Impact of foreign capital on football
Globalization has not only affected the economical and political scenario across the world but has also given football across the globe a much-needed corporate and commercial image. This image is very far from the historical roots of soccer across the globe now. Soccer is very much a global game. There are hardly any countries where soccer has not gained popularity. It is very aptly called the “world game.” The names of the famous soccer players are household names in all countries. Soccer events like the world cup are a global event and millions of people across the world watch it.
The various fashionable clubs in Britain have gained immense name and fame in the last few years. However, not everybody revels in soccer’s global appeal. Domestic leagues have started their association with foreign markets and this has led to the local supporters drifting away. The chief executive of English Premier League, Richard Scudamore proposed to have a 39th game added to the league of the traditional 38 games and also suggested that the game would be held abroad. The feeling of opposition and fear that the game is going global more with each passing day was imminent in the local people. People retorted to Scudamore’s proposal terming it as excessive greed and whiplashed his idea of international matches. Some people perceived it to be a doomsday situation for the English Premier League. Everyone unanimously agreed that the English league must be protected. Post the opposition, the EPL chief finally declared that the EPL simply wants to embrace globalization in any way possible and not necessarily through his proposal. This did placate the local people a lot.
However, it can be concluded that EPL will be shifting its origin sometime or the other. Sometime in the future, the local people will have to adhere to the decisions made in the favour of globalization. The current base for the EPL is more than 600 million homes. Most of the league teams have organized their support groups in various other countries beyond Britain and Europe as a whole. The EPL has created a base in countries like Uganda, South Africa, Indonesia, Singapore and oher South-East Asian nations. Clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Middlesbrough have these coutries rooting for them and coming up with music videos for their popularity. But the best feature is the amount of foreign investment that the English Premier League draws. The international tycoons are the new sponsors of the EPL in the replacement of the local British businessmen, and hereditary royal families in Britain. For instance, the Russian oil baron Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in the year 2003 and has ended up spending a humongous amount since then. This has made the team very successful but at the same time, it has also increased the wages and the transfer fees tremendously for the players across the league and Europe.
Most of the top league teams in the EPL have a continuous supply of foreign capital. The turnaround happened in the EPL when the American billionaire Malcom Glazer bought the team Manchester United for $ 1.47 billion. Tom Hicks and George Gillett acquired Liverpool and Randy Lerner bought the Aston Villa team. The effects of globalization reached far east and the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra revived the not so popular Manchester city team. This has led to a lot of unrest and dissatisfaction in the locals as they perceive this influx of foreign multi-millionaires as camaraderie of financial strength rather than the true spirit of football. The fans of the EPL perceive the leagues as their passion, their clubs and definitely not as a means of making money. This can very well be credited to the opposition that Scudamore faced initially. The people do not want the league matches of their local clubs to be a part of international arena for sure.
Let us consider the example of the local soccer club of North London- Arsenal. This team came into existence in the year 1886 and was formed by the labourers and trade union people of Royal Armoury. This team has always been supported by the working class people and represented them on the football games front as well. However, the scenario is totally different now. It has evolved to attain a global status and is more commercial than ever. The team’s stadium is sponsored by the Emirates and has the look of a spaceship. The advertising that it gets is amazingly too much to describe. In fact, even the ticket prices have increased by more than 500%. However, the ground is not like the English football grounds. The local supporters and fans miss the raw appeal of the original EPL matches.
Let us consider another example – the team of Manchester City. The very base of the team has changed fundamentally. The decisions regarding foreign investment in the teams are taken like nobody’s business. The game has become accessible to the global public. The Manchester City team was bought by Thakshin Shinawatra but was then sold off to Abu Dhabi as he is facing corruption charges in Thailand. The supporters of Manchester City have been very much bothered by the constant changes but people all across the world are hardly concerned. Stopping the foreign billionaires from investing in the soccer clubs will lead to the inaccessibility of these matches to the people across the globe. And it is obvious nobody wants to stop this and thereby, stop the outflow of business and huge money. The new owner, Dr.Sulaima Al Fahim claims that this investment will lead Manchester City team into the league of the top-four teams within a span of three seasons. The fans have nothing to say but to wait and watch.
