Modern ‘live’ football: moving from the panoptican gaze to the performative, virtual and carnivalesque

Drawing on Redhead's discussion of Baudrillard as a theorist of hyperreality, the paper considers the different ways in which the mediatized ‘live’ football spectacle is often modelled on the ‘live’ however eventually usurps the ‘live’ forms position in the cultural economy, thus beginning to replicate the mediatized ‘live’. The blurring of the ‘live’ and ‘real’ through an accelerated mediatization of football allows the formation of an imagined community mobilized by the working class whilst mediated through the sanitization, selling of ‘events’ and the middle classing of football, through the re-encoding of sporting spaces and strategic decision-making about broadcasting. A culture of pub supporting then allows potential for working-class supporters to remove themselves from the panoptican gazing systems of late modern hyperreal football stadia and into carnivalesque performative spaces, which in many cases are hyperreal and simulated themselves

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL: HISTORY AND PRESENT

The purpose of this descriptive research is to present what kind of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities English football clubs are implementing. The paper was designed by approaching the examples of the twenty clubs playing in the 2010-2011 season of the Premier League. A key finding is that football clubs are not only interested in the sporting outcome on the field, but they are also aware of their social status. An implication of this research would be to encourage academics to research more upon the use of CSR in professional sports, as there is a lack of literature regarding this topic. Diminishing the lack was the reason why sport has been chosen as an example, while the reason for selecting English clubs as case studies is backed up by the fact that these organizations have some of the most developed CSR programs in European sport. Limitations of the paper are that it does not offer financial implications of running CSR programs, nor does it trace very deep the implications of the programs on individuals. The originality of the research is provided by the combination between CSR and football, resulting in a topic that few academics have been concerned with researching.community, English football, Football CSR, football management, Premier League, sport business.

New Media, Professional Sport and Political Economy

New media technologies are seen to be changing the production, delivery and consumption of professional sports and creating a new dynamic between sports fans, athletes, clubs, governing bodies and the mainstream media. However, as Bellamy and McChesney (2011) have pointed out, advances in digital technologies are taking place within social, political, and economic contexts that are strongly conditioning the course and shape of this communication revolution. This essay assesses the first wave of research on professional sport and new media technologies and concludes that early trends indicate the continuation of existing neoliberal capitalist tendencies within professional sport. Using the concept of political economy, the essay explores issues of ownership, structure, production and delivery of sport. Discussion focuses on the opportunities sports fans now have available to them and how sports organization and media corporations shifted from an initial position of uncertainty, that bordered on hostility, to one which has seen them embrace new media technologies as powerful marketing tools. The essay concludes by stating as fundamental the issues of ownership and control and advocates that greater cognizance be accorded to underlying economic structures and the enduring, all-pervasive power of neoliberal capitalism and its impact in professional sport

The Utilization of Sports for Peace and Unity in Society

There are many ongoing conflicts in the world. Many methods to end these conflicts have been attempted with various levels of success. A United Nations study in 2003 determined that sports should be increasingly used as a method to bring about peace in the world. This finding can be supported when looking at the ways sports united divided nations and, at times, brought unity among nations. Along with this, sports have seen a dramatic rise in popularity due to the revolution of technology and the rise of media. As the media and technology continue to develop, sports will continue to grow alongside them as worldwide phenomena. Thus, sport should be used by nations and communities as a strong, reliable option to resolve conflicts and bring about peace and unity

'Surf's up!':A call to take english soccer fan interactions on the internet more seriously

Soccer fandom practices in England have been significantly impacted by globalization. The creation of the Premier League in 1992, and the way in which satellite television company BSkyB dominated coverage of this, together with other developments, have led to changes in how fans consume top-level English soccer. Whilst such global transformations are well documented in the sociology of soccer literature, the implications of the rise of the most advanced global form of communication - the Internet - on the practices of fans of English soccer clubs, have not been fully taken into account by academics. As such, the significance of the Internet as a site for fans to interact remains under-investigated. This article argues that online interactions between fans of English clubs need to be taken more seriously by academics if they are to more fully understand how soccer contributes to the maintenance of social identities in contemporary England

CSR in major European football leagues in the age of COVID-19: financial vulnerability, mental health and domestic violence

Purpose COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lives of people and businesses around the world in different ways. France, Spain, Italy and the UK are among the worst affected countries by this pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare different corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities taken by the clubs and player of the major football leagues of these four countries to develop a more comprehensive model of intervention. Design/methodology/approach This paper has analyzed the initiatives taken by these football clubs and players to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health problems and domestic violence among the stakeholders and compared them with the existing CSR and humanitarian models. A case study approach has been used to collect and analyze data related to the CSR activities taken by the players and club management. Official websites of the clubs, newspaper and journal articles were among the major sources used to collect data for the paper. Findings Football clubs and players of the four major leagues have raised funds through different campaigns and delivered foods and essential medical supplies to the communities and hospitals to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health issues and domestic violence within their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have provided guidance to their followers using social and television media to improve their physical and mental health during the pandemic. Online competitions, quizzes or virtual hangouts have also been used by the players to engage the stakeholders on a frequent basis. Football clubs have also initiated campaigns to raise awareness within the community on available medical services for the victims of domestic violence and also provided them with shelter, food, medical, legal and online counseling services. Originality/value Football clubs and players of the major leagues were always at the forefront to help the communities and hospitals to address issues related to mental health problems, financial vulnerabilities and domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this paper could help and guide other entities in designing a more comprehensive model of CSR interventions during pandemics or crisis situations to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health problems and domestic violence within their communities.©2022 Emerald Publishing Limited. This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY–NC 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

A 'third way' for football fandom research: Anthony Giddens and Structuration Theory

Although football fans actively discuss all of the 'big players' within their practice, the same cannot be said for sociologists of sport. Anthony Giddens is a world renowned intellectual and author of some of the most predominant sociological texts of the last millennium. He is the most frequently cited contemporary sociologist spanning all aspects of the social sciences, and yet his work is seldom referred to or used within the sociology of sport. In response to this and in reaction to calls from authors such as Williams to re-think football fandom, this article aims to explore the potential of Giddens 'Structuration Theory' (ST) for moving the sociology of sport closer towards meeting this end. It draws on in-depth qualitative interviews with thirty football fans. The findings of these and their implications are discussed in relation to the 'everyday' processes of fandom

Brand Community, Loyalty and Promise in myfootballclub.co.uk

Purpose The primary purpose of this paper is to link the notions of brand community, loyalty and promise as a reminder to marketers of the importance to brands of keeping their commercial promises to brand community members. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports on a questionnaire survey (n=500) of members of a sport brand community as part of an investigation into the relationship between brand community and brand loyalty. Findings Brand loyalty was predicted by age, frequency of attendance, motivations for joining the brand community and the degree to which expectations built by the brand promise are met. Research limitations/implications In common with many inquiries in the area of brand community, this is a single case study. It is primarily a cross-sectional study, with a minor longitudinal element. Practical implications Branding practitioners and consultants with responsibility for brand community management issues need to balance the consumer-to-consumer dimensions of community with a careful understanding and operationalisation of the brand promise. Originality/value (mandatory): This is the first paper to integrate the constructs of brand community and brand loyalty with that of brand promise

What’s the Difference: A Study of the Nature and Extent of Racism in Rugby League

At the start of the 1993/4 season the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Professional Footballers' Association launched the 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football' campaign which subsequently gained the support of the Football Association, the FA Premier, the Endsleigh League and the Football Trust (CRE/PFA, 1994). That campaign led to discussions between the Rugby Football League (RFL), Leeds City Council and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) with a view to taking action to address racism in rugby league. Some sports though have become renowned as being sites for racialist confrontations, most notably football, as recorded in Hill's (1989) account of John Barnes' experiences and Holland's (1994) work on the terraces at Newcastle, Leeds and Bolton. General impressions suggested that the position in rugby league was not as bad as in football, but racist abuse and occasional incidents of banana throwing and monkey chants have all been recorded at rugby league matches. Concern about racism at matches has also been expressed recently in the letters pages of the rugby league press and players have talked about their own experiences on television. Since we live in a racist society it would be remarkable if there was no evidence of racism in sport. Nonetheless, as the National Governing Body of the sport, the RFL recognised that this was not a reason for taking no action if it were demonstrated that there are cases of racism in rugby league. However, before embarking on direct action it was decided that information was needed on the nature and extent of racism within the game. To that end Leeds Metropolitan University was asked to survey attitudes and it was agreed that this investigation should have three main components: a) the attitudes of the clubs b) the attitudes of (black and white) players c) the attitudes of spectators At this stage we have been concerned only with the professional game, thou