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Integration or resistance: the influx of foreign capital in British football in the transnational age

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 16; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14660970.2013.828603

1743-9590

Yuan Bi,

Cultural Industries and Urban Development

As one of the most commercialized and popular football leagues in the world, English Premiership League (Henthforce EPL) has witnessed the massive foreign capital influx since Abravomich's significant takeover of Chelsea in 2003. British local football community traditionally has strong sense of 'locality' with the long history of their clubs. In the globalization context, some local fans embrace foreign capital ownership while some of them resist it. This article establishes an analytical framework to detect the causal relationship between the possible independent variables and local community reaction. Through case studies and critical discussion, this article concludes that club administration is the major determinant of local community reaction. On-pitch performance and club tradition play as second-major determinants explaining local community reaction. This article asserts while the modern neo-liberalism is prevalent in this traditional league and an overwhelming force in the context globalization. Historical local tradition, however, still takes an important role in EPL and has not been fully objected to global capital.