You have probably heard of Wigan’s destruction while facing Tottenham Spurs this past Saturday. Just in case you have not, here is a link: Tottenham-Wigan Athletic. Wigan took their first step towards the Premier League in 1997 when they won the Third Division under John Deehan. Paul Jewell then earned promotion to the First Division with… Read More »
Ghanaian players feel the need to play for countries abroad for a high salary in order to provide for their families and achieve a standard of living above the extreme poverty line. However, this leads to a downward spiral of national development opportunities through football. If Ghana is robbed of its best players, how will… Read More »
I’m something of a latecomer to following professional club soccer. Although I played the sport growing up in Western North Carolina and have watched every World Cup final since 1990, I’ve been oblivious to the comings and goings of the top European and South American leagues—mostly due to my typically spartan television habits. That’s all… Read More »
Do citizens have a right to watch football? The Argentinian government has recently proposed that they do. The Washington Post — which as the previous post on this blog attests has recently been providing interesting coverage of the politics of football in Latin America — reports in an article published today that President Cristina Fernández… Read More »
Everyone who has a vague interest in soccer knows the big global brands and superstars; the Manchester Uniteds and the Real Madrids, the Kakas and Messis of the global game. We see them plastered across the back pages of newspapers and adorning front covers of glossy magazines. Television coverage of major soccer matches is all-pervasive.… Read More »
We read about football being used for conflict resolution so often in this course. What we see, however, are epic matches in the EPL which rarely serve such a purpose besides entertainment and victory. I thought it was fascinating that Puma and Adidas used football to create modern day peace between their two companies. By… Read More »
We’ve talked briefly in class discussions about what some have called the “slave trade” in young players from the developing world to the power clubs in Europe. There have been two stories in the past week that have brought to light the related issue of European youths who sign binding contracts. The big story was… Read More »
In the past, the World Cup meant everything to national football teams; it was an opportunity to prove their team’s success to the world. I recently came across an article that made me realize just how crucial the World Cup still is to a team’s success, and in turn, to the amount of funding they receive. In… Read More »
