A simple game can change entire cultures, and there is no better example for this claim than football. Often dubbed ‘the most important unimportant thing in life’, football has the power to make strangers feel like brothers, to cause adult people to cry in public, and to build bridges between countries that otherwise don’t have any relations. In addition to its emotional impact, football is also big business with top clubs collecting huge revenues and the most successful players commanding astronomic salaries.
Our collective love for football is a bona fide sociological phenomenon which deserves to be analysed from multiple angles. There is no shortage of data and insights that support the notion that football has a unique influence on lives of people everywhere on the planet, so let’s take a look at it.
Cultural Impact of Football
Entire generations grew up chasing the ball around the field and watching professional footballers do the same, only with more skill. The game is deeply encoded in the childhood memories of so many people that it represents a significant force shaping our personalities and the way we interact with others. As a team game that requires collaboration between players with different roles, football provides a blueprint that can be useful in other spheres of life ranging from work to art. At the same time, individual brilliance is highly valued and the most creative players are celebrated as geniuses.
To understand how much the logic of football affects how we see the world, you only need to look at the number of football metaphors that are used in public speeches and the media. Someone who makes a grave mistake deserves a red card, can’t miss opportunity is often described as a free kick… the list goes on and on. Nearly everyone will understand what you mean when you talk like this, even if they are not serious football fans. That goes to show how much the game is dominating the public narrative to the point where it represents a common point of reference in conversations between individuals who otherwise don’t have too many shared interests.
Social Impact of Football
The game is played for enjoyment of the viewers, which gives it an inherent social dimension. Every match brings together a large part of the local community, while the stadium is a place where people of all vocations and classes can come together and act as a group. Fandom is a crucial element of football that makes it possible for the game to be played professionally and motivates the players to give their best effort. This aspect of the game is not limited to the stadium – live broadcasts give spectators living far away a chance to take part in the festivities, while the internet has allowed fans to discuss and dissect every move the players make.
Global adoration has turned top footballers into role models for kids to emulate, and they provide inspiration to countless people dealing with personal problems. In some countries where poverty and crime are serious issues, football serves as a much needed distraction that can keep youngsters away from risky company and bad decisions. Football also provides an avenue for professional affirmation and there are many rags-to-riches stories that show how sport can lift a person out of bad circumstances. That’s why building new pitches in low-income neighborhoods and providing expert training through clubs and academies is an important social mechanism that can help eliminate some of the common problems of the post-industrial world.
Economic Impact of Football
It’s impossible to ignore the fact that elite football creates a huge revenue stream that benefits the players, club owners, coaches, and a lot of other participants in this industry. Traditionally, clubs relied on ticket sales to pay salaries and turn a profit, but in recent years they created additional sources of cash that leverage the global popularity of the game. TV rights, merchandise sales, sponsorship deals, offseason tours…these are only some of the ways that top organisations make money from football. Sports betting sites contribute to the total revenues in the industry, as numerous fans come to bet here while they are watching the games in person or on television.
The sums that players in top leagues are taking home and total amounts of money earned during the World Cup are truly astounding, but unfortunately that’s not true at the grassroots level. Vast majority of football players are not motivated by money, and they participate in the game out of pure enthusiasm. Smaller nations in particular struggle to provide sufficient funding for normal functioning of lower level clubs and youth leagues. This uneven distribution of wealth will have to be addressed in the future so that the rewards are shared more equitably. There is enough money to go around, and the investment in underdeveloped region is sure to pay off by producing the next generation of football stars. It’s a formula that worked well in the past in parts of Latin America and Africa, so it makes a lot of sense to expand it to the whole world.
