Globalization of Football

This reading demonstrates the globalization of football in a sociological way, intending to improve our empirical and theoretical understanding of globalization processes. Three parts are presented to elaborate authors’ argument.

Glocalization processes are ubiquitous in the culture of football. Two interdependent key notions, namely ‘universalization of particularism’ and ‘particularization of universalism’ are rooted during these processes (Robertson 1990a, 1992). The emergence of willful nostalgia within football, as a specific response towards globalization alongside other social change, indicates an early form of glocalization, a term derived from Japanese business helping us understand the differences of the local and the global in terms of particular cultural circumstances (Robertson 1995, p41). During the process of football’s global spread, various cultural glocalization has emerged, including an initial exclusion of football, a local conversion towards rules, and a distinctive spectator culture (Robertson 2004, p549). Cultural relativization and glocalization are intensified not only by mass media and telecommunications companies, but also by the cosmopolitanism of supporters (Robertson 2004, p549). Another manifestation of contemporary glocalization processes can be distinguished by leading clubs’ disparate political structures according to different cultures. (Robertson 2004, p549) However, TNCs play the most dynamic role in these processes considering their great contribution to attract consumers of particular cultures (Robertson 2004, p500).

The impact TNCs acts on glocalization is tremendous. Robertson and Giulianotti (as cited in Perlmutter 1972) indicates that TNCs are catalogued in three parts, which are ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric, in accordance with regional borders. Football’s top clubs retain strong ties to their local cities both in financial and symbolic ways despite their successful marketing outlets oversea and championship of international tournament (Robertson 2004, p552). According to Dolles and Söderman (2004), Manchester United’s merchandising accounts for 11.4 million GBP in 2002. While exceptional examples occur as clubs transferring numerous foreign players and foreign business people owning the British team, glocalization remain obvious in ownership and control of leading football clubs as well as player recruitment. For example, it was not until 2003 did Manchester United first owned by an American businessman called Malcolm Glazer (Wheatley 2012, p10). The global ‘branding’ of TNC clubs gain sheer profit in international market by utilizing consumers’ display of allegiance through purchasing club products. However, glocalization still retains in this global consuming as particular consumers from different cultures require different products. Despite the vantages TNCs have, some concern it may lead to political conflicts of social exclusion or racist driven by the intensification of commodification within football.