Globalisation of British football

[benni3]

Hi everyone, I am a final year geography student at Queens University Belfast who is looking for insightful responses from the perspective of local fans on the issue of globalisation in football. Any responses would be much appreciated as it is a vital part of my report.

By this I am talking about commercialization of football clubs, the effects of lucrative TV deals, opinions on foreign ownership and direct investment and what can be seen as the erosion of Britain's dominant sporting culture. I want to generate a discussion on how local supporters of Leicester City have seen their club develop over the past 25 years since the restructuring of the English football league system.

With Sky obtaining the broadcasting rights to the league, the changes brought about through the Taylor Report in 1990 and the creation of the 'Premier League', British footballs global appeal has risen massively. Milan Mandaric and  Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha involvement in Leicester City is one case of many foreign ownership of clubs and there is an argument to be made that this outbreak, among many other aspects, goes against the working-class essence of football. I am using case studies of various teams in order to understand the effect globalisation has had on local fan culture as well as general footballing life in Britain.

In short, I basically want to gather your opinions on the events that have occurred since the early 90s both in relation to your club and the general football culture in Britain. Again, many thanks for taking the time out to read this!

[davieG]

You might find some interesting titbits in here.

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, benni3 said:

Hi everyone, I am a final year geography student at Queens University Belfast who is looking for insightful responses from the perspective of local fans on the issue of globalisation in football. Any responses would be much appreciated as it is a vital part of my report.

By this I am talking about commercialization of football clubs, the effects of lucrative TV deals, opinions on foreign ownership and direct investment and what can be seen as the erosion of Britain's dominant sporting culture. I want to generate a discussion on how local supporters of Leicester City have seen their club develop over the past 25 years since the restructuring of the English football league system.

With Sky obtaining the broadcasting rights to the league, the changes brought about through the Taylor Report in 1990 and the creation of the 'Premier League', British footballs global appeal has risen massively. Milan Mandaric and  Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha involvement in Leicester City is one case of many foreign ownership of clubs and there is an argument to be made that this outbreak, among many other aspects, goes against the working-class essence of football. I am using case studies of various teams in order to understand the effect globalisation has had on local fan culture as well as general footballing life in Britain.

In short, I basically want to gather your opinions on the events that have occurred since the early 90s both in relation to your club and the general football culture in Britain. Again, many thanks for taking the time out to read this!

it's been great. but i'm an agent.

[NewEnglandFox]

If you want to a foreigner's insight just ask away.

[GaelicFox]

MON went to queens I believe ... 

 

love that area of Belfast 

[the fox]

5 hours ago, benni3 said:

Hi everyone, I am a final year geography student at Queens University Belfast who is looking for insightful responses from the perspective of local fans on the issue of globalisation in football. Any responses would be much appreciated as it is a vital part of my report.

By this I am talking about commercialization of football clubs, the effects of lucrative TV deals, opinions on foreign ownership and direct investment and what can be seen as the erosion of Britain's dominant sporting culture. I want to generate a discussion on how local supporters of Leicester City have seen their club develop over the past 25 years since the restructuring of the English football league system.

With Sky obtaining the broadcasting rights to the league, the changes brought about through the Taylor Report in 1990 and the creation of the 'Premier League', British footballs global appeal has risen massively. Milan Mandaric and  Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha involvement in Leicester City is one case of many foreign ownership of clubs and there is an argument to be made that this outbreak, among many other aspects, goes against the working-class essence of football. I am using case studies of various teams in order to understand the effect globalisation has had on local fan culture as well as general footballing life in Britain.

In short, I basically want to gather your opinions on the events that have occurred since the early 90s both in relation to your club and the general football culture in Britain. Again, many thanks for taking the time out to read this!

Commercialization of football clubs can make wonders (seen by united for example). Even after their few couple bad seasons after SAF they kept their statue as the biggest club in the UK (IMO). The man united brand is well known for most people who have knowledge in sports. The 3 club that you hear about mostly from the less knowledgeable are barca, real and united. Many teams are trying to do just that by doing tours to the US and Asia. 

 

As for lucrative TV deals, it's all about who runs your club. The PL is pretty much split into 5 notable categories. The first is top 4, man united, city,  Chelsea and arsenal. The second is teams trying to break into the top 4 (pool and spurs and last season they were successful). 3 are the teams trying for a European football (a la Southampton and Everton). 4th are mid table teams that are happy being there and the money from the TV deals is like honey to them. And the last group is the lower table teams/new PL teams who are fighting for another year in the league so they can move up to the "mid table" category and from there they can build on it . The big money from TV deals won't really help you move up if all the teams are getting rich. But that money helps relegated teams a lot, they're pretty much loaded especially after they sell a couple of players so they have a bigger chance in returning to the PL because they can buy the compilation's best players.

 

As for foreign ownership, there is no blueprint really, you can be Leicester and win the league because of the quality of work they did. Or less lucky and have the arsenal ownership who limited their budget and now they can't compete with Chelsea, united or city. all in all, I think it's about the men not the nationality.

 

As for the dominance of pl , I think in this age of technology it's a lot easier to be a fan because of the language. You would fined (on twitter for example) people from all around the world having discussion about their favourite teams. The PL just have a different vibe around it, the camera angles, the creative chants that you can understand (compared to laliga, ligue 1 or calcio for example) and let's not forgive  the atmosphere after a team scores a goal! The camera and the stadium shaking and the roars of the fans are stuff of dreams. Many people would rather watch Everton vs arsenal over some well known matchs from other leagues. Plus, many mid table/lower table teams have some enjoyable players that you wouldn't mind watching. The talent from the teams that sit in the table from 7 to 20 in the league can help you build a team that can compete in the CL. 

 

                                

[Voll Blau]

17 hours ago, benni3 said:

Hi everyone, I am a final year geography student at Queens University Belfast who is looking for insightful responses from the perspective of local fans on the issue of globalisation in football. Any responses would be much appreciated as it is a vital part of my report.

By this I am talking about commercialization of football clubs, the effects of lucrative TV deals, opinions on foreign ownership and direct investment and what can be seen as the erosion of Britain's dominant sporting culture. I want to generate a discussion on how local supporters of Leicester City have seen their club develop over the past 25 years since the restructuring of the English football league system.

With Sky obtaining the broadcasting rights to the league, the changes brought about through the Taylor Report in 1990 and the creation of the 'Premier League', British footballs global appeal has risen massively. Milan Mandaric and  Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha involvement in Leicester City is one case of many foreign ownership of clubs and there is an argument to be made that this outbreak, among many other aspects, goes against the working-class essence of football. I am using case studies of various teams in order to understand the effect globalisation has had on local fan culture as well as general footballing life in Britain.

In short, I basically want to gather your opinions on the events that have occurred since the early 90s both in relation to your club and the general football culture in Britain. Again, many thanks for taking the time out to read this!

I kind of find it all rather sad really. Every year I find 'English football' becomes just that little bit more alien to me.

 

Obviously our biggest success as a club has come during this era, and we certainly wouldn't have won the league without access to players from abroad which has only come about as a result of the sport's globalisation, and I don't really have any problem with that side of things (the 'on-pitch' aspects of how football here has developed, if you will). I'm especially proud of the way we went about getting players like Mahrez, Kante etc by seeing potential and developing them as players - rather than the modern English way of just cobbing money at anyone who's already proven.

 

I do, however, feel bewildered and annoyed by the Premier League's continued obsession with making itself the world's most marketable and popular competition - even if that comes at the expense of supporters here. The 39th Game concept is the finest example of this. It's something that continues to be pushed while things like finding more suitable kick-off times for TV games to help travelling fans are just overlooked or dismissed because it means x-amount less people will be able to watch it abroad.

 

I also think it's a shame (and I don't just accuse English clubs in this respect) that European club competitions are ever more dominated by a select bunch of teams from a select bunch of nations. It's not good for the health of the game on the continent and certainly makes things far less appealing for anyone who finds the most joy in following sport's underdog stories.

 

From a Leicester point of view, I can't say that having foreign owners, when studied in the context of English ownership models in general, is any better or worse than if we had English ones. In general, I favour the German 50+1 model of ownership - though sadly that too seems to be being diminished to some extent - so nationality of owners is neither here nor there to me. I see owners as temporary custodians of clubs, so as long as they look after it, and its supporters, adequately, then that's fine.

 

We have good owners in general, but I don't agree with everything they do. The erosion of white trim on our kits to make way for gold, for example. This may seem petty, and the vast majority will mock the minority who have that opinion of it, but little gestures like that just make me feel less like Leicester is the same club that it was when I fell in love with it as a kid. It's irrational and illogical, but I just feel uncomfortable with it. See also the gradual erosion of artwork related to LCFC's history inside the stadium to be replaced by King Power branding.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

2 hours ago, Voll Blau said:

We have good owners in general, but I don't agree with everything they do. The erosion of white trim on our kits to make way for gold, for example. This may seem petty, and the vast majority will mock the minority who have that opinion of it, but little gestures like that just make me feel less like Leicester is the same club that it was when I fell in love with it as a kid. It's irrational and illogical, but I just feel uncomfortable with it. See also the gradual erosion of artwork related to LCFC's history inside the stadium to be replaced by King Power branding.

I know how you feel about this, it's almost as if the 2010's King Power successful gold and blue slick counter-attacking Leicester is a new era with new fans and a different style to the more clogging heroes in blue and white from previous decades.

 

I also feel very uncomfortable with the colour of the badge being changed on the away shirt, it is just symbolic of modern style over substances IMO.

 

Still, a huge numbers of teams have foreign backers now and ours are right up there with the best. Besides, you change with the times or get left behind in a slow decline like teams such as Ipswich, Oldham, Notts County etc.

 

 

[Dan LCFC]

I didn't have any problem with the away kit until they put that awful purple patch on it. I'm totally in agreement as regards to gold but I'm not too fussed regarding the away kit, the badge kind of fits with the kit.

 

My stance on globalisation in football is quite simple - I don't mind English football being popular around the world in the slightest, but it should be popular for what it is (well, was), and it shouldn't be changed to suit others.

[KingsX]

It really strikes me, how EFL and PL clubs are local entities woven into the history of each area and its families.

“Our Club”, not the owner’s club, and not a collection of players.

 

I understand the Hobson’s Choice for many, in accepting the redefinition of “Our Club” and sport, as global businesses with a grow-or-die reality.  And of expensive foreign players as the foundation of recruitment.

 

Fox, Voll, ALZ -- I think you are on base.  Emotion and nostalgia are absolutely fine.  They are what keep our attachment so strong.  “Gold trim” -- I hear you.  My Cleveland Indians seem to be phasing out Chief Wahoo, a caricature some find offensive.  I doodled the Chief onto every school notebook until I was 15 and I don’t want him off the unis.  But I will support them with equal joy either way, because 90% of what I loved as a kid, is still there for me.  I hope that is the case for you with LCFC.

 

We all just need to mediate the emotion to avoid the trap of unreasoning anger, which some fall into.  This is circuses, not life.  Frustration there will be, but if you look back and say it wasn’t fun, you should have spent your time another way.

[RonnieTodger]

Anyone that has Snapchat, look at the Man Utd v Barcelona story to see the epitome of it. 

[benni3]

On 25/07/2017 at 10:27, Voll Blau said:

I kind of find it all rather sad really. Every year I find 'English football' becomes just that little bit more alien to me.

 

Obviously our biggest success as a club has come during this era, and we certainly wouldn't have won the league without access to players from abroad which has only come about as a result of the sport's globalisation, and I don't really have any problem with that side of things (the 'on-pitch' aspects of how football here has developed, if you will). I'm especially proud of the way we went about getting players like Mahrez, Kante etc by seeing potential and developing them as players - rather than the modern English way of just cobbing money at anyone who's already proven.

 

I do, however, feel bewildered and annoyed by the Premier League's continued obsession with making itself the world's most marketable and popular competition - even if that comes at the expense of supporters here. The 39th Game concept is the finest example of this. It's something that continues to be pushed while things like finding more suitable kick-off times for TV games to help travelling fans are just overlooked or dismissed because it means x-amount less people will be able to watch it abroad.

 

I also think it's a shame (and I don't just accuse English clubs in this respect) that European club competitions are ever more dominated by a select bunch of teams from a select bunch of nations. It's not good for the health of the game on the continent and certainly makes things far less appealing for anyone who finds the most joy in following sport's underdog stories.

 

From a Leicester point of view, I can't say that having foreign owners, when studied in the context of English ownership models in general, is any better or worse than if we had English ones. In general, I favour the German 50+1 model of ownership - though sadly that too seems to be being diminished to some extent - so nationality of owners is neither here nor there to me. I see owners as temporary custodians of clubs, so as long as they look after it, and its supporters, adequately, then that's fine.

 

We have good owners in general, but I don't agree with everything they do. The erosion of white trim on our kits to make way for gold, for example. This may seem petty, and the vast majority will mock the minority who have that opinion of it, but little gestures like that just make me feel less like Leicester is the same club that it was when I fell in love with it as a kid. It's irrational and illogical, but I just feel uncomfortable with it. See also the gradual erosion of artwork related to LCFC's history inside the stadium to be replaced by King Power branding.

Thanks for taking the time to write out such a detailed response! 

 

On your point about the gold trim replacing the white on the kits, was this decision made for any particular reason by the owners? I know that the Malaysian owners at Cardiff, the other club I am focusing on, made the decision to change the kits from blue to red and the badge to have much more of an emphasis of the red Welsh dragon in order to increase the clubs global appeal to potential Asian fans and I was curious as to whether this is the case at Leicester?

 

What is your opinion on the owners wanting to make the 'brand' of LCFC more reputable and marketable in Asia? Does this increasing focus on fans abroad leave any sort concern with you about the direction the club is heading?

[benni3]

On 25/07/2017 at 13:13, Arriba Los Zorros said:

I know how you feel about this, it's almost as if the 2010's King Power successful gold and blue slick counter-attacking Leicester is a new era with new fans and a different style to the more clogging heroes in blue and white from previous decades.

 

I also feel very uncomfortable with the colour of the badge being changed on the away shirt, it is just symbolic of modern style over substances IMO.

 

Still, a huge numbers of teams have foreign backers now and ours are right up there with the best. Besides, you change with the times or get left behind in a slow decline like teams such as Ipswich, Oldham, Notts County etc.

 

 

Thank you for the reply! Your last point is interesting, this may just be the inevitable direction the game as a whole is heading but do you ever worry that the local, traditional fans are being slowly left behind and forgotten about as the league becomes more of a profit-centred, globalized industry every year? Or are your Thai owners thoughtful of this type of supporter and recognize their importance to the club?

[davieG]

I think our owners are all about developing the King Power and LCFC is just one way of doing it. You only have to see the the changes to the stadium to see that.

LCFC benefit of course but it's  almost by default.  Then you can add in their obvious love of football and I guess the combination works for both.  But I believe it will always be King Power first and why not it's their money and their risk. Provided the changes  are not over the top, although everone has different acceptable level we as  fans  have to accept that or move on.

[benni3]

Bumping this one last time before I submit my work in the hope that I can gather some more thoughts/opinions/reactions to my original post!

[tom27111]

Although the Premier League started a few years prior, there is 1 thing that has massively influenced the current state of football...the internet. 

 

From being able to watch clips, transfer rumours, social media and streaming matches, this has had the biggest impact of all.

 

I had to write something similar for a university assignment. Basically, football has move along with society and technology. Without the internet, it would be nowhere near as popular around the world.

[tom27111]

And good luck @benni3 

[Voll Blau]

On 8/20/2017 at 22:11, benni3 said:

Thanks for taking the time to write out such a detailed response! 

 

On your point about the gold trim replacing the white on the kits, was this decision made for any particular reason by the owners? I know that the Malaysian owners at Cardiff, the other club I am focusing on, made the decision to change the kits from blue to red and the badge to have much more of an emphasis of the red Welsh dragon in order to increase the clubs global appeal to potential Asian fans and I was curious as to whether this is the case at Leicester?

 

What is your opinion on the owners wanting to make the 'brand' of LCFC more reputable and marketable in Asia? Does this increasing focus on fans abroad leave any sort concern with you about the direction the club is heading?

In response to your points, I don't think it would be really fair to compare the slow transition towards favouring gold with what Tan did - as it was clearly brainless from him - although I do feel the ultimate goal was similar. Our owners (or the marketing people lower down the chain) were wise enough to phase in the colour they wanted slowly over a number of seasons rather than make such a brash statement as Tan did. Of course, this fortunately coincided with the most successful season in our club's entire history, and now a lot of fans equate gold on kits with that success - so you're unlikely to find many who agree with me on this, which I accept.

 

In terms of 'growing the brand in Asia', again I just find it utterly bewildering. I guess there was a novelty to it at first, but I just kind of feel a bit uncomfortable with it. Leicester has one of the highest rates of poverty in England and there are kids here who can't get to see their local team play at the moment for a variety of reasons (ticket prices and demand being the two which come to mind)  - kids who could easily drift off into following Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea despite our success - yet so much focus seems to be given to trying to get people thousands of miles away interested in the club? It just seems odd.

Plus I'd like to see rich people abroad invest more in the sport in their home countries, rather than English football, as I feel that an awful lot of good could come out of that. People should be inspired to support their local team, wherever they are in the world, and at present organisations like the Premier Lrague and its member clubs seem hell bent on making sure folks are glued to their TV sets to watch games here, no matter where they are on the planet, instead. It's sad really.

[Dan LCFC]

On 8/24/2017 at 15:46, Voll Blau said:

In response to your points, I don't think it would be really fair to compare the slow transition towards favouring gold with what Tan did - as it was clearly brainless from him - although I do feel the ultimate goal was similar. Our owners (or the marketing people lower down the chain) were wise enough to phase in the colour they wanted slowly over a number of seasons rather than make such a brash statement as Tan did. Of course, this fortunately coincided with the most successful season in our club's entire history, and now a lot of fans equate gold on kits with that success - so you're unlikely to find many who agree with me on this, which I accept.

 

In terms of 'growing the brand in Asia', again I just find it utterly bewildering. I guess there was a novelty to it at first, but I just kind of feel a bit uncomfortable with it. Leicester has one of the highest rates of poverty in England and there are kids here who can't get to see their local team play at the moment for a variety of reasons (ticket prices and demand being the two which come to mind)  - kids who could easily drift off into following Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea despite our success - yet so much focus seems to be given to trying to get people thousands of miles away interested in the club? It just seems odd.

Plus I'd like to see rich people abroad invest more in the sport in their home countries, rather than English football, as I feel that an awful lot of good could come out of that. People should be inspired to support their local team, wherever they are in the world, and at present organisations like the Premier Lrague and its member clubs seem hell bent on making sure folks are glued to their TV sets to watch games here, no matter where they are on the planet, instead. It's sad really.

Agree fully with this. I think a lot of it is done by English clubs to nip the potential of Asian football in the bud before they can grow their own game, and sadly so many of them buy it.

 

I suppose I'm lucky in the sense I was born here but there are so many in Asia who are being conned into thinking supporting these clubs is the way forward. Football in places like Thailand and Malaysia will be held back as a result.

[foxile5]

Well I feel like we're unimportant to the FA. In fact I know we are. See the Carabou cup travesty. British fans are unimportant to the game.