Soccer in the age of globalization

Abstract

From the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, through the street of Naples, to the dried‐up riverbeds of Cameroon, soccer is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Traditionally the object of a collective passion and a source of local and national identity, soccer clubs are increasingly turning into publicly owned stock companies responding to the logic of the market. As such, they are selling an increasing array of commodities (no longer simply the soccer match), far beyond the local stadium, to “supporters” that are simultaneously defined as “consumers.” Such a restructuring mirrors the neoliberal one that has already taken place in other sectors of the global economy. Soccer can thus be seen both as a sector harnessed by economic actors in pursuit of global strategies, and as an important tool in the process of globalization.