Why 48 teams in the expanded FIFA World Cup could be a win for football

First paragraph: Football is all about numbers. It’s a game of two halves, 4-4-2 formations, 11 players and as many goals scored as possible. It’s also the most popular sport in the world, with 3.2 billion viewer stuning in to watch the last FIFA men’s World Cup

Euro 2016: how UEFA found the formula for its toughest tournament yet

First paragraph: The starting whistle will blow on the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament on Friday June 10 as hosts France take on Romania in the opening game. It is the beginning of a month of European football action that happens every four years and has produced unexpected results: some less-fancied teams – includingDenmark in 1992andGreece in 2004– have raised the winners' trophy.  Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/euro-2016-how-uefa-found-the-formula-for-its-toughest-tournament-yet-6066

Economic model of a professional football club in France

The economic model of football clubs is a revenue model, but also a cost model in relation to their objective. It can be defined as the search for balance between revenues, costs and objective, and the latter can vary: profit maximization, sporting maximization under strict constraint (“hard” constraint) or “soft” budget constraint (Andreff, 2009). In France, the revenue model of football clubs has evolved with time. This mutation fits in the switch from an SSSL (Spectators-Subventions-Sponsors-Local) model to an MMMMG (Media-Magnats-Merchandising-Markets-Global) model at the European level (Andreff and Staudohar, 2000). Before 1914, sport financing came mainly from practitioners (Bourg and Gouguet, 2001, p. 19). Thereafter, with competitions being a spectacle, spectators have become the primary source of revenue, ahead of the subsidies granted by the local authorities and industry patrons. Advertising revenues have gradually become more and more important, and in the 1960s and 1970s, sponsorship increased significantly as firms were seeking a more direct identification in terms of audience, image, reputation and sales (Andreff and Staudohar, 2000, p. 259). In France, during the 1970s, operating revenues of first division football clubs came mainly from the spectators, supplemented by subsidies and sponsorship. The SSSL model was at its peak, with its “L” finding its justification in the fact that the revenues were generated from local or national residents

Impact of the Special Issues in Sport Management and Sociology Journals

Rationale/purpose There is a lack of evidence of the impact of the special issues (SIs) published in sport management and sociology journals compared to “normal” issues, as well as the differing impacts of different SIs. This review analyses the impact of the SIs published in these journals over the 2014–2020 period. Design/methodology/approach Two analyses were conducted based on Scopus data: “raw” and “relative” (SI cites divided by journal cites outside the SI). 205 SIs were identified, of which 180 had a CiteScore. Findings SIs are more impactful than “normal” issues, in particular when they have an appropriate focus (broad enough but not too diluted). Besides, the mix between reviews and esports appears particularly impactful, as exemplified by the reviews published by Sport Management Review in 2018. Practical implications A SI has a higher impact if it has an appropriate focus on a trendy topic and includes reviews. Research contribution The review evidences the impact of the SIs in sport management and sociology journals

Dynamics of publication in international scientific reviews in sport management: Towards an Agenda 21

I had the honour to be keynote speaker for the Sport Management Colloquium organised by the Université Rennes 2 in June 2018. The organisers asked me to present a communication on the international dynamics of sport management. To do so, I attempted to identify the themes currently tackled in scientific reviews in sport management from an international perspective. This article is based on the aforementioned keynote, updated since then until the 31st May 2020. Sport management is defined in a broad sense: it includes not only sport management stricto sensu (including sport strategy) but also sport analytics, business, communication / media, development, economics, finance, law, marketing, policy and sociology. My focus is on research in English. To tackle the topic, it is necessary to clarify three points: 1.Determine what is considered as current research: published since 2014. 2.Identify journals: 54 considered. 3.Define a strategy for theme identification: focus on special issues (SIs). Based on this approach, 240 SIs have been identified. I divided data into intellectual bins that ultimately reflect common themes between SIs. The methodology described here made me able to identify 21 recurring themes, justifying the idea of an Agenda 21. These 21 themes are grouped in 7 categories (3 per category): I.Reality of Sport in the 21st Century: 1. Globalization; 2. Impacts / Legacy of Mega Sports Events; 3. Austerity. II.Sport Policy and Politics: 4. Development and Peace; 5. Health and Wellbeing / Doping; 6. Sport Policy and Politics: Others / Broader. III.Need for Changes: 7. Governance / Corruption / Integrity / Reputation; 8. Corporate Social Responsibility / Sustainability; 9. New Media. IV.Adaptation, Creation and Optimisation: 10. Innovation / Knowledge Creation; 11. (Social) Entrepreneurship / Value Co-Creation; 12. Performance / Multiple Objectives / Key Success Factors. V.Overlooked and / or Specific Publics: 13. Youth; 14. Females / Gender; 15. Other Overlooked and / or Specific Publics. VI.Overlooked Sports, States and Events: 16. Overlooked Sports; 17. Overlooked States; 18. Overlooked Events. VII.Recognition: 19. Research, Education, Practice and Impact; 20. Uniqueness of Sport; 21. External Recognition / Sport and Other Sectors. For each of the 21 themes, the findings provide the number of SIs, journals, colleagues considered as key editors based on the number of SIs edited, and further details about the SIs edited by key editors / internationally recognised colleagues / published by selected journals / on a specific aspect of the broader theme under investigation. The Agenda 21 helps provide an overview of the different aspects published in international scientific reviews in sport management, demonstrating its international dynamism and the depth of the topics covered. It intends to prove useful to the international academic in sport management community for internal and external communication

Determinants of professional sports firm values in the United States and Europe: A comparison between sports over the period 2004-2011

Since the beginning of the nineties, professional sports firm values have been estimated by American newspapers. In 2004, Forbes proposed for the first time a list of the most valuable European soccer teams. In this article, we compare the determinants of firm values in MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL, and European soccer over the period 2004- 2011. The results show only one variable for which the sign and significance are the same for all the leagues: historical sports performance, with a significantly positive impact in each league. The comparison between the United States and Europe reveals that a majority of differences seem to indicate that the determinants of team values in the United States are not the same as those in Europe. Lastly, we proposed avenues for future research: integrating an international dimension that could be measured through the number of fans on social media and player values

Outcome uncertainty and public demand: Intra-match competitive intensity as key variable

Dans la littérature, le concept d'équilibre compétitif (EC) est envisagé à trois niveaux : sur l'issue d'un match avant son coup d'envoi, au terme d'une saison et sur plusieurs saisons (Szymanski, 2003). L'objet de cet article est de proposer une quatrième dimension : l'EC intra-match. De plus, l'approche utilisée incorpore les fluctuations de l'état du score. Cet apport complète l'EC par le concept d'intensité compétitive (IC). La Ligue des champions de football 1955-2008 est le cas analysé via une méthode abordant toutes les rencontres disputées (3 889 matchs). Les résultats montrent une amélioration régulière de l'IC pour chaque match pris individuellement. En contextualisant (prise en compte du classement et/ou du score du match aller), la progression est plus marquée

Determinants of national men’s football team performance: A focus on goal difference between teams

In the literature, several articles have focused on the socioeconomic and sporting determinants of national men's football team performance measured through FIFA points. In the present paper, knowledge improvement comes from focusing on goal difference in individual games. The main objectives are to verify that game outcomes have some determinants similar to FIFA points but also game specific variables (home advantage and sporting prizes). The methodology is based on regressions including all games over the 2011–2013 period (2,584 observations). The results confirm that game outcomes have some determinants similar to FIFA points but also game specific variables

L'impact du bonus sur l'intensité compétitive intra-match Incidence réelle dans les championnats français de football et de basket

International audienc