
Seven Media. (2010). UAE Football League: The brief. Web.
Walker, J. (2010). Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula. Lonely Planet Publications.
When the unnamed football club from Minneapolis Minnesota, later called Minnesota Vikings decided to join the more established National Football League, the American Football League had to replace it with the Oakland Raiders. The AFL admitted the Raiders partly due to the lobbying of the Los Angeles Chargers owner, effectively inheriting the draft picks of the Minneapolis club. The history of the club reflects both challenges and landmark achievements including AFL titles and Super Bowl wins. There are many perspectives through which one can analyze the history of the Raiders. In this essay, however, the analysis will focus on the dominant phases the club has gone through and the people at the helm, who have been behind the events comprising the team’s history. To that effect, the analysis will focus on three phases including its founding, the move to Los Angeles, and the move back to Oakland. A brief description of the NFL-AFL merger will also be part of the Oakland Raiders team history analysis.
History
After its acceptance to the AFL, the team launched a name search competition, initially picking Oakland Señors but, later settling for Oakland Raiders after the poor reception of the name by the fans. Initially, the team held its debut matches at the Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The Raiders moved to the Candlestick Park venue for the 1960 season, the Frank Yourell Field in 1962, and later on to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The move did not however improve the team’s fortunes, suffering a series of losses both on and off the pitch. One of the factors one cannot ignore about the Raiders is the change of ownership throughout its development.
The 1962 season, however, marked a turning point for the Raiders after the hiring of Al Davis who would later become the club’s owner. Under Al Davis, the Club improved tremendously through the implementation of various changes including change of the team’s colors to silver and black and adoption of an aggressive offensive strategy that Al Davis referred to as the “Vertical game”. Al Davis briefly left the team in 1966 after accepting a position in the AFL as a commissioner. He made a return to the team two months later and went ahead to buy a stake as third general partner for $ 18000. He eventually took control of the team in 1972 after a revision of the partnership agreement. His effect on the team was clear since most of the team he helped assemble won the 1967 AFL championship, earning a Super Bowl place. The entry of John Madden in 1969 marked the beginning of the most successful era of the team’s history, winning six division titles in the 70’s decade.
After the merger of NFL and AFL, the Raiders continued their impressive performance culminating in the 1976 Super Bowl win over the Minnesota Vikings. John Madden led the Raiders to ten consecutive winning seasons, eventually leaving the team in 1979 with Tom Flores, the first-ever Hispanic American coach in NFL taking charge.
Apparent failure by Al Davis to make critical improvements to the Oakland Coliseum informed his decision to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. Legal battles delayed the move with eventual success and move to the city in 1982. The team registered an impressive run in the years 1982 to 1986 with a win in the 1982 Super Bowl against the Washington Redskins. Plummeting fortunes from 1986 saw the team start looking for a new venue that could easily be filled. This led to the commencement of negotiations to take back the Raiders to Oakland. The move did not succeed until 1995. One can only describe the performance of the team as lukewarm in the 1989-1995 seasons when Art Shell the first African-American coach in the NFL modern era was in charge. Also, contributing to the lackluster performance were disputes between Al Davis and some players, notably Marcus Allen.
Approval by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 1995 saw the Raiders move back to Oakland City, lukewarm performance, again, hindered their return. Since the move back to Oakland, a host of coaches have served the team including Gruden, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, and a return of Art Shell. Even with improved resources and better draft picks, a fair assessment cannot describe the team’s performance as steady. Despite the apparent lack of consistent glamour, however, the team represents a rich tradition of both the AFL and NFL.
Conclusion
In the discussion above, there was an emphasis on the events that have been characteristic of the team’s development especially the role of key personalities and decision-makers. It is important to note that analysis of the history of Oakland Raiders can take place through different perspectives. The three phases making the body of this essay are just some of them. It is justifiable to assert that interference by the team’s ownership and failure to institute reforms in the NFL has partly impacted the success of the Oakland Raiders. However, the team still boasts a rich history and that is unique to the United States, California, and Oakland city.
Bibliography
Reese, Jenny. The Oakland Raiders: History, Hall-Of-Famers and Super Bowl XXXVII. Los Angeles: 6Degrees Books, 2010.
Stewart, Mark. The Oakland Raiders. Chicago: Norwood House Press, 2010.
Travers, Steven. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Oakland Raiders: Heart-Pounding, Jaw- Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Oakland Raiders History. New York: Triumph Books, 2008.
With the increasing popularity of football as a game, the business aspects of the game have also undergone many changes. Today, the game is dictated by economic compulsions, and money is a dominant factor that has affected the conduct of players and their recruitment. It is only obvious that a game where so much money is involved will also have to bear the brunt of the adverse effects of money affecting game policies and conduct. Further, as most critics opine, money has also destroyed the genuine interest in the game, and players have become mere celebrities in search of money.
The conduct of the game has become much more complex these days, and recruitment processes have been witnessing a sea change in attitude. The most visible effect of money power in the game is how it affects the recruitment processes of the game. In the English league, clubs have been spending millions to sign up a player in the hope that the player will turn the fortunes of the company for the good. This has, in turn, given to many controversies and genuine doubt as to whether so much money that is flowing in the recruitment process is doing any good for the game. The need to know whether recruiting international players after spending so much money assumes importance because of the sheer amount of money that is involved in the game.
Recent newspapers have carried reports of how clubs are spending millions to attract talent into their folds. Often clubs compete among themselves to sign up a player, which in turn gives rise to a price war for a player. For example, It has been reported that West Ham United had spent GBP17 million to win England striker Darren. The club considered the catch as a big one considering the fact that Darren was also being eyed by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. It must be noted that in the last season, he was injured and only scored 12 league goals for Charlton. Here it may be seen that the mere celebrity status of a star is being used as the basis for spending huge amounts of money. Similarly, the spendthrift ways of Chelsea are well known. Rumors say that the club has recently signed up players for as much as GBP120,000 as a week. [Beckham Ends Reign in Spain with La Liga Title, 2007]
The involvement of huge sums of money in the game is a direct consequence of the popularity that the game has achieved in recent years. Clubs have been gaining a lot from sharing income from broadcasting rights, and this income has been driving their profits and policies. For example, research shows that the winners of the premiership title will receive GBP50 million in the 2007-08 season. This is a huge increase compared to the GBP30.4 million that was paid to Chelsea in 2005-06. Even smaller clubs will receive GBP10 million more than the GBP17 million that Sunderland received last season [Eason, 2007].
The income generated by the clubs has been increasing. Research shows that general income has increased among clubs in the UK. For example, according to Deloitte and Touche, in the 1999-2000 season, the 92 league clubs of England and Wales generated more than one billion pounds of income, which was an increase of 13% compared to the previous season. The trend had been set at that time, and the incomes of clubs have been steadily increasing thence.
Evidence suggests that those clubs that spend more also get the best talent. It is a common observation that top paying clubs often end up in the top spots of ranking. While this is true of bigger clubs and leagues, the cases of smaller clubs and leagues are different. Here more than money, it is the involvement of coaches and team members that matter. Research shows that in the FA Premier League in 1999/2000, three clubs paid more than GBP40m in wages, and they were Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool. It is generally believed that money has an effect on improving the competitiveness of clubs. Statistics show that spending on transfers within English football has increased by more than 50% over the last five years, mostly because of non-English transfers. [John Williams & Sam Neatrour, 2002]. This shows that clubs are willing to import players at a higher cost to win. Winning has become so much important these days and make or mar the prospects of clubs.
However, there are, of course, exceptions. Statistics also show that there could be a correlation between lowering costs and success. For example, Chelsea’s summer spending was going down from GBP110 million in 2003 to GBP91 million and GBP53 million before rising again to GBP66 million in 2006. However, Manchester United’s costs have been consistently increasing from GBP25m in the 2004-05 period to GBP55 million in the 2007-08 period. However, when we consider the total wins of both the clubs, it may be seen that Manchester United Won 1 premiership 1 and 1 Carling Cup during this period. However, Chelsea Won 2 premierships, 1 FA Cup, and 2 Carling Cups. [Mourinho: Roman can keep his money, Chelsea are no spent force, 2007]
It may also be argued that clubs that spend huge sums of money will not always see success. This is because there are many reasons that a player will not be able to maintain consistent levels of play. For example, Chelsea had to incur a huge loss 12 months ago because of the underperformance of Michael Ballack, who was signed on a free transfer but was paid GBP130,000 a week. Similarly, Andriy Shevchenko, who cost GBP30 million from AC Milan, did not perform well for the team. Chelsea has since then learned reason and has cut its spending spree in order to control costs and boost performance.
Research also shows that the movement of a huge amount of money is not beneficial to the development of the game. Previously, players who had signed up with a club could not leave the club and were under its ruling regarding transfers. This meant that players had to have the approval of a club if they wanted to move from one club to another. This also meant that clubs negotiated the deals for a player and got a share of the fees that it negotiated for the player. With the Bosman ruling coming into effect, players are in a position to keep their wages, and their relation with the club has become more professional than obligatory. While on the positive side, this allows the player to dictate his own terms in business, the flip side is that the club will not receive any money. If, in the previous case, the money would have been used to train younger players, now it means that such money is simply not available. Another drawback of the new system is that players will be hired on a long contract, and if they grow to be promising players, they can be deployed by the clubs in other clubs. In an overall scene, this is bad for the game because it will lead to an uncontrolled flow of money and will lead to players being considered as mere generators of money [James Lowrey, Sam Neatrour and John Williams, 2002].
The influence of money in English football is significant. Research has shown that there is a direct correlation between money spent and success in football.
Works Cited
Beckham Ends Reign in Spain With La Liga Title. About.com: World Soccer. 2007. Web.
Lowrey, James., Neatrour, Sam., and Williams, John. The Bosman Ruling, Football Transfers and Foreign Footballers. Centre for the Sociology of Sport. 2002
Eason, Kevin. Why English elite should soon be right on the money. Times Online. 2007. Web.
Mourinho: Roman can keep his money, Chelsea are no spent force. Times Online. Web.
Williams, John., and Neatrour, Sam. Fact Sheet 10: The ‘New’ Football Economics. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research. University Leicester. 2002. Web.
UEFA Cup is a football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for European clubs. Qualification for the cup is based on performance on club performance in the national league. The UEFA Cup is also known as European Cup 3. Based on European football competition and importance, the UEFA cup comes second after UEFA Champions League.
UEFA CUP football competition replaced the Inter-Cities Fair Cup in 1971, with the Tottenham Hotspur football club winning the first season of 1971-1972. Traditionally, the UEFA Cup competition was open to all runners-up clubs in the domestic leagues. With the merging of the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup to the UEFA Cup in 1999, domestic cup competition winners could now enter the UEFA Cup competitions. The new rules also made it possible for clubs eliminated in the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League to enter and compete in the UEFA Cup.
The winner of the UEFA Cup has a chance of keeping the original trophy for one year after which they hand it over to the Organizer and keep a replica of the original trophy. The rules also allow any club that wins the UEFA Cup competition consecutively three times to keep the Original trophy.
To qualify for the cup, a team must finish in runners-up places in various top European leagues. Winners of the main cup competition qualify automatically for the UEFA Cup. France and England are the only two countries that usually grant UEFA Cup places to winners in the secondary cup competition. Team qualifying for the UEFA Cup through different means may bring complications on Cup competition qualification. A club that qualifies for both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup usually enters the champions league and leaves the UEFA Cup place to another club.
The 2008 UEFA Cup edition was the 37th edition of the Cup. The final match was held on 14th May 2008, pitting Rangers from Scotland against Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium. Zenit St. Petersburg was the match-winner, by 2 goals to 0. Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov scored the winning goals, making the club the current holder of the UEFA Cup trophy.
UEFA Cup football competition is organized by the Union of European Football Associations. Performance at National League and the Cup competition is the main qualification criteria. Runners-up in various leagues have high chances of entering the UEFA Cup competition. The first winner of the UEFA Cup was Tottenham Hotspur football club in the 1971/1972 season. The current Cup Holder is Zenit St, Petersburg of Russia, who won the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup on 14th May 2008.
Sports are an essential part of the everyday life of millions of people. Nowadays, it seems that football is one of the most popular and profitable activities in the world (Benson, 2017). From a management perspective, it should be considered as a comprehensive and complex phenomenon. Services and goods (food, souvenirs, beverages) that are associated with football require a considerable amount of time, effort, and knowledge to provide them appropriately so that customers could be fully satisfied. Quality of customer experience is an essential indicator of how any good or service is given; the scope of the football industry is not an exception. People prefer to sit in a comfortable seat with a good view and have access to snacks during the whole match. It might be assumed that all the related events that take place at football stadiums imply the importance of the proper management of the mentioned aspect. This paper aims to prove the expediency of the latter statement, applying a relevant theoretical framework, and to describe the indicators of customer experience, questions of sustainability, and equity in this sphere.
Theoretical Background
To begin, it seems important to define the term “consumer experience quality” in the framework of the sports industry that will serve as a foundation for the whole discussion. Yoshida (2017, p. 430) determines it as “sports consumers judgment about the overall excellence or superiority of the total experience based on their direct and indirect interactions with a sports organization and other consumers across multiple touchpoints.” These touchpoints are perceived as sport, service, social, and communication encounters (Yoshida, 2017). It should be mentioned that Yoshida’s determination of the listed encounters, quality dimensions, and attributes in the sport will be utilized to investigate the phenomenon of the quality of customer experience in football. It might be suggested that this academician’s evaluation fits the targets of the research as it provides a solid rationale and ample space for a coherent theoretical argument with relevant links to practice.
It should also be noted that several significant models might be inappropriate for this investigation. For instance, Arslan (2017, p. 9) claims that the GAP model designed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry in 1985 “provides an essential framework for defining and measuring service quality.” However, it seems that this model has mostly a practical orientation – it can be easily applied by managers in any sports industry, but it contains concrete steps for assessing gaps to improve customer experience. At the same time, the approach presented by Yoshida (2017) is useful both for theoretical studies and real improvements. Thus, the GAP approach is not the best option to implement.
There is also another noticeable dimension of the service quality model called SERVQUAL. It evaluates five aspects to measure within the scope of the consumer experience – assurance, reliability, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness – that, at first approximation, maybe a proper theoretical framework for the issue. Even though scholars have developed several advanced variants of SERVQUAL, such as the 39-item TEAMQUAL by McDonald (Arslan, 2017), these variants are also rather practice-oriented. Moreover, the aspects of measuring in this model are overly subjective in comparison with Yoshida’s one. Hence, it seems rational to use Yoshida’s determination of the encounters, quality dimensions, and attributes in sport as the other theoretical foundation for this investigation.
Encounter Types and the Relevant Quality Dimensions and Attributes in Football
Four encounter types will be taken as a basis for further analysis. These are sports encounters, service encounters, social encounters, and communication encounters (Yoshida, 2017). In these encounters, the four common quality dimensions below are delivered to consumers, respectively. According to Yoshida (2017, p. 430), they “are identified as components of consumer experience quality in sport: core product quality, service quality, social network quality, and relationship investment quality.” At this point, it is reasonable to apply Yoshida’s findings to the football industry.
Sport Encounter
In the framework of the theme, sports encounters may be determined as customers’ interactions with a football competition that is the experience of spectator sport. In the latter, the performance of teams is scored to figure out a winner unpredictably. Yoshida (2017) claims that sports are associated with physical improvement, teamwork, and player performance. Within the scope of football, such definitions allow assuming the following.
For the customers related to this sport, it is essential to consume a high-quality football game. The latter depends on three attributes; first, it is team characteristics that, for example, includes a particular football club history and win/loss records. Rooting for a team for a long-term period creates a strong emotional connection that is an essential part of the spectator’s experience (Woods, 2016). Second, it is player performance – their skills and social media popularity. Third, it is outcome valence – significant and insignificant game outcomes Yoshida (2017, p. 431) rationally notices, “watching sporting events is an entertainment product that provides substantial information on teams, events, and individual athletes.” Thus, providers of such a product should possess a considerable volume of resources of various character – starting from qualified personnel and ending with media presence.
Service Encounter
Service encounters may be determined as customers interplay with frontline employees, services, and else self-service mechanisms of football facilities during the period when consumers are involved in a football event. It should be stated that service quality is visible through attributes of auxiliary services – starting from information signs and ending with cleanliness and stadium design (Clemes, Brush and Collins, 2011; Hill and Green, 2012 (as cited in Yoshida, 2017)). It is also crucial to mention Bitner’s theory which is concentrated on the design of the facilities and does not include the evaluation of processes or external promotion (Ballantyne, & Nilsson,2017). The purpose of this model is to measure the landscape design, the quality of air, décor, and equipment (Ballantyne and Nilsson, 2017). For example, the possibility to replace the natural turf with an artificial surface is an illustration of a carefully thought-over design provided by the specialists for Tottenham’s new stadium (Ravenscroft, 2019). Here, it seems essential to point out that these factors play a significant role for the customer as they influence the perception of the environment in general directly.
Food and beverage outlets are a very important component of spectator comfort on match days, as well as a significant source of income for the stadium operator. These items are usually located in different locations throughout the ring gallery, on each floor. To avoid queues at certain points and make sure that fans are not going shopping too far, such items are to be distributed appropriately (Knowles and Edwards, 2019). Ideally, food outlets should be located along the aisles leading to the stands for quick access by visitors. Managers are to take into account a plethora of aspects.
What is more, the design of the stadium should consider the space required for large gatherings of visitors and the areas for queuing near food points. Serious attention must also be paid to an assortment of hot and cold dishes. Food outlets must serve fans quickly and efficiently without compromising quality. Any point of sale of food, where hot meals are prepared, must meet special safety requirements and also should follow the stadium’s fire strategy.
Stadium operators aim to maximize merchandise revenue and are moving sales outside of main stores by organizing retail through small kiosks at stadium galleries. These additional points of sale may not have a complete range of products but should offer prominent items (Diss, 2018). Gallery kiosks are usually aimed at spontaneous shoppers among viewers who may not visit the main club store before and after matches, but suddenly decide to buy right on the way to their seats.
Then, some of the most important public areas in the stadium are the toilets. Usually, they are placed near the main galleries, moreover, in such a way as to simplify access to them from spectator seats as much as possible. The calculation of the number and size of toilets should be based on the latest UEFA and local government regulations (UEFA, 2019). These toilets should be designed to be used intensively at short intervals, as most visits occur during pre-match, in-between, and after the final whistle.
The stadium’s design should be created so that cleaning and maintenance issues are as simple and efficient as possible. Little things like the folding seats at the spectator seats and the spacious open areas make cleaning with special equipment much easier. It reduces the time and costs required for maintaining the main areas of the stadium (Knowles and Edwards, 2019). All of the listed aspects within the scope of service quality imply a considerable amount of work and qualification of managers who are responsible for the provision of these services.
Social Encounter
Social encounters are perceived as a peer-to-peer interaction in which football spectators are socialized into customer roles via communicating during the engagement in football consumption actions. Creating the atmosphere at the stadium is a complex and challenging issue that requires the participation of specialists in design, marketing, and services. The quality of the social network is displayed in attributes of societal interactions among football customers. These are social interplay ties, shared culture, and reciprocity rules (Yoshida, 2017). The described phenomena provide an essential basis for consumers’ willingness to attend football events and give vital support to their team, as well as make financial contributions to the industry’s prosperity.
It is important to maintain significant social encounters so that customers could have aspirations to be loyal and dedicated to their football team’s history and culture. There are many notable examples of football clubs that adhere to this principle. In the framework of English football, almost every club implements various online and TV activities to strengthen its culture shared among fans – the primary consumers. Official websites and social media presence of Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, and many other teams prove the latter statement (Manchester United, no date; Arsenal, no date; Manchester City FC, no date; Chelsea, no date). Internationally, there are also many prominent examples – starting from Real Madrid and ending with PSG.
Communication Encounter
Communication encounters may be determined as customer-organization interplays that are implemented to communicate with these customers via various channels and create lasting relationships with a series of notifications and transactions. Relationship investment quality is visible via attributes of relationships marketing – straight mails, preferential attitude, and other communication with consumers (Yoshida, 2017). It might be assumed that these encounters are vital to improving the football industry’s state of the art by obtaining constant feedback, luring new customers and fans, and maintaining the financial stability of a club. Hence, it seems that the four investigated dimensions cannot be perceived separately when it comes to high-quality management.
Importance of Management of Quality Customer Experience in Football
Given the discussion above, the importance of quality customer experience and its proper management might be justified as follows. First, the explored encounters are intersected and interconnected to a significant extent, which implies the momentousness of an in-depth understanding of their peculiarities. If managers are acquainted with them appropriately and sufficiently, they can meet the highest customers’ expectations and give the best services and products. Second, it was stated that the quality experience of consumers leads to stable financial inflows. These inflows are the primary foundation for the advanced and coherent functioning of football facilities – stadiums, in particular – as well as the industry as a whole. Customer experience can be measured by the use of the GAP model, which is beneficial in terms of objective analysis of the spectator’s expectations. Finally, due to an immense number of services and aspects related to football, quality customer experience cannot be provided without consistent and outstanding management.
Conclusion
To conclude, the importance of quality consumer experience management in the framework of football was proven. To achieve this, Yoshida’s determination of encounter types and the relevant quality dimensions and attributes in sport was applied. These encounters, dimensions, and attributes served as the main theoretical background of this study. It was found that in football, there is a plethora of factors and aspects that managers should take into account when it comes to customer experience. Then, three arguments regarding the importance of management within the scope of the issue were provided. First, the encounters are intersected – thus, responsible persons should manage them coherently. Second, quality customer experience implies stable profit margins – such perspective always involves a great level of organization. Third, there are too many points within the issue to consider, so clients’ experience cannot be poor-managed.
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Barcelona football club was undeniably the best soccer team in the last ten years. The professional football club based in Barcelona, a city in northeastern Spain on the Mediterranean has won numerous domestic, continental, and global titles in the last decade. The club has won 21 titles since the year 2004 (King, 2010). This success has propelled the club to the second position among the world’s richest soccer teams based on revenue and market value. The football club has also managed to increase its fan base in the last ten years, especially on major social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Barcelona boasts of a highly talented and dynamic team of young players drawn from various parts of the world. However, Spanish players such as Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, and Victor Valdes among others dominate the team (Hunter, 2013).
The team also boasts of Lionel Messi who is arguably the best player of the current generation of footballers in the world. Most players who have represented the Barcelona football club in the last decade have managed to receive individual accolades for their efforts with the club and their national soccer teams (King, 2010).
Success and achievements in the last decade
Barcelona is one of the most successful teams in the world in terms of overall achievements since its inception. From the year 2004, the club has won a number of domestic and continental titles, as well as global titles. The domestic honors won by the team in the last decade include six Spanish football league titles, six Spanish Super Cup titles, and two Copa Del Rey titles (Hunter, 2013). Continental honors include three European Champions League titles and the two European Super Cup titles. Barcelona also achieved global success when they won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2011. The club has emerged as runners up in most of these competitions several times during the last decade. In the last ten years, Barcelona has had three managers who helped to put it on the global map following the team’s impressive results (King, 2010).
The most successful of the three managers was Pep Guardiolas, who made history for winning numerous titles within a short time. The coach is also hailed for successfully tutoring Lionel Messi, who has dominated football awards all over the world (Hunter, 2013). Pep Guardiolas helped Barcelona to win 14 titles in the period he was the club manager between 2008- 2012. He is famous for the manner in which he developed a successful team around Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi Hernadez after selling top players at the club such as Deco and Ronaldinho (Hunter, 2013). Under his guidance, Barcelona made history in 2009 for becoming the first team from Spain to win three major titles in one football season (King, 2010). The team also made history in 2009 when they won all the six competitions they participated in during the year. The football club almost repeated the same performance of 2009 in the year 2011when it won five out of six competitions.
Barcelona made great strides during the reign of Pep Guardiolas as the manager. In the year 2010, Barcelona made a mark in the history of world football when three of its academy products emerged as the top three players in the world. Messi, Xavi and Iniesta were shortlisted for the award of the prestigious FIFA Ballon d’OR in 2010 (King, 2010). Most football experts argue that Barcelona’s team of the last one decade easily qualifies as the greatest squad of the current generation of footballers.
Barcelona is among the three teams that have remained in top-flight football in Spain alongside Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. The central player for this team in the last decade has been Loniel Messi, who has won the FIFA Ballon d’OR for a record four consecutive years from 2009- 2012 (Hunter, 2013). Apart from Messi, Barcelona has also been represented by a number of football stars such as Ronaldinho, who won the FIFA Balon d’OR in 2005, Deco, Carols Puyol, Samuel Eto’o, Cesc Fabregas, Victor Valdes, and Gerald Pique among others (King, 2010).
Effect of Barcelona players on Spanish team and the 2010 world cup
The FIFA world cup is one of the most-watched sports competitions in the world. Spain is the reigning world champion after they defeated the Netherlands in the final of the last edition held in South Africa in 2010 (Hunter, 2013). There is a lot of influence from the Barcelona football club on the Spanish national team. This team has the highest number of representatives in the national team. The Spanish football team applies the philosophy of short passes in the field, just like Barcelona. The presence of Barcelona players in the national team has popularized this philosophy on the global arena, as many people now consider it their style of play (King, 2010).
Barcelona boosts of not less than ten players every time the team gathers for national duty. During the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa, eight players in the Spanish national team came from Barcelona. The top scorer at the tournament was David Villa, who had signed for Barcelona from Valencia before the competition began.
Important members of Barcelona also scored crucial goals for Spain during the tournament that they eventually won. The most notable contribution of a Barcelona player happened during the finals when Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal in extra time to give Spain their maiden world title (Hunter, 2013). Famous Barcelona players who played in the world cup in South Africa and are still playing in the team include Victor Valdes, Gerald Pique, Carlos Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernadez, Sergio Busquests, and Pedro Rodriquez. Two years later, Barcelona players again made a mark in the Spanish national team when they helped their country to defend the European title that they had won in 2008 (Hunter, 2013). Spain will look forward to defending their world title this year when the tournament moves to Brazil in the summer.
Conclusion
Barcelona has undeniably been the best soccer team in the last ten years. The achievements of the team since 2004 have made it a force to reckon with in the history of club football, as they have managed to equal and even surpass records held by other great teams such as Real Madrid, AC Milan, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich among others. Barcelona is expected to produce the highest number of representatives in the Spanish national team during this year’s world cup in Brazil. Some of the players that will be hopping to represent their country in the world cup for the first time include Morata, Christian Tello, and Jodi Alba. Many football clubs will struggle to achieve what Barcelona has managed in the last ten years within a similar or even shorter timeline.
References
Hunter, G. (2013). Barcelona: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World. New York: Cengage Learning. Web.
King, J. (2010). FC Barcelona: A Tactical Analysis. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Web.