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Birkbeck Sport Business Centre / Seminars and conferences / Previous Seminars 2007

Previous Seminars 2007

Wednesday 12th December 2007

"Stakeholder Relationships in the Football Industry: The Case of Charlton Athletic."

Geoff Walters, Lecturer in Management, Birkbeck College, University of London

Over the course of the last 20 years, a large number of professional football clubs have reported serious financial problems, resulting in increasing concerns over corporate governance. A key response has been to assert the dual economic and social role of a football club, maintaining the importance of an inclusive approach to stakeholder relations. Drawing on case study analysis undertaken at Charlton Athletic Football Club, this discussion will illustrate how the club seeks to manage relationships with two key stakeholder groups; the local community and the club's supporters.

Wednesday 5th December 2007

"Football and its Communities: where next?"

Dr Adam Brown. Substance - the social research company specialist in the areas of sport, youth inclusion and community regeneration.

This presentation is based a major three-year research project (2002-2005) for the English Football Foundation entitled Football and its Communities . The research is concerned with the relationship between English professional football clubs and 'communities' of various types, and the ways in which individual football clubs and the English football industry more generally can respond to new community development agendas. The presentation will also update this research with an overview of how things have moved on since the research was launched; how football has responded to new challenges; and the roles that supporters might play in developing football's communities

Wednesday 28th November 2007

"The Marketing of Argentinean Football: Research from the Field."

Nick Wilde, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Greenwich.

Nick Wilde has recently carried out market research into the attitude of football supporters towards football club merchandise in Argentina as part of a comparative study also examining fan attitudes in England and Spain. In this presentation he will present some preliminary findings from this research with particular emphasis on the Argentinean market. His research has been undertaken with the cooperation of Boca Juniors, Estudiantes de la Plata and Racing Football Club and is believed to be the first research of its kind ever undertaken in Argentina.

Wednesday 28th November 2007

"The launch of International Cases in the Business of Sport."

See below for details.

Wednesday 21st November 2007

"Corporate Governance in the Australian Football League"

Dr Julie Foreman, senior lecturer in business at Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia

This presentation will focus on corporate governance practices within the pre-eminent sporting competition in Australia, the Australian Football League. Although originally formed as amateur organisations the AFL clubs are now multi-million dollar enterprises run by professional sports administrators. During the 1980s mismanagement in the AFL was common, illustrating the need to improve standards of club governance. The key governance issue in many sports is to ensure continued financial stability whilst limiting the perception by supporters that they are being disenfranchised in favour of corporate sponsors and the media.

Wednesday 14th November 2007

"The Work of Professional Football: a labour of love - the realities of working life as a professional footballer."

Dr Martin Roderick, Durham University (and former professional footballer), author of The Work of Professional Football: a labour of love.

Drawing on his book The Work of Professional Football: a labour of love, in this presentation Martin Roderick presents the findings of a long-term study providing rare insights into the precarious career and ordinary working culture of professional footballers. Away from the celebrity-obsessed media gaze, the work of a professional footballer is rarely glamorous and for most players a career in football is insecure and short-lived. A former professional, Martin Roderick's familiarity with the world of football is the foundation for this research into a world that is typically closed to the public gaze and ignored by media reportage and academic research which prefers to focus on a small, unrepresentative group of elite players.

Wednesday 7th November 2007

"The Cultural & Political Influence of the Football Industry in a Globalised Economy?"

David Goldblatt, author of the best selling book: The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football.

The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football was published by Penguin in October 2006 to both critical and popular acclaim. In this lecture David Goldblatt will be discussing the making, researching and reception of the Ball is Round and reflecting on some of the core themes and arguments of the book - in particular the major global trends in the development of football and the cultural and political meaning of this rare and precious universal cultural resource.

Wednesday 31st October 2007

"Football in England: do we get the game we deserve?"

Dave Boyle, Deputy Chief Executive, Supporters Direct

In this lecture, Dave Boyle, drawing on his experience at Supporters Direct and the Football Supporters Federation (FSF), but here speaking in a personal capacity, will review the key developments in the economics and governance of football in the UK, with a particular focus on the English game. Profound changes in the way the game has been run and the pressures driving its development have started to reconfigure the relationship between sport and business. As a result of this, many have argued that the relationships between fans and clubs have changed, usually for the worse, and in some analyses, in a profound and long-term manner which will be difficult to undo. Dave will analyse these changes and what is driving them.

Read more about Manchester United

'Reconciliation through Football'

on: 19th June 2007 at 5.30pm for a 6pm start until 8pm

to be held at: Main Lecture Theatre, Clore School of Management, Birkbeck, University of London

Panel members will include:

Brendon Batson, Former Deputy Chief Executive, Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and Consultant to the Football Association (FA)
David Conn, writer and broadcaster
David Davies, former Chief Executive of the FA
Jack Jacobs, Birkbeck governor and
Professor John Sugden, University of Brighton

Drinks will be served before and afterwards.

Space is limited and early booking is advised.

Wednesday 16th May - 6pm

"Hosting the FIFA World Cup: Economic Boon or Winners' Curse"

Brian Sturgess, Publisher and Editor in Chief of Soccer Investor Limited

www.soccerinvestor.com

Countries often compete fiercely for the right to host the football FIFA World Cup finals, but apart from national prestige are there any concrete economic benefits to be gained from hosting sporting events such as the Olympics or the World Cup? The evidence is mixed. Many estimates suggest large gains in employment and a boost to economic growth result. Some economists conclude that the net economic impact arising from a boost to aggregate demand is often negligible or even negative. In this presentation Brian Sturges surveys a range of studies assessing the macroeconomic impact of hosting the finals.

Monday 30th April - 6pm

"Money, Politics and Violence: Is there any more space for passion in Italian football?"

Cristiano Lucarelli, Livorno and Italy striker, top-scorer in Serie A in the 2004-5 season, and his agent Carlo Pallavicino.

In February we were fortunate enough to have Dr John Foot from the Department of Italian at University College London as a speaker on the Birkbeck Sports Business Centre seminar series. John spoke on the subject of: "The Great Italian Football Scandal" or "Calcio: A History of Italian Football". The presentation drew on John's excellent book: Calcio: A History of Italian Football. Dr Foot has now organised another seminar event on the subject of Italian football, to take place at University College London on Monday 30th April at 6pm.

Football, Culture & Society Course

Stephen Parrott - The Faculty of Continuing Education

Thursday 3th May - Thursday 14th June

I wish to draw your attention to a six lecture course programme entitled Football, Culture & Society which is delivered through the Faculty of Continuing Education at Birkbeck. This course, as its name implies, has a much more sociological orientation than the Birkbeck Sports Business seminars. It is testimony to its quality and enduring appeal that this pioneering course has now been running for over fifteen years, originally being established to focus on the problem of football hooliganism which was very prevalent at the time of its foundation; hence its position within the criminology and sociology portfolio of course programmes in the Faculty of Continuing Education. However, the topics covered are now much broader. Over the years several hundred people have attended. A particularly strong element of the programme is the diverse background of the students who enrol; each presentation is inevitably followed by a lively debate.

Wednesday 25th April - 6pm

"Clubs or Franchises: The US Takeover of English Football Clubs"

David Conn, Writer and Guardian Columnist

First the Glazers bought Manchester United, and then Randy Lerner took over Aston Villa. Tom Hicks and George Gillett have bought Liverpool for £174.1m. Now Stan Kroenke has bought 11% of Arsenal and US investors are said to be looking at Manchester City, Newcastle United and other top clubs. Why are these clubs being sold on the threshold of the richest ever time for English football? What is motivating the new US - and Icelandic - owners to buy the clubs? In this lecture David Conn talks about the deals, the money, the motivations and the implications of the takeovers, mostly US, of the clubs at the top level of English football.

Read more about Clubs or Franchises

Wednesday 28th March - 6pm

"Effective Management of a Football League Football Club: The Case of Leyton Orient"

Matthew Porter, Chief Executive, Leyton Orient Football Club

In this presentation the Chief Executive of Leyton Orient Football Club, Matthew Porter, will present an overview of the commercial and sporting challenges facing a Football League club, and will outline some of the strategies the club has deployed to tackle these same challenges. In particular he will outline how Orient's renowned youth and community scheme fits within wider commercial strategy.

Wednesday 28th February- 6pm

"'The Great Italian Football Scandal' or 'Calcio: A History of Italian Football'"

Dr John Foot, Reader in Modern Italian History, Department of Italian, University College London & author of Calcio: A History of Italian Football

Drawing on Calcio, his best-selling book on the place of Italian football in the national life and psyche, Dr Foot presents an overview of the story of Italian football from its origins in the 1890s to the present day; through a history of great players and teams, of style, passion and success, but also of violence, cynicism, catenaccio tactics and corruption. He focuses his analysis on the role of the referee and the most recent scandals in Italian football in the 2005/2006 season.

Wednesday 21st February- 6pm

"Abuse, Intimidation and Violence as Aspects of Managerial Control in Professional Soccer in Britain and Ireland"

Seamus Kelly, Centre for Sports Studies at University College Dublin & Dr Ivan Waddington, Centre for Research into Sport & Society, University of Leicester

The research reported in this paper focuses on the ways in which managers maintain control over players in professional soccer clubs. More specifically this paper focuses on the ways in which disciplinary codes are established by managers and the sanctions that are imposed on players for breaches of club discipline. The paper highlights the arbitrary character of these codes and the central part played by intimidation and abuse, both verbal and physical, as aspects of managerial control within clubs.

Wednesday 31st January - 6pm

'A Critical Analysis of Governance and Stakeholder Power in Professional Cycling'

Stephen Morrow and Catharine Idle, Department of Sports Studies, University of Stirling

In 2005 the UCI (International Cycling Union) Pro Tour was established. Based on models common in American professional sports, it created a super league of cycling. Its creation has been controversial with widespread evidence of stakeholder conflict focusing on issues of control, governance and finance. Drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, complemented by a review of UCI minutes and records, this research evaluates changes in the structure and operation of professional cycling.

Wednesday 24th January - 6pm

'Employer-Trade Union Collective Bargaining in Australian Cricket: A Recipe for Stability?'

Paul Kitchin, Lecturer in Sport Management, London Metropolitan University

In this presentation Paul Kitchin presents an analysis of the impact of the development of player trade unions on Australian professional cricket with particular emphasis on how unions have influenced the development of the 'Memorandum of Understanding' - the term used by Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) for their collective bargaining agreement. In his presentation Paul will suggest that one of the reasons for the success of Australian cricket over the past 8-9 years has been the objective, stable employment conditions the Memorandum of Understanding has achieved.

Wednesday 17th January - 6pm

'The Forgotten Game: Local governance & future challenges for 'grass-roots' football in England'

Jim Lusted, Department of Sociology, University of Leicester

Football in Britain appears to be under ever-increasing scrutiny and investigation; from government, the mass media, fan organisations and academia. The overwhelming majority of this interest is in the professional game. There remains negligible coverage of the local 'grass-roots' form of the game. This is surprising, given the sustained popularity of the local game. This presentation provides an introduction to some of the key issues found in local football governance today. It is informed by PhD research undertaken in collaboration with The FA, which is tracing the implementation of FA equity policy into the local game in England.