Sven Grafen’s Post

When is enough football? FIFA and UEFA are still obsessed with the idea of “growing football”. Their big tournaments having more and more teams in. Arsene Wenger has this idea of making football “truly global”. (eg https://lnkd.in/dYWd--Sg ) When every other photo of an indigenous child in South America, Africa or Asia shows them with a Barcelona shirt on, isn’t that “truly global” enough? With 4bn fans around the world, how more global does he want? It would be good to understand what he means by “truly global” and why that is better than what we have today. Today, football follows the money. Therefore “truly global” will only happen if wealth is equally spread around the world. And then, how he would square that with the need to cut emissions and keep within planetary boundaries? The players and managers don’t seem to want more games. I wonder if fans are asking for more games or competitions to be expanded. Rather, the strategic challenge for football (and for other already global, highly commercialised sports) is: How do we rein in the monster? How do we safely decommercialise? How to we end the money-powered arms race? How do we kindle a spirit of sportingness and fair play (take a tip from snooker)? How do we curb the malign influence of advertisers and sponsors? How do we cut resource use? How do we reject the unwholesome influence of regimes led by dictators and tyrants? How do we prioritise joy and health and mental wellbeing? How do we encourage and help people without the opportunity to enjoy leisure-based physical exercise? How do we put soulful, amateur pleasure before technocratic, elitist obsession? How does sport help nurture social fabric? And a darker set of questions … Are we ready for a world where there is no such economic surplus which allows for leisure time? How do we channel surplus bodily energy into building resilience rather than scoring goals? How do we help children in poor countries who didn’t make it in elite sport, repair their shattered dreams and avoid them getting radicalised? Truly global is a nice idea but in the light of the above questions it is neither a solution nor should be a priority. #football #globalism #climateemegency #enough #arsenewenger

⚽️ Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first international football tournament representing all regions, the UN General Assembly has declared May 25 as World Football Day. 🌍 This resolution, passed on May 7, 2024, highlights football’s global reach and its impact on commerce, peace, and diplomacy, recognizing how football fosters cooperation and unity. Known as “the global game,” football (soccer) captivates fans worldwide. The sport’s premier events, such as the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League Final, rival the Olympics in terms of global reach. FIFA reports that around 5 billion people engaged with the Qatar 2022 World Cup, with the final attracting 1.5 billion viewers. The UEFA Champions League final reached an estimated 450 million viewers, far surpassing the Super Bowl's 200 million. Statista Consumer Insights data illustrate football’s popularity across regions, with Europe and Latin America leading the way. The data also show significant growth potential in North America and parts of Asia and Oceania. World Football Day underscores football’s unique role as a unifying force and its potential to contribute positively to global development and humanitarian efforts. As we celebrate this day, we recognize football not just as a sport but as a powerful tool for building connections and fostering peace worldwide. 🌐 Let’s use the power of football to inspire change and unity across the globe. ⚽️🌍 #WorldFootballDay #GlobalGame #UnityThroughSport credit image: statista

This recent letter from senators urging the Biden administration to create a White House Task Force for Global Events highlights a critical need—ensuring America is ready to host and participate on the global stage. As we prepare for significant international events in the coming years, the collaboration between government and private sectors will be more important than ever. By working together, we can ensure that the U.S. not only meets but exceeds the expectations of the global community, showcasing our nation’s strengths in diplomacy, security, and hospitality while bringing significant economic benefit to numerous communities. #BoozAllen, #FIFA, #WorldCup2026, #LAOlympics2028

This is just the beginning—Georgia's first steps in major tournaments. We embarked on this journey with courage, skill, passion, and flair. Through strategy, teamwork, and heartfelt dedication, we persevered with unwavering belief in ourselves. Our team's achievements have reignited self-awareness, confidence, faith, national pride, and unity within us. In the heart of Europe, Georgia was not just a guest but a recognized part of it, winning hearts across the continent. Our players, with their remarkable achievements, have inspired future generations in Georgia profoundly. These ordinary boys from regular families have shown that success comes from a leader’s mindset, constant development, tireless work, and resilience—becoming role models for all. The economic impact of promoting our country, boosting tourism, and developing football schools and clubs is yet to be fully realized. It will not only elevate our national team players to better leagues but also help our youth get noticed by European teams and attract attention from top-tier transfer markets. This opportunity was utilized more effectively than expected. Along with investing in mindset and future generations' mentality, we showcased what branding and marketing should be. We created a unique and memorable identity for the team and country, with incredible fan engagement activities on-site and through social media. And one more achievement: the people have embraced football, and the Team has embraced its people, becoming truly National. We emerged victorious from this unforgettable adventure from different perspectives. Huge thanks to our Crusaders! History was made, and the best is yet to come! #მევარსაქართველო #Euro2024Georgia #საქართველოევროპაზე #HistoryMakers #TeamSpirit #InspiringLeadership #YouthDevelopment #SportsImpact #NationalUnity

Here are today's #TFAArchive articles. Jonathan David scored the only goal of the game as Canada beat Peru 1-0 in Copa America — we explained why the Lille man was Jesse Marsch’s key player heading into the tournament: https://lnkd.in/gmyHe6Fz Meanwhile, Lautaro Martínez scored from the bench to help Argentina defeat Chile — our 2020 scout report went into detail on the Inter man when he first really rose to prominence in the eyes of European football watchers: https://lnkd.in/gyyHPCWc Kobbie Mainoo gave a good account of himself for England versus Slovenia — initially left out of the England squad for Euro 2024, we analysed his game through data alongside some other cast-offs at the time in March — should he feature again in the knockout stage? https://lnkd.in/g7FDk9yq We analysed where Portugal’s attack faltered vs Czechia and while they performed better versus Türkiye, the Turkish defence also leaves a lot to be desired. Will Portugal show out in attack versus Georgia today or can the Georgians get a result? Discover how the Czechs frustrated the Portuguese for lengthy periods: https://lnkd.in/gmHmnn4Z #football #analysis #scouting #tactics #soccer #tactical #recruitment #data #analytics #viz #Euro2024 #CopaAmerica2024

Here are today's #TFAArchive articles. Jonathan David scored the only goal of the game as Canada beat Peru 1-0 in Copa America — we explained why the Lille man was Jesse Marsch’s key player heading into the tournament: https://lnkd.in/gXvw5dfB Meanwhile, Lautaro Martínez scored from the bench to help Argentina defeat Chile — our 2020 scout report went into detail on the Inter man when he first really rose to prominence in the eyes of European football watchers: https://lnkd.in/gxrwRitK Kobbie Mainoo gave a good account of himself for England versus Slovenia — initially left out of the England squad for Euro 2024, we analysed his game through data alongside some other cast-offs at the time in March — should he feature again in the knockout stage? https://lnkd.in/gNaskMFa We analysed where Portugal’s attack faltered vs Czechia and while they performed better versus Türkiye, the Turkish defence also leaves a lot to be desired. Will Portugal show out in attack versus Georgia today or can the Georgians get a result? Discover how the Czechs frustrated the Portuguese for lengthy periods: https://lnkd.in/gfAqEyhH #football #analysis #scouting #tactics #soccer #tactical #recruitment #data #analytics #viz #Euro2024 #CopaAmerica2024

Why is Investment in African Football at an All-Time Low? A very interesting topic that I have been looking into only just recently and wondering how things are going to improve with seeming vast wealth and amounts inputed into European football what are CAF going to do about this and FIFA? Below is a link to my blog post about this. https://lnkd.in/ey3iv7Wf

Let's face it, this is a position that doesn't come up very often...in the last 130 years only nine people (nine white men, to be precise) have been the president of the International Olympic Committee. Who will be next as Thomas Bach ends his term in mid-2025? Jostling has already begun. Bach has declared it as a 'new era', with the mandate, 'change or be changed'. Like Bach, Sebastian Coe is a gold medal Olympian, he's also run a successful Olympic bid, was chairman of the highly successful London 2012 Olympic organising committee, and is now president of World Athletics, the backbone of the Olympic games. But, he is unlike Bach in other ways. Will that work to his advantage, or not, as he weighs up whether to run as a candidate for the most influential position in world sport? Does he represent the 'change' Bach speaks of? The Sports Ambassador podcast (for subscribers on Patreon) will take a look at each of the likely candidates over the coming months - starting this week with Seb Coe. If you don't have time for the podcast, here's a snapshot... #Olympics #presidency #ThomasBach #SebCoe #SebastianCoe #athletics #worldathletics #sports #diplomacy #politics #governance #ethics #Brisbane2032

👉 📑 New publication: European Sport Management Quarterly [ABS 3*, IF: 3.6, Q-1, Citescore: 7.8] ❓ ❓ ❓ While FIFA has already decided on the host countries for the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the Portuguese and Spanish football federations' change in strategy between 2022 and 2023—first including and then excluding Ukraine—could significantly influence the formation of public support. Has the Ukraine attachment been a determinant of bidding support? What has been its role? Can the level of trust and expected impacts influence public support? 📥 https://lnkd.in/dYvRfzTd 📌 Led by Tiago RIBEIRO, and together with Professor Victor Almeida and Dr. Samuel López Carril we tried to answer the above questions. The first 50 can enjoy free online copies of this article at: 📥 https://lnkd.in/d4Se2_ZZ College of Science and Engineering HBKU