Birkbeck Sport Business Centre

The Future Development of the Paralympic Games

The Future Development of the Paralympic Games: From Stoke Mandeville (1948) to London (2012) and Beyond

Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London)
Medawar Building,
Malet Place (off Torrington Place),
London WC1

Wednesday 8th February 2012 at 6pm

Given by: Jose Gigante, Paralympic Games Coordinator with the International Paralympic Committee

Synopsis

In this presentation Jose Gigante presents an overview of the work of the world Paralympic Movement as we approach the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. He explains the factors that have informed its successful development to date, the challenges it faces, and outlines the Movement’s plans for the future organisation and expansion of Paralympic sport.

By way of further background; turning disabilities into abilities in over 6 decades, the Paralympic Movement has challenged itself and the perception of the public. Never before has it been so all encompassing creating change inside and outside of sport. From humble beginnings in 1944 in the UK’s Stoke Mandeville hospital through Dr Ludwig Guttman’s work with patients with spinal cord injuries, and then through the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, the Paralympic Movement has grown to develop elite competitions for athletes with different types of disability groups in 26 sports both in Summer and Winter: increasing the number of athletes year by year; advancing to the next level of organisation; setting new standards and new goals with each Paralympic Games; following the clear vision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC); striving to breakdown walls of prejudice and discrimination; changing perceptions by showcasing courage and determination; and seeking to motivate and educate through sport. Today the Paralympic Games are top and higher level competitions selling out venues and fascinating the public with the best possible performances.

The International Paralympic Committee was founded in 1989 and it is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The vision of the future was detailed in the Strategic Plan 2011-2014 outlining the focus and priorities of the International Paralympic Committee for the following four years. This Strategic Plan aims to achieve the next step and ensure a sustainable development for the Paralympic Movement.

Reading

Biographies

Jose Gigante

Jose joined the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 2010 and works as Paralympic Games Coordinator for the Paralympic Games Department. This IPC department works in close collaboration with the London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Organising Committees in planning, coordination, knowledge transfer and support, among other activities. Jose holds a Sport Sciences & Physical Education degree from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid; and is also a former student of Birkbeck College, University of London, where he gained a Masters in International Business (with a sub-specialism in sport management). Prior to working for the IPC, Jose worked as a Management Consultant for SMEs within the Sports Industry, and was a Research Fellow at IESE Business School, Madrid, Spain, working on sport industry projects.

Contact Details

Jose Gigante - jose.gigante@paralympic.org

For further details on this seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Call for Abstracts 2012 ESEA/IASE

Call for Abstracts

2012 ESEA/IASE Conference - Sep 6-7

European Sport Economics Association (ESEA) / International Association of Sports Economists

4th European Conference in Sport Economics/XIV IASE Conference

Please be invited to submit a paper to the 4th European Conference in Sport Economics in London, UK. This conference will be again a joint conference with the International Association of Sports Economists (IASE). The conference will be held on September 6th - 7th at the University of London (Birkbeck College). The deadline for submissions is April 15th, 2012.

The conference is open to all areas of sports economics. The scientific committee invites individuals to submit a variety of abstract types. Submissions will begin to be accepted on April 2nd, 2012. Completed research or research in progress is acceptable.

Call for Abstracts Olympic Games Sport Business Symposium

Call for Abstracts

5th International Sport Business Symposium - London
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Birkbeck College, London

The Olympic Games is the most prestigious sport event in the world which provides extraordinary sporting, social, cultural and environmental opportunities for the host city, region and country. This host city must make a colossal effort to not only fulfill all requirements to stage the Games, but also maximize the economic, social, environmental, political, and structural benefits that an Olympic Games can offer.

This “call for abstracts” is directed to researchers of all disciplines.

Rugby League and the Impact of Introducing a Licensing System to the Sport:

Rugby League and the Impact of Introducing a Licensing System to the Sport: What can English Football Learn?

Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London)
Medawar Building,
Malet Place (off Torrington Place),
London WC1

(For directions click here)

Thursday 24th November 2011 at 6pm

Given by: Blake Solly (RFL) and Matthew Segal (RFL and LMU)

Synopsis

Since its breakaway from the Rugby Football Union in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union, the sport of Rugby League has been famous for its innovative approach to sport. It was the first football code to allow the use of substitutes in 1964, the first major British sport to allow shirt sponsorship in 1974, and also the first major British sport to introduce video referees and technology in 1996. Over the years innovation has been synonymous with Rugby League. However, following the creation of The Super League in 1996, the face of the sport has dramatically changed, moving from the winter to the summer season, the introduction of a salary cap, and most recently adopting a licensing system in 2009, removing both traditional promotion and relegation to the competition. The licensing system is now entering into its second period, and while it has been viewed as a success by many of the game’s stakeholders, it remains a hotly debated and much discussed topic both within Rugby League and the wider sporting world.

In light of the recent recommendation from the Select Committee inquiry into the governance of English football, which recommended that English football should too adopt a licensing system, this presentation will look to evaluate the reasoning behind the introduction of licensing in Rugby League and the impact it has had on the sport thus far. The presenters will conclude by making some observations as to how a licensing system might be successfully applied in English football.

Podcast

You can listen to Blake Solly and Matthew Segal give an overview of the licensing system in the Super League in November 2011 here.

Reading

Biographies

Blake Solly

Blake is a qualified solicitor, having been admitted to practice in Australia in 2000 and England Wales in 2005. After working in the Sport and Regulatory team with Berrymans Lace Mawer in Leeds, Blake joined the RFL in February 2009 as Compliance Manager. Since January 2010 he has also been the RFL’s Head of Licensing, with responsibility for all aspects of the Super League licensing strategy and process.

Matthew Segal

Matthew is currently undertaking a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Leeds Metropolitan University and the Rugby Football League. This partnership is aiming to improve the governance of Rugby League’s member clubs. Matthew holds a Political Science degree from Birmingham University and is also a former student of Birkbeck College, where he gained a Masters in Sports Management and the Business of Football. Prior to working for the RFL, Matthew worked within the Financial Regulation team at the Football Association

Contact Details

Blake Solly - blake.solly@rfl.uk.com
Matthew Segal - matthew.segal@rfl.uk.com

For further details on this seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub

Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London)
Medawar Building,
Malet Place (off Torrington Place),
London WC1

Thursday 17th November 2011 at 6pm

This event is free to public.

(For directions click here)

Given by: Alex Fynn

To mark the occasion of the launch of the highly acclaimed Arsènal: the Making of a Modern Superclub (September 2011) (co-authored with Kevin Whitcher), the updated paperback edition of the best-selling book first published in October 2009, Alex Fynn will present an assessment of the current health of the Premier League, and of one of its most successful members, Arsenal Football Club, just as its totemic manager, Arsène Wenger, enters his 16th year as the manager of the club.

It is now twenty years since the Premier League was established. In that time the league has developed to become the world’s richest and most popular national domestic league in terms of the revenue it generates and the broadcasting audience it commands internationally. The Premier League would appear to have been very good for its member clubs during its existence. But what about the rest of English football, for whom many commentators would claim the benefits have been less obvious? Alex will present a current health check for the Premier League, and then assess what this means for its future and that of English football in the current turbulent economic times.

Alex will then go onto assess the role of Arsenal as a beneficiary of the Premier League, and will pose a provocative question; has Arsenal’s experience in the Premier League been a case of missed opportunity? Is it the case, even with all the club’s built-in advantages – huge turnover, gifted manager, successful youth policy – that the wider structural environment of the Premier League means that Arsenal will inevitably struggle to emulate past glories?

Throughout Alex will draw on extensive interview material from Arsènal: the Making of a Modern Superclub to illustrate why even a club like Arsenal, that is widely acclaimed for the quality of its management leadership, must constantly be re-inventing itself in order to continue to compete in one of the world’s greatest sporting competitions.

Podcast

You can listen to Alex Fynn give an overview of his assessment of the state of the Premier League and Arsenal Football Club in November 2011 here.

Reading

Fynn, A. & Whitcher, K. (September, 2011). Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub. London: Vision Sports Publishing. 3rd edition.
Fynn, A. & Guest, L. (1994). Out of Time: Why Football Isn’t Working. London: Simon & Schuster.
Conn, D. (2004). The Beautiful Game? Searching for the Soul of Football Yellow Jersey Press

Biography

Alex Fynn is a well-known consultant to the football industry who has also written extensively on the subject of the football business. His clients have included Arsenal, Celtic, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur football teams, as well as the Football League and the Football Association. Through his work he has been influential in the formation of both the Premier League and the European Champions League. Previously Alex was a director of the well-known advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, latterly as vice-chairman. Throughout his career Alex has acted as an advisor on the negotiation of the sale of TV broadcasting rights for clients such as the Football League and the FA, the latter which led to the award of the first BSkyB television contract. He has advised a number of clubs and federations on media and marketing; including the sale of broadcasting rights by the Polish FA, Galatasaray of Turkey and most recently by Celtic, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham and West Ham.

Contact Details

Twitter: Follow Alex @AlexFynn1

Special Offer

The brand new edition of Alex’s book, “Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub”, can be yours for just £6.99 – including UK P&P (RRP is £8.99.)

To take advantage of this offer you need to order the book from the publisher’s website at www.visionsp.co.uk and type the promotion code Fynn into the Promotion Code box on the Shopping Basket & Checkout page.

For further details on this seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Has Mrs Murphy changed the face of Football Broadcasting?

Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London)
Medawar Building,
Malet Place (off Torrington Place),
London WC1
Thursday 10th November 2011 at 6pm

(For directions click here)

Given by: Daniel Geey, Associate in Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP's Competition and EU Regulatory Law Group.

Background

Mrs Murphy is a pub owner who used decoder cards imported from Greece to show Premier League (PL) games. QC Leisure is a stockist and supplier of foreign decoders to pubs and the general public in the UK. Mrs Murphy was prosecuted by Media Protection Services Limited for the use of an “illicit” Greek decoder card. QC Leisure were sued for copyright infringement by the PL. In their defences Mrs Murphy and QC Leisure both raised important questions about the relationship between the EU principles of free movement of goods and services and highly lucrative European broadcasting rights. This led to a series of questions being referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) by the English courts.

Mrs Murphy and QC Leisure argue that the way in which the PL enters into its contracts with various broadcasters throughout the EU, among other things, infringes EU principles of free movement of goods and services and EU competition law. They argue that the PL’s contractual provisions restrict the ability of PL rights holding broadcasters to screen live pictures outside their own designated territory. They also contend that this restricts the capacity of Mrs Murphy or QC Leisure to either view, or purchase decoders to view, live PL matches from any source other than the exclusive national PL rights holding broadcaster (i.e. Sky and ESPN can only broadcast their exclusive pictures in their allotted UK territory). Such restrictions, they say, are incompatible with EU principles of free movement and EU competition law.

The PL, in response, relies on a range of provisions in EU copyright and broadcasting law as well as CJEU precedent going back to the 1970s which supports, or appears to support, the notion of exclusive licensing in the context of broadcasting rights.

CJEU Decision

Only a few weeks ago, the CJEU ruling was published in relation to the long-running pub broadcasting cases. In what will undoubtedly come as a blow to the PL the CJEU found that restrictions on the import, use and sale of foreign decoder cards giving access to PL matches were contrary to the EU rules on freedom to provide services and competition.

In its ruling the CJEU holds that national law which prohibits the import, use or sale of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the fundamental EU freedom to provide services. This therefore cannot be justified by the objective either of protecting intellectual property rights or of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums. The CJEU did however make reference to a number of copyright issues. One issue in particular would require a publican to receive consent from a rights holder (i.e. the PL) to broadcast PL branded logos and graphics.

The Impact

The biggest impact of the ruling will undoubtedly be on the PL itself and its licensees such as BSkyB. The PL will not be able to prevent the free circulation across borders of decoder cards giving access to PL matches. This could lead to pan-EU licensing of the rights. The PL will however be able to maintain a distinction between commercial and domestic users. This may well mean that that those publicans who obtained Greek decoder cards intended for domestic use may be found liable for copyright infringement when the case returns to the national court.

Podcast

You can listen to Daniel Geey give a short overview of the CJEU decision in the Karen Murphy case here.

Reading

Biography

Daniel is an associate in Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP's Competition and EU Regulatory Law Group.

Daniel advises clients in the football industry. He advises on Premier League, Football League and UEFA rule compliance and Premier League broadcasting issues. Such guidance has included advice on the Fit and Proper Person Test, ownership requirements, parachute payments and the football creditors rule, disclosure obligations under the relevant football authority's rules, conflicts of interest and third party player ownership contracts. Daniel has also provided guidance on UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations and how the rules may affect the future financial planning of football clubs. He has also given briefings and spoken at workshops, universities and conferences on the interplay between Competition Law, Football and Broadcasting.

Contact Details

Daniel also has a website aptly named www.DanielGeey.com where all of his football law related articles can be accessed.

Email Daniel at daniel.geey@ffw.com
Follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/footballlaw
Listen to his podcasts on http://www.ffw.com/people/search-all/g/daniel-geey.aspx

For further details on this seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Using the Iconic Status of Charlton Athletic to Combat Knife Crime

Using the Iconic Status of Charlton Athletic to Combat Knife Crime and Street Violence in South London and Kent

Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London)
Medawar Building,
Malet Place (off Torrington Place),
London WC1
Thursday 27th October 2011 at 6pm
(For directions click here)

Speakers: Nick Davill, Sally Knox, Steve Sutherland

Synopsis

In this seminar three representatives from the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) explain how the iconic status of a football club, Charlton Athletic, can be utilised to address a pressing social problem - knife crime and street violence - which has wreaked untold tragedy and devastation on so many families and communities across London in recent years, through the CACT Street Violence Ruins Lives (SVRL) campaign and the CACT Crime Reduction Programme. In particular Birkbeck would like to welcome as part of the CACT speaker team, Mrs Sally Knox, mother of actor Rob Knox who was tragically stabbed to death in Sidcup, South London in 2008. Sally, and Rob’s father Colin, founded the Rob Knox Foundation in honour of their son Rob, and through the Foundation have since worked closely with CACT as tireless and courageous campaigners to educate young people about the scourge of knife crime.

Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT)

Charlton Athletic Football Club is widely acknowledged within the football industry as being amongst the leading pioneer clubs in English football which have used the power of football, in Charlton’s case through the associated but independent charitable organisation the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT), to work in partnership with local communities to empower individuals to improve their lives and their environment. The community programme at Charlton Athletic Football Club was established in 1992, when Charlton returned to their South-East London home at the Valley. The Charlton Athletic Community Trust became a separate institution in 2003. Affectionately known as CACT, it is famed for its work in both its local communities as well as in South Africa. The community programme started with just one member of staff, a bag of footballs and a telephone and has now grown into an organisation that employs 37 full time staff and 139 casual coaches and engages with approximately 7,500 young people on a weekly basis.

CACTs ground-breaking and innovative programmes are delivered through a regular presence in schools, and working with disadvantaged or socially excluded groups in society, through crime reduction initiatives and community based football coaching sessions. The types of programmes delivered by CACT fit under five key aims; raising education achievement, creating pathways to employment, building healthier lifestyles, bringing communities together and reducing crime.

The Street Violence Ruins Lives (SVRL) Campaign

In recent times knife-related violence has become a scourge across London. The problem was thrown into sharp relief in 2008 when the young actor Rob Knox was tragically stabbed to death in Sidcup. Rob’s murder became the catalyst for the CACT’s Street Violence Ruins Lives (SVRL) campaign. Rob’s mother Sally became a member of the campaign’s committee, through which she has worked tirelessly with CACT to raise awareness of the futility of knife crime and the devastation it leaves in its wake for the far too many families and communities affected.

The Street Violence Ruins Lives (SVRL) campaign raised awareness of the serious issue of weapons related violence amongst young people through the experiences of the Knox family and the tragic loss of their son Rob. The SVRL programme, which was launched live on Sky Sports at the match versus Reading in 2008, saw the innovation of the SVRL logo being worn on the sleeves of the Charlton players. A year later saw the unprecedented situation where both Club sponsors agreed to Charlton and Millwall wearing the SVRL logo on the fronts of the players’ shirts at the match between the two sides played at The Valley.

CACT Crime Reduction Programme

The CACT Crime Reduction Programme was born from this campaign and it saw the appointment of the Country’s very first Crime Reduction Manager. Working across the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley, both with the perpetrators and also the victims of crime, most specifically youth crime. The Crime Reduction Manager and his support Officer are both based 2 days per week at Belvedere Police Station. The Crime Reduction Manager is a former police officer with 30 years service, 15 of which were specialised in community and youth policing.

The programme works at three levels; through awareness programmes within schools and on estates based provision - with young people identified as being involved or at risk of becoming involved in crime, violence and radicalisation - and specialist work with repeat offenders who are at risk of custodial sentences or who have received a sentence but are released on licence. ACT are a lead partner within The U Turn Project. The U Turn 1 Project works with 16 of the most ' at risk' young people in Bexley and our Crime Reduction Programme continues to engage, support and challenge the young people selected to attend. In Bexley the programme also includes a distinct project of support with the victims of anti social behaviour and also a targeted programme with young people at risk of radicalisation into extreme behaviour. This programme is the first one of its kind delivered by a football club community programme in the country, and may be adopted as a model of best practice by other clubs.

Reading

Biographies

NICK DARVILL

Crime Reduction Manager

In September 2010 Nick Darvill was appointed as The Crime Reduction Manager at Charlton Athletic Community Trust, he was formally a Police Officer with the Metropolitan Police Service with a career spanning 32 years.

Prior to his departure from The Police Service he was a member of the award winning Kickz Management Team where his specialist skills in dealing with young people at risk were used to enhance the delivery of this football based diversionary project. Nick is also a holder of the UEFA 'A' Coaching Licence and a member of the coaching staff at Charlton Athletic Youth Academy.

His role at Charlton Athletic Community Trust is the first of its kind in The Premiership and Football League and explores new territory in terms of how professional football clubs engage with some of the hardest to reach young people. The Crime Reduction Programme engages young people at an early intervention stage as well as young adults in a custodial setting, encompassing the entire spectrum of the criminal justice system.

SALLY KNOX

Sally and Colin Knox set up the Rob Knox Foundation in 2008 following the tragic death of their son Rob, who was murdered in Sidcup, Kent. Rob Knox was a talented actor and he portrayed Marcus Belby in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Foundation aims to raise money that will be used to help campaign against street violence and knife and gun crime.

In August 2008 the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) also launched a new initiative, known as the Street Violence Ruins Lives (SVRL) campaign, to tackle street violence on the estates of Greenwich, Bexley and Kent, and has been working closely with the Rob Knox Foundation ever since. CACT’S partnership with the Rob Knox Foundation has led to Sally Knox joining CACT’s ranks where she delivers sessions in schools for the Knife Possession Prevention Programme. Sally helps to educate youngsters against gangs and knife crime and steer their attention towards other activities. She speaks to young people in schools, as well as identified knife carriers, and details how she has grown from her own experiences.

Sally Knox reflected on her new role, ‘I am so pleased to be working with the Charlton Athletic Community Trust life coaching team. The work they do with young people is so impactful and to work alongside the team in such effective projects is an honour’.

Nick Darvill, CACT’s Crime Reduction Manager, said, ‘It was a natural progression of our work to invite Sally to join The Trust, we have been working closely together since Rob's murder and she will add immense value to our programme. Her live testimony to young people carries great impact - it stops young people in their tracks when they listen to Sally. We are helping young offenders make better decisions on the streets, think about their actions and the consequences of carrying a knife’.

STEVE SUTHERLAND

Trust Ambassador

After a 15 year career with the Midland Bank, Steve spent three years as Charlton Athletic FC’s Commercial Manager in the late 1980’s – when the club was based at Selhurst Park. After Charlton, Steve spent eight years as the Marketing Executive of The Football League and a further season as Commercial Director and Joint Chief Executive of Swindon Town Football Club. He returned to Charlton Athletic in January 2000 as Assistant to the CEO with responsibility for business development. Steve was appointed Commercial Director in October 2006.

During his tenure as Commercial Director of Charlton Athletic FC Steve was widely acknowledged as being one the key architects of possibly the most innovative CSR programme of any English football club; notably in helping to establish the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) on the back of the Club’s highly successful ‘Football in the Community’ Programme.

Having left Charlton Athletic in May 2009 to develop a business as a freelance sports marketing consultant; Steve retains his links with Charlton through his brokerage of the Club’s shirt sponsorship deal with the Kent Reliance Building Society and via his role as an Ambassador of the Charlton Athletic Community Trust. Steve is Chairman of CACT’S Women’s and Girls’ Football Committee and Chairman and co-founder of CACT’s ground-breaking Street Violence Ruins Lives Committee.

Charlton Athletic has a proud history of developing projects that can deliver positive messages, that are sustainable, and that demonstrate real and positive social impact whilst assisting the club to build its fan base. Steve is firm in his belief that football clubs have a duty to try to make a meaningful contribution to the community from which they draw their support

Apart from Charlton Athletic and Charlton Athletic Community Trust, Steve’s clients now include The London Borough of Greenwich and The British Amateur Boxing Association. Steve is a member of the Commercial Strategy Group for Demelza Children’s Hospice, he is a Governor of Conway Primary School in Plumstead and he is a Trustee of Greenwich Council’s ‘Starting Blocks’ Charity which financially supports talented young Greenwich- based athletes.

Contact Details

For further details on this seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

The Transformation of Football: A Case of Europeanisation?

Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London)
Medawar Building,
Malet Place (off Torrington Place),
London WC1

Thursday 20th October 2011 at 6pm

(For directions click here)

Given by: Borja García (Loughborough University), Wyn Grant (Warwick University)

Synopsis

This seminar will present some of the results of a 4 year international collaborative project on the transformation of national football structures. Coinciding with the publication of the book by Manchester University Press, Borja Garcia and Wyn Grant, two of the editors of this collective volume will present a summary of the project as a whole. They will then continue to explain in more detail two of the 10 case studies contained in the book: Spain and England. Finally the seminar will discuss some wider conclusions on the Europeanisation of football.

This work examines the transformation of European football in recent years by focusing on the impact of Europe and the EU on the way that the game has evolved in a broad cross section of European states. It brings together two significant research agendas: first, that on the governance of sport in Europe/the EU; second, that within European integration studies on Europeanisation (most commonly understood at the process of change in the domestic arena resulting from European integration). The concept of Europeanisation is used to shape the individual country case studies, but other transformational factors such as globalisation are also assessed.

An introductory section sets the context within which the transformation of European football has occurred, with particular emphasis on the role of UEFA and EU institutions. Ten country studies follow, including the five leading football nations in Europe, a recent accession state and a country which is outside the EU. What emerges is the shaping influence of Europeanisation but also the extent to which it is countered and modified by national culture and structures. Also noticeable is the sense of decline amongst some of the footballing nations on the continent. Issues analysed throughout the book include broadcasting rights, transfer and nationality regimes, the development of transnational club forums and European-level club competitions. The transformation of European football will be of interest especially to students of European politics and sports studies, as well as more generally to social scientists interested in sports. It also represents a substantial contribution to the debate on Europeanisation.

Reading

Biographies

Dr. Borja García is Lecturer in Sport Management and Policy in the Institute of Sport and Leisure Policy at Loughborough University, UK. He gained his PhD (Loughborough) with a thesis investigating the impact of EU policies on the governance of football in Europe and has an interest in the development of the EU sports policy and the study of UEFA. Dr. García has researched extensively the impact of EU decisions in the governance of football since the Bosman ruling and has published articles in peer reviewed journals such as the Journal of Contemporary European Research. As result of his research, Borja has advised informally Members of the European Parliament, the English FA or UEFA in issues related to the EU sports policy.
Wyn Grant is Professor of Politics at the University of Warwick and co-editor of the website www.footballeconomy.com. He has worked on comparative public policy, particularly in the areas of agricultural and environmental policy, but has extended that interest to sports policy more recently, publishing in British Politics on the political economy of football.

Contact Details

Dr Borja Garcia - B.Garcia-Garcia@lboro.ac.uk

For further details on this seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Good Governance in Sport: The Road to Sporting Success

On Tuesday 20th September Birkbeck hosted an event with the Sport and Recreation Alliance at which the latest report on governance issues at boards of National Governing Bodies of Sport was launched. There were a number of speakers at the event including Timothy Dutton QC, Dr Geoff Walters of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, Joy Tottman from the Sport and Recreation Alliance, and Warren Deutrom of Cricket Ireland. All presentations were filmed and can be viewed here. A copy of the 2011 report is also available to download here.

Timothy Dutton QC - Recognising signs of Good Governance

Dr Geoff Walters, Birkbeck Sport Business Centre - The Role of the Board in National Governing Bodies of Sport

Joy Tottman, Sport and Recreation Alliance - Voluntary Code Update

Warren Deutrom, CEO, Cricket Ireland - €250k to €2.5m Cricket Ireland - Returns to Good Governance

The NFL�s Rooney Rule � A project to emulate in English football?

The NFL’s Rooney Rule – A project to emulate in English football?

A Debate

Venue: Lankaster Lecture Theatre (University College London), Medawar Building, Malet Place (off Torrington Place), London WC1, (For directions click here)
Date: Thursday 13th October 2011 at 6pm

Given by: KickItOut, football’s equality and inclusion campaign, and the Professional Footallers Association (PFA)

Synopsis

The Rooney Rule is a code of conduct initiated by America’s NFL American football league which ensures that there is always at least one black and ethnic minority candidate on the interview panel for head coach positions in the NFL. The Rooney Rule is named after Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who persuaded other NFL clubs to expand their interviewing process in 2003, offering at least a chance for black candidates to present their credentials. The issue of the lack of black head coaches in the NFL had previously been highlighted in a research report. The introduction of the Rooney Rule is widely acknowledged to have led to dramatic expansion in the number of black head coaches in the NFL (Winter, 2011).

A debate has now been started in English football regarding whether the Rooney Rule code of conduct should be adopted in the Premier and Football leagues following the visit to Britain in early September of US lawyer Cyrus Mehri, a leader proponent of the initiative. Mr Mehri addressed the Football Association, Premier League, Football League and League Managers Association during his stay, emphasising the benefits which can be reaped from introducing such a policy. Out of 92 managers at Premier League and Football League clubs, only Chris Powell at Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City’s Chris Hughton are black, making up just 2%. In comparison, 25% of the English game’s 4,500 professional players are from ethnic minorities (KickItOut.org, 12th September, 2011).

KickItOut is football's equality and inclusion campaign. To mark the launch of KickItOut’s One Game, One Community weeks of action campaign (KickItoOut, 2011), a panel of special guests will debate the pros and cons of introducing the Rooney Rule into English football, and what the game can do more widely to increase the number of black managers at professional level.

KickItOut

The brand name of the campaign - Let's Kick Racism Out of Football - was established in 1993 and Kick It Out established as a body in 1997. Kick It Out works throughout the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and work for positive change.

The campaign is supported and funded by the game's governing bodies, including founding body the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the Premier League and The Football Association.

Reading

fsf.org.uk (7th December, 2011).Interview: Kick It Out's Earl Barrett. fsf.org.uk
KickItOut.org (2011). “2011 One Game, One Community weeks of action on the horizon”. KickItOut.org. Downloaded on the 27th September 2011
KickItOut.org (12th September, 2011). “English football equivalent of Rooney Rule causes debate”. KickItOut.org. Downloaded on the 27th September 2011
Winter, H. (5th September, 2011). “Football’s dysfunctional family must smash black managers’ glass ceiling”. The Daily Telegraph. Downloaded on the 27th September 2011

Panel Speakers

Rodney Hinds – Sports editor, The Voice newspaper
Dr Colin King – Colin King is the founder of the Black and Asian Coaches Association, a grass roots organisation aimed at redressing the lack of black managers across all levels of the game by working at community and governing body level.
Danny Lynch - Media & Communcations Officer at Kick It Out.
Earl Barrett - ex-Everton and Aston Villa player, youth coach at Stoke City and Oldham Athletic.

Contact Details

Kick – It – Out

Danny Lynch - 020 7 253 0162 / danny@KickItOut.org

Seminar series

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Football Governance Debate

The Future of the Governance of English Football: where now after the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee Enquiry Report into the Governance of English Football?

We would like to invite you to a debate on Football Governance which will take place on Thursday 15 September 2011, at One Drummond Gate, Victoria, London from 9.30-11.30am.

Chaired by Sean Hamil from the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, the panel will include: Damian Collins (MP), member of the recent House of Commons cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee enquiry into the Governance of Football in England; Erik Samuelson, CEO of AFC Wimbledon, the supporter-owned club who have just been promoted into the Football League; and Danny Davis, of leading law firm Mishcon de Reya, who have recently produced a research report examining key issues in football governance - the Kick-Off Review in particular examines the Fit & Proper Persons Test and the Financial Fair Play proposals. The panel will discuss the findings of the Committee’s final report and their likely implications.

Click here for details of the House of Commons Report, and of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre’s submission of evidence.

The following key questions will be addressed in the debate. How will the new proposed new Board structure for the Football Association improve governance? How will the proposed new club licensing system work? How will the proposed new ‘Fit and Proper Test’ be applied? How might approaches to grassroots football and youth development be enhanced?

The chairman will facilitate the hour-long panel discussion which will be followed by a question and answer session.

The event is free but places are limited and by invitation only, so please confirm your attendance as soon as possible by contacting Bob Reid at b.reid@bbk.ac.uk

Venue: Flourish Suite, One Drummond Gate, Victoria, London SW1V 2QQ
Nearest Tube station: Pimlico, Victoria

Time:

9.00am - Registrations and buffet breakfast
9.30am - Discussion starts
10.15am - Q&A
11.30am - Close

Post - Event Media Coverage.

BSBC Evidence quoted extensively in House of Commons Culture, Media & Sport Committee Enquiry into the Governance of English Football

In the Spring of 2011 the House of Commons Culture, Media & Sport Committee conducted an enquiry into the governance of the English football industry.

Find out more

Birkbeck Sport Business Centre: A lesson in the game

The Birkbeck Sport Business Centre is a specialist sports business research and consultancy centre based in the Management Department at Birkbeck, University of London that offers a range of sport management programmes. In the latest Quick-Fire Questions, SportsPro catches up with Birkbeck Sport Business Centre's Dr Geoff Walters and Sean Hamil.

Read the full article.

Competitive Balance and Concentration Ratios in Economic Terms in Liga BBVA

The Financial Situation of Spanish Football / Competitive Balance and Concentration Ratios in Economic Terms in Liga BBVA

B19 Lecture Room
Main Building, Birkbeck College
Torrington Square
London WC1E 7HX
(For directions please see the pdf map).

Wednesday 18th May 2011 at 6pm

Given by: Dr Ángel Barajas, University of Vigo, Observatorio Económico del Deporte.

Synopsis

In this presentation the current financial situation of Spanish professional football is outlined, with a particular focus on the relationships between the size of market, team payrolls and team performance. It is demonstrated that the financial problems are created by the financial "arms race" that Spanish clubs are engaged in to hire the most talented players in order to achieve the best possible sporting outcome. Under the criteria for the new Spanish law for companies in financial distress it is implied that nine clubs in La Liga are technically insolvent and under administration. The presentation provides a detailed exposition or the reasons for this situation.

Allied to the phenomenon of chronic financial stability the La Liga competition has become extremely unbalanced. The presentation therefore then proceeds to analyse the nature of competitive balance in La Liga in recent years.

Neale (1964) pointed that the economy of professional sports is ‘peculiar’. Traditional economic analysis stands that a market without competitors will be the best case scenario for a firm. Nevertheless, in professional sports, competitors are necessary to offer the product (league, tournaments, etc.). Uncertainty in the output of a competition is part of its appeal. Leagues will be better off if they present a higher competitive balance.

Competitive balance is not an easy concept but appears since the very beginning of the sport economics in the seminal article by Rotenberg (1956). Moreover, there are different definitions and ways to measure it. García and Rodríguez (2007; 173) suggest that ‘competitive balance exists when at the beginning of the league all teams have real chances of classifying for the UCL and/or being relegated to the Second Division’.

This paper takes as a reference the work by Espitia and Gracia (2009). They present the competitive balance levels in the five major football leagues in Europe - England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. They use some common tools in industrial economy in order to assess the balance in those leagues. Some of these tools are applied in this presentation by checking competitive balance and competitive level from the economic point of view.

This presetnation searches for differences in competitive balance and concentration ratios in economic terms in the La Liga BBVA. The proposition is to compare if club income inequality is related to and increases competitive imbalance.

Reading

Barajas, A. (2011). Competitive Balance and Concentration Ratios in Economic Terms in Liga BBVA. University of Vigo working paper.

Biography

Ángel Barajas is an associate professor of financial management in the Department of Accountancy and Finance at the University of Vigo, Spain, and a researcher for the Spanish Economic Observatory for Sport (Observatorio Económico del Deporte). His research interests include investment valuation and finance of sports, particularly professional football.

Contact Details

Email: abarajas@uvigo.es

For further details on the seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk

Squad management and sporting success: a benchmarking approach for English football

Room 101
Clore Management Centre
Torrington Square
Birkbeck College
London
WC1E 7HX
(For directions please see the pdf map).

Thursday 19th May 2011 at 6pm

Given by: Dr Raffaele Poli, Sports Science Institute, University of Lausanne; International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

The Professional Football Players’ Observatory (PFPO) is the leading academic research centre for the study of the football players’ labour market. The Centre publishes two key annual analytical reports. Since 2006, the Annual Review of the European Football Players has been the definitive reference publication for information on football labour market trends and the logics of squad formation in the five main European leagues. Now in its third year of publication, the Demographic Study of European Footballers offers an empirical analysis of the dynamics at work in 36 first division leagues in UEFA member countries.

In this seminar, drawing on data from both publications and the work of the PFPO, Dr Raffaele Poli, head and co-founder of this research group, presents the latest results about the link between demographic composition of rosters and performance. Since 2005, the PFPO has developed statistical indicators on squad characteristics of professional football clubs, allowing for a comparative and longitudinal analysis of teams throughout Europe. The presentation adopts a benchmarking approach for the English case. More specifically, it compares strategies followed from the season 2006/07 onwards by the current five best-ranked Premier League clubs (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham), highlights the best practices, and presents the most important squad management principles to achieve success from a long term perspective.

Biography

Raffaele Poli is junior professor assistant at the Sports Science Institute of the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland, where he runs a Master in Management of Sport and Leisure. He is also scientific collaborator at the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) of the University of Neuchâtel. He is the co-founder and director of the Professional Football Players’ Observatory, a research group made up of Swiss, French and Italian academics investigating the labour market of footballers.

Readings

Poli, R.; Ravenel, L.; & Besson, R. (2006-2010 – 5 editions). Annual Review of the European Football Players’ Labour Market. Neuchâtel : CIES.
Besson, R., Poli, R.; & Ravenel, L. (2009-2011 – 3 editions). Demographic Study of Footballers in Europe. Neuchâtel : CIES
Poli, R. “Labour Market Migration to the Five Major Leagues in European Football: The Impact on National Team Selection”. In : Walters, G. & Rossi, G. (August 2009). “Labour Market Migration in European Football: Key Issues and Challenges”. Birkbeck Sport Business Centre Research Paper Series, Volume 2, Number 2, August 2009. Chapter 3. -

Contact Details

Email: raffaele.poli@unil.ch and raffaele.poli@unine.ch

Birkbeck Sport Business Seminar Series Contact Details

For further details on the seminar series contact:

Sean Hamil
Department of Management
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

Tel: 020-7631 6763
Email: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk