Football Worlds: business and networks during COVID-19

Parnell, Daniel ORCID: 0000-0001-5593-0633, Bond, AJ, Widdop, P and Cockayne, Davie ORCID: 0000-0002-5473-6967 (2020) Football Worlds: business and networks during COVID-19. Soccer and Society, 22 (1-2). pp. 19-26.

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Abstract

The structure of football can also be conceived as a form of ecosystem, or even a social world, constructed through a network of individuals, within a division of labour, that interact under a set of specific conventions. In this commentary we describe that socially constructed world – Football World. The nature of this structural world makes network theory an appealing framework to explore processes of the football ecosystem during COVID-19. While we focus on the English Premier League, notably this league is embedded within a European and international marketplace it offers relevance for the broader global football ecosystem. We proceed to explore this dynamic Football World by considering how the different collective forms – specifically fans, players and clubs – have been affected by COVID-19. We comment on the potential implications for the connective fabric of the broader network and what these observations mean for potential future research.

Item Type:	Article
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	22 Jun 2020 08:42
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 23:48
DOI:	10.1080/14660970.2020.1782719
Open Access URL:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660...
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3091038