1st Edition
The Political Economy of European Football Perspectives from Central and Eastern Europe
This book explores the contemporary dynamics of European football’s political economy, mapping the various market and regulatory forces that shape its current position and development.
Offering a conceptual framework for understanding political economy as applied to the study of football, the book presents in-depth case studies from Central and Eastern Europe – a region largely underexplored in the research literature - that enable the reader to gain a sense of the rich history and diversity of the economic and social contexts in which European football is shaped. The first part of the book sets out the market structure of football in Europe, and considers how key trends of globalization and hyper-commercialization have been addressed through attempts to incentivise and regulate the football market. It presents a theoretical framework for political economy in football, and explores key issues including football and economic development; UEFA’s ‘Financial Fair Play’ regulations; sponsorship in football; and the socio-economic conditions of hooligan violence. The second part of the book looks more closely at Central and Eastern Europe. Presenting case studies of aspects of political economy in football in Romania, Poland, East Germany, Austria, and Hungary (including development of the women’s game), the book shows how the economic development of European football has been uneven, both subject to global trends but also dependent on local historical, political, economic and organizational conditions.
Opening up new perspectives on the complex interactions between states, sports organisations, markets and society, this book will be fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in football, the history, politics or business of sport, or political economy as a field of scholarly enquiry.
Introduction: The Political Economy of Football
Daniel Fitzpatrick, Dariusz Wojtaszyn, and Roland Benedikter
Part I: Contemporary Themes in the Political Economy of European Football
1. Club Football and Economic Dynamism in European Regions
Roberto Gasquez and David Castells-Quintana
2. The Winner-Take-All Character of European Football’s ‘Superstar Economics’ and the Limited Impact of Financial Fair Play
Henk Erik Meier
3. Key Drivers of Advertising and Brand Communication as Part of 360-Degree Communication in Professional Sport
Jarosław Kończak and Johan Rewilak
4. The Socio-Economic Conditions of Hooligan Violence: 10 Crucial Dimensions
Roland Benedikter
Part II: The Political Economy of Football in Central and Eastern Europe
5. Women’s Football in Central and Eastern Europe: Between Ideology, Politics and Economics
Dariusz Wojtaszyn, Roland Benedikter, and Tomasz Sahaj
6. Football Economy in Romania: Breaking Away from Socialism, Facing Capitalism
Bogdan Popa and Pompiliu-Nicolae Constantin
7. Change and Continuity in the Sponsorship of Polish Football Clubs: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the State
Jarosław Kończak
8. The Corruption Scandal in Polish Football: “It Was Impossible to Be Honest
Robert Tomankiewicz and Krzysztof Grzeszczak
9. Alternative Concepts for the Development of a Football Club in East Germany
Dariusz Wojtaszyn
10. Branding the Game: An Energy-Drink-Company’s Take on Football
Siegfried Göllner
11. Orban's Big Football Reform: Wings or Shackles?
Zsolt Havran and Zoltán Jandó
Biography
Dariusz Wojtaszyn is Professor of modern history and Head of the Centre for Research on the History of German and European Sport of the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wroclaw, Poland.
Daniel Fitzpatrick is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Aston University in Birmingham, UK, and a co-convenor of the Political Studies Association (PSA) Sport and Politics specialist group.
Roland Benedikter is Co-Head of the Center for Advanced Studies of Eurac Research Bozen/Bolzano, Italy, and UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation.
