The Future of Football: Challenges for the Twenty-first Century

World football has undergone unprecedented change over the past decade. On the field, the richest European clubs have retained their pre-eminence, but with multinational playing squads backed up by global marketing industries. Club ownership rests increasingly with impersonal shareholders, rather than local business figures. Domestic and international football competitions are being transformed by the financial power of the mass media. The world's top players are paid far more than their pe...