The Political Economy of European Football

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, this 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 this book sets out the market structure of football in Europe and considers how key trends of globalisation and hypercommercialisation 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), this book shows how the economic development of European football has been uneven, not only subject to global trends but also dependent on local historical, political, economic and organisational 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.