Routledge Handbook of Football Business and Management

Soccer is the world’s most valuable sport, generating bigger revenues, as well as being watched and played by more people, than any other. It is virtually impossible to understand the business of sport without understanding the football industry. This book surveys contemporary football in unparalleled breadth and depth.

Presenting critical insights from world-leading football scholars and introducing football’s key organisations, leagues and emerging nations, it explores key themes from governance and law to strategy and finance, as well as cutting edge topics such as analytics, digital media and the women’s game.

This is essential reading for all students, researchers and practitioners working in football, sport business, sport management or mainstream business and management.

Simon Chadwick is Professor of Eurasian Sport and Director of the Centre for the Eurasian Sport Industry at emlyon business school (based in Paris and Shanghai). He is also a Founding Director of the China Soccer Observatory at the University of Nottingham, UK and regularly works with organisations in football across the world, including clubs, federations, commercial partners, event organisers and governments. He tweets: @Prof_Chadwick.

Daniel Parnell is an Associate Professor in Sport Business at the University of Liverpool Management School, UK. Dan’s research interests lie in business management, policy, and social and economic networks in sport. He serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Managing Sport and Leisure and is the co-founder of The Football Collective, a global network of football scholars. He is also a co-editor of the Routledge book series ‘Critical Research in Football’. On top of this, Dan maintains extensive links within professional sport clubs, is trustee of Sport Leaders UK and is CEO of the Association of Sporting Directors. He tweets from: @parnell_daniel.

Paul Widdop is Senior Research Fellow in Sport Business at Leeds Beckett University, UK. His research explores social and economic networks on the consumption and production of Sport. He has published widely in areas of sport and popular culture including articles in Journal of Consumer Culture, Cultural Sociology, Cultural Trends, Political Behaviour, Electoral Studies, and Leisure Sciences.

Christos Anagnostopoulos is the Deputy Head of Business & Management School at University of Central Lancashire (Cyprus campus) and an Associate Professor in Sport Management at Molde University College, Norway. His research interests lie in corporate social responsibility, governance, and more recently entrepreneurship and positive organisational behaviour in sport. Christos serves as the General Secretary for the Cyprus Basketball Federation Foundation as well as an editorial board member in nine major academic journals serving sport management. He tweets: @chrisanagno.