What can sport do to produce positive social change in our world today? Now in a fully revised, updated and expanded fourth edition, this critical, challenging and comprehensive textbook introduces the study of sport, culture and society.International in scope, the book challenges the reader to activate an audacious spirit of activism in and through sport. Full of contemporary examples, it places sport at the heart of the analysis and introduces the reader to every core topic and e...

This book draws upon a relational sociological paradigm to explore the processes of collective action in football fandom across Europe and the UK. Through a range of case studies, the authors address pertinent themes in football fandom, including anti-discrimination, ‘home,’ ticketing, name changes, ‘ownership,’ and broader leftist politics. Each of these case studies engages with the theoretical framework of cultural relational sociology, highlighting the different social and cultural cha...

This book adds a new dimension to our understanding of the global esports industry by examining its significance in the context of global geopolitics and economics.As perhaps the most rapidly growing sector of the sports and entertainment industry worldwide, esports is now both a glittering prize and a powerful tool for sporting organisations, international business, and national and regional governments, and this book critically examines its transformative potential and structural...

Now in a fully revised and updated new edition, this book offers expert insight into the business and management of the FIFA World Cup, arguably the biggest sporting event in the world.The book takes the reader from the initial stages of bidding and hosting decisions, through the planning, organisation, and delivery phases, to assessment of the longer-term legacies of the competition. It introduces the global context in which the World Cup takes place, surveying the history and evo...

This book presents a series of fascinating case studies that show how the lives and bodies of clubs, players and fans around the world are enmeshed with politics.It draws on original research in countries including England, Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Mexico, Algeria and Argentina and includes both historical and contemporary perspectives. It explores some of the most important themes in the study of sport, including sectarianism, migration, fan activism and national identity, and s...

This book explores continental perspectives on football's new geopolitical economy, examining how sport, politics, and the global economy have emerged in different parts of the world.Against a backdrop of international conflict and the rise of powerful new state actors in world sport, the book delves into countries and cases that explore how football investments and events have become instruments of soft power and industrial development, and how football plays an increasingly signi...

Football is ubiquitous and a permanent fixture of modern life. More than a sport, it frequently manifests in broader popular culture. This book examines the significance of football for, and in, popular culture across a wide range of forms, including music, film, and social media.Football and Popular Culture plots a new path in Football Studies, drawing on original research in countries including England, Brazil, Germany, Canada, and Yugoslavia. The book includes both historical an...

This book examines the new geopolitical economy of football, exploring the intersection of money, politics, and power in the world’s most popular sport.Against a background of international conflict and the emergence of powerful new state actors in world sport, the book considers how football investments and events have become instruments of soft power and industrial development, and how football plays an increasingly significant role in global politics and international relations....

This is the first book to define and explore the geopolitical economy of sport – the intersection of power, politics, money, and state interests that both exploit and shape elite sport around the world.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global response, and the consequent ramifications for sport have put the geopolitical economy of sport front and centre in both public debate and academic thinking. Similarly, the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar illustrate ...

The FIFA World Cup is arguably the biggest sporting event on earth. This book is the first to focus on the business and management of the World Cup, taking the reader from the initial stages of bidding and hosting decisions, through planning and organisation, to the eventual legacies of the competition.The book introduces the global context in which the World Cup takes place, surveying the history and evolution of the tournament and the geopolitical background against which bidding...

Austerity is perhaps the major challenge of our times, given the speed at which it arrived and the consequences of its impact upon society. The global financial crash and economic downturn was the catalyst for change and, against a backdrop of advice from experts adverse to Keynesian economics, the ideology of austerity grew and became the dominant thinking to steer economies out of recession.This comprehensive volume draws upon both quantitative and qualitative research methodolog...

Social networks are critical for the creation and consumption of music. This edited collection, Social Networks and Music Worlds, introduces students and scholars of music in society to the core concepts and tools of social network analysis. The collection showcases the use of these tools by sociologists, historians and musicologists, examining a variety of distinct 'music worlds', including post-punk, jazz, rap, folk, classical music, Ladyfest and the world of 'open mic' performa...