When any new country comes into existence, they always have two
immediate ambitions: to become members of the UN and to affiliate to
football's governing body FIFA – and not always in that order! Football
remains the dominant global game, played by millions and watched by
billions. As a source of revenue it far surpasses any other
sports-related source of income, a fact not unnoticed by the major
sports companies.
Global firms such as Nike, Puma, Adidas and the rest produce stuff that
costs them pennies to make and then sell them worldwide at a massive
mark-up. No wonder they call football the beautiful game.
The last few decades have seen a staggering advance in the
commercialisation of football as capitalism has rushed – with the
willing compliance of football's authorities – to fulfil the massive
potential for profits.
TV companies, taking advantage of the huge expansion in channels made
possible by satellite technology, have bought up the rights to show
games left, right and centre. In return for their millions, football
has made these games available at times and places to suit TV
requirements, irrespective of the wishes of individual fans. Supporters
have therefore found their seasons being shaped by the whims of TV
programming schedulers.
The rich, powerful clubs – in league with the sportswear multinationals
and TV companies – have ripped the game apart and reshaped it in their
image. The old European competitions have been restructured into more
profitable entities such as the Champions (and their rich chums)
League, complete with seeding to avoid any early departures by the top
clubs. A wholly unofficial clique of European clubs called the G14 has
increasingly exerted an unhealthy influence on national and
international footballing bodies. This has included our own Premier
League, which was itself created to benefit the rich at the expense of
the poor and which seems more than happy to dance to the Highbury/Old
Trafford marketing department tune.
Not unsurprisingly with great wealth comes great corruption. First
Germany was hit by a refereeing scandal involving bribes, now the whole
of Italian football is being convulsed by a major scandal involving the
top clubs who have been accused of fixing matches and nobbling referees
in their interests – a fact long suspected by most Italian football
fans. This is only the start, but the footballing authorities will, as
usual, fall to the occasion in not tackling this problem.
This is hardly the desired backdrop to football's highest competition,
the World Cup, which this time is taking place in Germany over the
summer. Yet somehow it seems appropriate. Anyone visiting the FIFA
website and going to the marketing section will see how much care and
attention is being spent on all the various commercial sponsors. For
them it is not about sport but about how much publicity they can get.
The global game has become the global market and the World Cup a
glorified shop window for clubs, agents and companies.
Fans are Maginalized
And what about the fans who are the source of all this income?
Dispossessed and derided their voice has been marginalized. They are
treated exactly the same as an employer treats its workforce – the
rules are the same – and therefore the response must also be the same.
The movement against the Glazer takeover of Manchester Utd shows that
the fans can organise when the mood takes them. Over the years fans
have made efforts to organise, through various independent supporters
groups etc, although these have often failed to stay the course. When
Thatcher attempted to introduce football ID cards in the late 1980s, a
major campaign involving supporters from all clubs was launched with
some success. So it can be done.
However, efforts to organise have often been hindered by the
exploitation of club rivalries, the 'we are not political' syndrome and
attempts to absorb movements into the status quo. If football is to be
saved as an important part of working class culture and community
rather than just another source of capitalist exploitation and
diversion from reality (please note there is no such place as Planet
Football) then a new mood of mobilisation needs to develop. The
Football Supporters Federation needs to be revitalised and linked
into the various independent and genuine supporters groups. More
importantly the nettle must be grasped on who owns and therefore runs
football. The current bunch will never act in our interests – remember
where (and from whom) the likes of Glazer, Ambramovich and the rest got
their money from – and cannot be expected ever to do so. Clubs must be
taken into public ownership and run in the interests of ordinary people
as sporting not commercial operations. The various footballing
governing bodies should also then be purged of the 'hangers-on in
blazers' and replaced by people who have more than just an interest in
the next freebie but who rather intend to defend and develop the game
with supporters being fully represented at all levels. If this is not
done then the relentless exploitation of the so-called peoples’ game
will continue until there is nothing left worth saving.
