Governance Models Across Football Leagues and Clubs

Abstract:

Building on the first CIES governance study about national associations and leagues, this second FIFA-mandated research analyses the league-club relationship as well as internal club governance models. The authors draw on core areas of club licensing as a basis for an exploratory global comparative analysis of a sample of eighteen leagues and onehundred and forty-one clubs spanning all six confederations.

Covered here are topics including ownership requirements, political representation and decision-making, financial rights and obligations, players’ status, infrastructure, promotion/relegation and the disciplinary process. The authors outline the limits of where league responsibilities end and club ones begin. At the club level, the study explores the questions of legal form, political representation and management, administrative structure and the role of supporters and links with the community.

The authors highlight the variety of leagueclub relationships and internal club governance models across the globe. In general, clubs have a strong voice in the management and governance of their leagues. However, the club-league relationships are far from uniform around the world and cannot be categorized as simply either ‘horizontal’ or ‘vertical’. Clubs themselves have diverse internal governance structures, even if there are some common practices.

This book serves as a blueprint for future global benchmarking across leagues and clubs. The research will be a valuable resource for professional football stakeholders as well as the academic field.

Authors:

Camille Boillat, a geographer by training, is a scientific collaborator at the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES), while Kevin Tallec Marston, who earned his PhD in history, works as a research fellow, CIES Academic projects manager and teaches on the FIFA Master programme.