Cultural Influence on Football Clubs

Chapter 1- Introduction

Introduction

The research paper looks into the effects of the local culture on the football clubs and its business model. The research topic comprises various factors if cultures along with social influence the business of football clubs. According to Liang (2017), the culture and the community of a region or country have its impact on everything and the impacts can be positive as well as negative. Although mostly the impacts have helped in the growth and development of various activities sometimes the culture has posed a few challenges on the way. This research dissertation is to focus on the challenges and the impacts that the regional culture prevails on the football club, and its business model, and what are the difficulties that arise and how do they affect the business model. The research is on what are the scenarios that can be favourable for the club and what will be against are also researched.

1.2 Background to the research

Football is a popular sport across the globe and has been evolving with time along with the creation of new teams and clubs. The clubs have formed an integral unit that helps in training and educating people about the game and encouraging them to participate. According to Tri Thien and Boonrod(2019), the game is popular and widespread across the world, and different countries having varied ideas and beliefs, affect the clubs. In many regions, the culture views sports of any kind as a source of leisure and entertainment, but nowadays sports have become important equally to education. Moreover, football according to culture is viewed as elements to gather attention from the media. When it comes to business, football clubs have to play and work according to the model in order to stay in the market. The club works to spread awareness and encourage youths to participate in the sport whereas culture becomes an obstacle in the process. The research dissertation is focused to find out how the culture has been a barrier in the football club business models, what are the thoughts If the people on a particular region with respect to the business model, and how the difficulties can be overcome without hurting the sentiments of people and community in the region

1.3 Organisational background

Stoke City is one of the oldest English football clubs, formed in the year 1863, started as an amateur club playing with the locals and configured to become one of the famous teams in England's Premier League. The club was nicknamed 'The Potters' as many had the job of making cups and plates along with playing football Cooke (2020). The club has played nine seasons in the premier leagues but has never won the title to date. The highest rank achieved by the club is the fourth position in the league in the year 1946-47. The fans have been looking forward to the club winning the premier league title in the near future. Presently the manager of the club, Mark Hughes, has also managed many football clubs in the past, is also a successful player in the leagues, and has been working in helping the club to accomplish its goals in sports as well as in business.

1.4 Significance of the problem

The football club has been through plenty of downsides that have to realize if few underlying issues. According to Cumming et al (2018), by campaigns, it has been noticed that the primary issue for the club is defence. Even if the club starts a game with five, ends the game with three or four goals. The error occurs in tactics and as mentioned by the manager is a huge issue. As for the previous managers, the tactics have gone unnoticed and now at this point, it has been realized that the needful should be done (t's Round and It's White. 2020). The club does not have a good defensive area; moreover returning to the attacking area has not been helpful. I'm the other hand, the problem also lies with the stoke city in the quality in front of goals. For instance, their water player can score six goals for the club, and then all would rely on those six goals in the match. According toPaché (2020), it is not possible for only one player to play at the full potential and score the required goals in a match if ninety minutes playing against opponents. The club needs to address the reliability factors and improve its techniques in the game; planning better defence and other players should work in scoring goals.

1.5 Statements of the problem

The football clubs of England have been facing challenges for past seasons and economic pressures. As the major leagues, that of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain has been reviewed on the basis of finances. As stated byBBC News (2020), football clubs have been facing a lot of issues starting from the administration to tariff plans and the increased advertising and broadcasting costs. The major issue being faced by the clubs is the rising costs, and the factors responsible are bad management. As for the Portsmouth football club, the poor management let to the downfall of the club, as the clubs which get in trouble due to finances because of relegations do bit qualify for the leagues. On the other hand, according to Kitchin and Crossin (2018), the clubs owned by wealthy contributors, face issues in generating the revenues and get control over the finances. The sport has been facing credit tightening and it is becoming difficult for the clubs to pay the increased media charges that too in advance. Moreover, according to the rules of the European football governing body, the clubs will have to operate by their own means and should maintain their revenue and expenses. Another challenge for the football clubs has been the weakening of the Sterling against the euro and the introduction of taxes of 50 percent. These have led the English clubs to face difficulties in competing with international clubs.

1.6 Aim and objectives

The aim of the research is to find how the local culture of a region would impact the business model of football clubs in Britain. The research paper targets to observe the factors of the cultural impact, how culture affects the business of the sport, what are the beliefs and opinions of the people about cultures and its impacts in the clubs, and how the issues can be addressed and resolved, maintaining the sentiments of the community and the business profits for the club.

The research objectives

To analyze the culture and cultural aspects of football

To Identify the local and Global Factors influencing on the Football clubs

To find ways to overcome the challenges being faced by the football clubs

To implement the strategies for in order to help the club to grow the business

1.7 Research questions

What are the cultural and community beliefs related to football?

How does society consider the game, an entertainment, a leisurely sport, or career opportunities?

How does the local community and culture influence the sport?

What is the role of the club in promoting the sport in the region or country?

How the business model of the club works in the growth of the club and the players?

How is the business of the club affected by the influence of the local culture and values?

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

A literature review is considered as the outcome of the evaluations formed by analyzing various literature and works based on the research topic. In the research paper, the literature review forms the part that comprises all the required information and data about the research topic and also the significant findings related to the topic. The literature review can be contemplated as the theoretical information as well as the systematic knowledge to help in the process of the research topic. According to Hart (2018), the literature review does not suffice to provide the exact result of the research or the methods of process and the aspects of the topic, yet it provides a deal of information that will help in the research procedure. For this paper, the research is based on how the local culture and community of a region affect the business model of the footfall clubs. As stated by Vale and Fernandes (2018), the chapter will concentrate on the factors affecting the business models, the cultural beliefs, the change in dynamics of the game in past decades, the challenges arising due to cultural beliefs, and how that can be interpreted. Along with the research process, the chapter will also observe the gaps in the literature and will provide useful information to understand the diffraction between culture and the business model. The chapter will also provide the information, how the gap can be interpreted, the aspects of culture towards football, the effective measures that will help the clubs improve their business despite cultural differences.

2.2 Changing Beliefs and Dynamics Related to Football

The game of football has been undergoing a radical transformation and the present scenario in the landscape of football is nowhere compared to what it was 20 years ago. There was a time when the coaches used to yell at the players and made them undergo rigorous training for long stretches. According to Holzmayer and Schmidt (2020), the coaches are being the young, energetic, and dynamic motivators who are constantly focussing on the cultural development of the players on and off the football field. The players are constantly adapting to live and train themselves in this fast-paced digital world. The coaches are constantly preparing different strategies with one motto in their minds and that is to win the game for the team. There is no hesitation that a robust schematic viewpoint can eventually win the games and championships for the team, but the question arises whether such practices always guarantee sustained results for the key stakeholders in the game of football. The capability to build a culture in the game of football that is going to flourish year after year requires the intent and the details based on which it can be developed. It is quite essential that the behaviours that are going to support the cultural beliefs be clear as they are going to be intolerant towards any change in behaviours. The cultural beliefs are going to be measured in terms of the expectations that the coach can have from its players. The role of the coaches nowadays is not only about training the players but the overall perspective has been undergoing a change where the coach facilitates to create a shared purpose based on the experiences that are going to promote the cultural and community beliefs of the players. Briki and Zoudji (2019), stated that the players are going to gain more experience when they are being played at different positions by the coach in order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each player. Football has always been a game where a player learns more about dedication, leadership, and teamwork which has been boosting the morale and beliefs of the players time and again. Porter (2019), opined that football has been a sport that is being played globally for a long time and involves the cultural and community beliefs of different nations that are quite diverse and unique which have given the sport a varying degree of a cultural mix which has allowed it to become the national culture of many nations across the world. The cultural beliefs of the game of football have been often displayed by how the players, the fans, and the teams consider the sport across the world. The popularity of the game of football has been its competence to invade the cultural and community differences across the world to be accepted by one and all (Porter, 2019). Football has been a sport that has been bringing together individuals and communities together irrespective of the prejudices they have owing to differences in cultures and beliefs to build a global community whose main belief is going to be the love for the game of football.

2.3 Role of the Club in Promoting Football in a Region or a Country

According to Rasmussen et al. (2020), the craze of football has been promoted to the next level which has been the continuous efforts and continuous efforts of the clubs at the domestic, national, and international levels. The clubs have always played a key role in nurturing the talents of footballers and enhancing them by guiding them in the right direction to help them achieve recognition at the national and international levels. The identity of the football club has always been a mark of its popularity and recognition among the players and the fans. A football club is not only recognized merely as a sports club but as a symbol of culture or for a geographic entity in which it is situated. Football clubs have been able to derive a deeper meaning from their regional identity. DeGrafft (2019), opined that the sustainable philosophy of a football club mainly focussed on the regional identity, and it has been seen in the case of clubs FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao in Spain or VfB Stuttgart in Germany. These clubs have been benefiting from their local philosophies in a number of ways, and moreover, the traditional beliefs of these clubs had allowed them to create a charismatic presence in the domain of club football as compared to the clubs which had been focussing mainly on to enhancing their financial power and behaving as economical institutions. The football clubs had been innovating themselves time and again in order to make them more presentable for the fans who are the main source of encouragement and motivation for the players as well as the football clubs across the world. The fans had been the sole reason why football had developed into a spectacular sport with such popularity across the different nations irrespective of differences in culture, religion, caste, creed, and many other factors of disparity. McLeod et al. (2020), stated that club football has been a source of inspiration and motivation for many youths at different age categories to take up football as a passion and achieve something in their life. Many international clubs across the world have played an active role in promoting the talents from domestic and national clubs by providing them with an advanced level of training and conditioning that is going to be required to make them acclaimed footballers at the national and international levels. The clubs had been opening academies in order to search for raw talents across different geographical boundaries in order to hone their abilities in order to transform them into skilled and class football players. Many internationally acclaimed football players like Miroslav Klose, Didier Drogba, Luca Toni, and many more started their career from academy football to make it big in international football. The academy level of football introduced by many football clubs across the world has been helping an innumerable number of rising players by providing them with the intricate details of football that goes beyond the basic training in order to train them with the right mental conduct and discipline which is going to help them in the future to become successful footballers on and off the football field.

2.4 The Business Model of the Club aiding in the growth of the Club and the Players

According to Maderer and Holtbrügge (2019), the extent of the reach of the football clubs among the fans at the local, national and international levels had always been determined from the television viewership, merchandising, attendance of fans in the field as well as the performance of the players and the club as a whole on the field. These major sources of revenue have been able to figure out the financial health of football clubs which in turn determines the present and future investments in the football clubs by the investors and sponsors which on the long run is going to help the football clubs in their expansion and promotion on the national and international stage. This in turn is going to help the inflow of expertise, knowledge, and technology on the professional scale, that is going to enhance the quality of the game as well as enhance the quality of the administration and management of the football clubs which in turn in going to aid in the increased participation of the football club and gain more fan following at different levels. Šíma (2019), opined that the greater is the presence of a football club on the national and international stage, the more are the chances going to be for the club to get lucrative sponsorships. The business model utilized by club football towards promoting the growth of the club as well as the club has been quite unique and dynamic. The model had shown that the more is the active participation of the football clubs in different competitive football games and championships, the more is going to be the demand for the sports and other allied equipment. As a result, the local manufacturers are going to receive increased demand for sports and other allied equipment which in turn boosts the economy of the industry concerning sports equipment. Again the concept of official merchandising of the sports equipments in order to bring in parity between prices and income distribution and to sustain the demands and to avoid counterfeits of original products, the manufacturers need to take licensing rights from the football clubs which again benefits the club and helps it to grow and develop its infrastructure. The football clubs had been generating a lot of revenue from the sale of tickets which has been a prime source of profits for the football clubs which they had been utilizing in the development of their players as well as in the overall development of the club. Koutroumanides et al. (2019), the football clubs had been also generating revenue from selling broadcasting rights to the broadcasters who offered them the maximum price. This concept has been followed by many clubs and now also it is being followed by several clubs across the world. The sale of players by the clubs to other clubs has also been a concept of the business model followed in club football which helped the club to generate a significant amount of revenue for the club to help them bring in more expertise and innovation in the club.

2.5 Influence of the Local Culture and Values on the Business of the Football Club

According to Andersson and Hognestad (2019), globalization in football has been promoting the sport both on the national and international platform and has been a whole new dimension and meaning to the game. The game of football earlier used to be lacking grandeur and richness and was a lackluster game for most of the fans across the world. But with the advent of globalization in the game, the innovations and advancements gave the whole new makeover which helped to draw more audiences across the world. This has been helping the football clubs to renew their interests in developing more talents and transforming them into class players who are going to be paying at the national or international developments. The globalization in football especially in the case of club football has been helping them tremendously to upgrade their infrastructure and financial prowess in order to build a team that is going to be full of experience and skills. Norris (2020), opined that the increasing globalization has been helping in the growth and development of the football clubs and there are no signs of recession keeping in mind the sum of money the football clubs have been spending on the players and coaching and support staff off late. And many experts are of the opinion that this phenomenal increase in the revenue for club football is going to see more growth in the coming days. This boom in the football industry has been giving new hopes to the industries that are directly or indirectly attached to the football industry. One of the main industries that have been greatly benefitted by the rising globalization in club football has been the tourism industry. The tourists all over the world visit a place when they are hosting a major football tournament and the local values and cultures of that place generally have an impact on the tourists. The tourists are most often impressed by the traditional values and culture of a place which makes them visit the same place again in the near future. The tourists are often seen to be purchasing merchandise and memorabilia of the club in order to remember the place as well as the club. This generally has been promising for the clubs to enhance their revenue as in most cases the football clubs are associated with the leading international brands in order to develop and market the merchandise for the club. Legge and Loehr (2019), argued that inevitably the business of club football had been increasing but that had been carrying significant threats for the football clubs if they somehow forget their roots which had been their strengths and motivations, some of which even had their links with the local culture and community values. The business models of the football clubs often hurt the social and cultural values of a community when the club goes on to give more attention to the financial interests rather than focussing on the social interests and emotional values of the fans who had been the main force behind the club to become a brand image in the football industry.

2.6 Impact of local culture on the game

Football is the most popular game across the world since the nineteenth-century owing to the international dispersion of the British. The game prevails over all the cultures, though, till then decade’s age it was a joke for Britain. The first leagues won by Manchester United had shown diversity in the game and the team consisted of Englishmen, Irishman, Scotsmen, and Welshmen. At present, the teams or clubs formed with a mix of players from different cultures and different regions it countries across the world which has led to international success if the game. According to Champ et al (2020), the British have been involved in a perpetual struggle in order to establish multicultural harmony. Yet, once any overseas player signs with a club, it is expected that the player settles with the club immediately, which sometimes is difficult due to various reasons. Taking the example of Chelsea's underachievement, new castles fallout because one of its players refused to wear the jersey sponsored by the controversial lender are the impacts of culture. As stated by Tri Thien et al (2019), culture is defined as the mental programming of the human brain which leads to distinguishing people into groups and considering them different from one another. Hence, as referred by, the different mentality of players is observed on the basis of their thinking, behavior, and game pattern. Though, the English Premier League promotes all mentalities it cultures and manages the cultural mix in the teams. The players belonging to different cultures are identified differently like the Mexicans are recognized as hierarchical, being collective in orientation, masculine, conclusive, confident but have declination towards uncertainty. On the hand, Japanese are observed not being hierarchical and have individuality. Moreover, brutish are identified as a paradox along with hierarchical individuality with the enthusiasm of innovation and creativity. All the observations, opined by Ribeiro et al (2019), define the cultural differences and how their game is affected by their mentality. Considering the English football clubs, they face issues from the neighbourhood countries. Taking, for example, in Spain the followers of football have lost their choice for the commoditisation of the game, which is happening elsewhere in the world. This has led to the loss of influence of the game over the people. This has happened because of the country's traditional 'stand culture', which has led to the loss of civil rights of the citizens with the help of strict regulations. Having a culturally diverse team, with cohesiveness is easier to think and say than forming one. Many times, the managers of clubs struggle to understand the dynamics between players due to cultural differences said by Curran et al (2017). For one player, in order to be a part of a club, the player has to adapt to the local culture of the club. Considering the situation, if a player from Chile or Japan has been signed to an English football club, the player is expected to adapt to the English culture, which will include speaking English, understanding golf, and watching horse races and so on which might become a barrier among the players and affect the game. Considering another scenario, where a hierarchical player has been signed into a club that believes in principles and the players are asked for their views, the hierarchy’s player might be waiting for instructions only. And if they are not they are bit given any they might stay silent and consider themselves as an outsider in the team. This will affect the team spirit and performance. The diversity sometimes leads to problems in the team, like the lack of integration, character, balance, the performance mindset varies from one player to another, the player is not able to trust each other. According to Champ et al (2020), the sponsors of clubs have drawn a line between the officials and the managers on the field. This is done in order to maintain the integration and the coaches have to work with the data analytics of the players rather than only relying on gut feeling. As opined by Varmus et al (2020), cultural diversity has been increasing day by day in the English Football clubs. The players are signed irrespective of their nationality, culture, or community, only on the basis of their talent in the game. This has led to the formation of the talent pool at the global reach. But along with the diversity, the challenges arise as players speak different tongues, have different habits and philosophies related to the game. Considering various factors, the performance of different teams has been analyzed and the outcome has shown the slight negative effect of local culture on the club and its business model.

2.7 Literature Gap

The researcher has gone through a number of works of research on the same topic of research in order to understand the local culture of club football has an impact on the business model of different football clubs across the world. The knowledge gap from such literature has given a researcher to analyze the importance of the influence of culture and community on club football. The literature review has also been able to show the researcher the impact of branding and sponsorship has been helping the football clubs to achieve their objectives. However, there has been a considerable gap in the literature as in many works of research it has not been discussed how the influence of culture and community can have a negative impact on the football club in terms of its growth and development (Champ et al. 2020). This gap in the literature has helped the researcher to identify the objectives of the research dissertation appropriately.

2.8 Conceptual framework

2.9 Summary

This chapter has provided a detailed understanding of how the cultural and community influence of football clubs affect the business models that generally promote the clubs. The chapter also throws light on how the belief and dynamics in the game of football have changed and how it has encompassed more social and ethical values that are being imparted during the training of players. The role of football clubs is seen in this chapter and it has also been seen how football clubs help to develop new talents and play a pivotal role in their growth and development. The commercialization in football clubs is also seen in this chapter and it is seen how such initiatives are helping in the growth of the football industry and helping it earn accolades on the national as well as international levels. Again this chapter throws some light on how excessive globalization of football clubs can have an impact on the social and cultural values of the fans of the football clubs.

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

Research Methodology refers to the techniques and procedures that are used in order to identify, determine, and analyze the information about atopic (Ørngreen and Levinsen 2017). In the paper, the section has offered to analyze the research by secondary means of information. The information related to the research was collected in support of the research, for further explanation of the reason of choice. The research, as performed by secondary method consists of information that was derived and identified using qualitative methods of analysis by means of interviews. The technological advance has provided a vast amount of data that was analyzed, and compiled, and further used for the research process. The use of existing data for the purpose of research has become prevalent (Johnston, 2017). For the research paper, the research procedure is based on how the culture of a region affects the business model of the football club. The challenges as perceived by early scholars can be termed as time management, none of the athletic demand from the players of the club, inconsistent training schedules, where local culture played an important role, the arrangements required in order to train the players in order to need the demands by the business model set.

3.2 Methods of study

The methods used in research were affected by numerous reasons, such as information was collected, as perspectives of different people. At the same time, it was based in the football clubs of Europe, the ethnographical manner had been chosen, owing to the research topic of cultural impact on the sport. The framework has helped to collect the information by means of notes, journals and the participants' interviews conducted previously. The sources of the gathered information are social media, publication and newspaper articles. The information gathered had data obtained by means of qualitative research that consisted of semi-structured interviews with the club managers and stakeholders. Considering the scenario of the FC United (Pellicelli and Torchia 2018), the study has helped to recognise the challenges faced by the club, along with the opportunities that can help the club to improve the situation. The club has been evolving along with its community participation, so it experimented with openness to increase participation that led to the challenge of expansion. Therefore, in order to cope with the challenge, the club had to set some principles related to participation that would help to promote the club too. The other significant challenge faced by the club was financial, even with huge achievements and fair competition, construction of stadiums, the research revealed lack of finances. From the interview, it was evident that the club invited numerous fans to make donations and for the players found better scopes of earning. As the financial issues are prevailing, the explanations are further provided as for the clubs in Europe.

Financial management

Considering the football industry in the European countries the major challenge faced by the clubs and recognised by the UEFA system was the players combining their careers, athletic with the non-athletic ones or with their vocational pathways. The culture of the region provided and influenced the players to negotiate their training as per their convenience has posed a great challenge as the players remain ignorant of the required training for professional games. The lack of training leads to poor performance in professional games thus affecting the business. On the other hand, considering the research, it has been observed that the financial hardship in Europe can lead to the club's loss (Alaminos and Fernández, 2019). Considering the Spanish football, their cultural history of the clubs increasing the incentives to honour the local authority has been noticed. The less substantial investments along with changes in the wages also form significant factors in generating the financial stress for the clubs and its stability For the German clubs, the regulations affect the authority by means of voting, where all the shareholders have equal power. Though the primary problem observed in the German clubs were related to management and poor management lead to lower revenues for the club. Considering the Italian clubs, the financial crisis depended on the size of the clubs. For the big clubs, profitability is recognized as a factor whereas for the small clubs the investment decisions lead to worsen their financial situations. Whereas for the French clubs, the issues are faced because of a lack of management, the budgeting and poor administrative structure, that lead to minimum profits and revenues to the club. Whereas for the English clubs, they had high expense needs in order to improve the importance of the club. The manager’s lack of proper budgeting for the purpose often leads to financial problems that become difficult to overcome. The history of the English football clubs has shown financial instability but performance stability that has kept the clubs running even if the shareholders lose their money.

Review of the aims and objectives of the study

Considering the financial crisis as recognized by different football clubs across Europe, the financial fair play regulations were applied in order to govern the rights, duties and responsibilities of all the agents that help the clubs for license. The agents were made to have minimum criteria related to sports as set by the UEFA to improve the infrastructure, administrative and financial situations of the clubs. The main objective marked in the process was to have a fair competition among all the members of the UEFA. The proposed objective has helped the system to improve the conditions of the club, enhance their integrity, works towards the protection of stakeholders, and assures that all are financially secured from players to coaches and managers of respective clubs under UEFA system (Alaminos and Fernández, 2019). It worked positively to manage the monetary sections of the clubs abiding all the regulations of the European Union, and encourages players to improve their games.

Methods to establish controls

In order to govern the annual financial situation for the teams, the UEFA system made the use of an independent auditor in order to check the expenses. The tools used by the auditors to develop a layout to perform the checks were a datasheet, account of the profits and the losses, the cash flows, significant description of the accounting policies and the managers’ statements regarding the expenses (Alaminos and Fernández, 2019). Along with the tools, certain measures were set, the violation of which had a negative impact on the applicants for licenses. The measures are First being, the auditor's report that was based on the resources required and its fulfilment by the club; Secondly, the debts rose by the club, and it's potential to reimbursements. And thirdly, the losses that was supposed to be maintained leading to bankruptcy and lastly; the players' debt on the club.

3.3 Method to collect information

The information for secondary research has been obtained in numerous ways and helped to reach out with a significant conclusion. The source of data collection included journals, articles from research institutes, publication by scholars, government or international publications that may include newspapers and magazines, libraries along with the internet sources such as websites (Pellicelli and Torchia, 2018). Secondary research comprises various techniques for data collection and analysis, some of them can be mentioned as a social media audience, the trends. The techniques used for the concerned paper are case studies, analysis of data collected from journals and interviews conducted by means of social media and telephones with the respective managers of clubs.

3.4 Limitations to the research

As the research was conducted by some scholars; the sources of information were limited. It had numerous limitations, as the data was general, not accurate in all aspects of gathering information that may have outdated; the size and limited all the required information. For the paper, the time was limited, and the research was based on the European clubs, the different clubs are surveyed along with the previous surveys conducted on the clubs majority of concerns such as the viability and creditors discharge as well as many other aspects such as output and input layers of using variables by the author (Alaminos and Fernández, 2019).

3.5 Practicality

The research had used a logit model for interpretation of financial distress used by the author (Alaminos and Fernández, 2019). It had forecast some of the challenges faced by the clubs to enhance their business, how football is affected by the local and global factors. The research also focuses on finding the ways that will help the clubs to overcome the challenges, especially the financial crisis, and past experiences are also mentioned in this chapter. The research will help to develop a strategy in order to recommend ways to enhance the business.

3.6 Use of Data Collection Tools and Sample

For the research, the collection of data was taken from near about 93 football clubs through secondary qualitative methods using descriptive statistics. At the same time, there have been some confidential data taken from Transfer market web portal. It gave some reliability and predictive capability to through estimated logit models as well (Alaminos and Fernández, 2019). The information collected has been tried and tested, though sometimes might not be in accordance to the requirements of the topic.

Chapter 4: Data Analysis

4.1 Introduction

Data Analysis in a research paper is the process used for collecting and analyzing a huge amount of information to obtain the required information. For the paper, the research method used is secondary; therefore, the data analysis considered is secondary. Secondary data analysis can be defined as the exploration of the information collected by other researchers for primary research or from journals and publications. Secondary analysis is performed by the application of similar principles if research as used for primary data. Considering the scenario of European football clubs and the financial distress they have faced, the researchers used the methods to perform the procedure were logistic regression, multilayer perception along with the analysis of samples and data.

4.2 Quantitative analysis by mathematical methods

Logistic regression

The research users a logit model that helped the clubs to predict and develop their financial plans based on variables. The model used was

yi* = xi + έi

Along with

yi = 1 if yi*> 0

0 if yi* <= 0

This was then applied as

P[yi = 1]= P[xi β + έi> 0.5] = F(xi β)

P [yi = 0] = 1- F(xi β)

The model was described as a dependent, as the variables appeared frequently as the index in the applied methods. For the situation considered, yi* is the dependent variable, and the value 1 was considered bankruptcy whereas 0 value was considered otherwise. The financial crisis was in accordance with the negative coverage, negative net income of the club along with the net revenue. The parameter β was used to represent the independent variables that caused the probability of a financial crisis to the club. The above-stated formula was applied and the calculation was performed by backward procedure, with the removal of the variables based on the possible probabilities. For once the probability was considered greater than 0.5, which resulted in distress for the clubs. On the other hand, for the probability to be less than 0.5 the result was the opposite. As from the first equation, the relation was further explained as by the equation

P (yi = 1) = eβx/(1 + eβx) = 1/ (1 + e-βx)

The ratios between the probabilities we're further established by the following function,

P (yi = 1)/ {1 – P (yi =1)} = {1/[1+ e-βx ]}/{1/[ 1 + e βx] } = 1+e βx / 1+ e -βx = e βx

s considered as the estimation to depict the ratios. Considering the functions and the analysis, it was observed that the positive increment of the coefficient increased the probability whereas the negative coefficient decreased the probability. The odds or the ratio were further implemented by the use if logarithmic calculations, which helped to form a linear equation as

yi* = ln (P (yi = 1)/ 1- P(yi -1)) = ln e βx = βx

The final function was used by the clubs to estimate the regression.

Multilayer perception

For the research, another method used was a multilayer perception, which was considered as a feed forward neural network where the nodes do not form a cycle. The required inputs were developed, along with a layer at an intermediate level and output units as desired by the clubs. One section of hidden units was also considered that were not linked to any kind of outputs. All the inputs were connected to the intermediate units and those were connected to the output units in order to establish the relationship between the required inputs and desired output as for the clubs.

For the case, the multilayer perception was represented as a special possibility in the management as no assumptions were made ahead of the analysis. The process, for the research, consisted of finding the correct unit in order to represent the network patterns along with analyzing the patterns for general data. The procedure was implemented by adjusting the weights, represented by W from the set of samples organized in the process. The connections if the network formed were so maintained, that the error minimized for the process. The set if the learning patterns were taken as (x1, y1), (x2, y2), (x3, y3), …, (xp, yp) and the error to be minimized was considered as the function έ(X, Y, W). So the minimizing if the error was carried out by the following function

Min WE(W) = minW∑pi=1ε(W, xi, yi)

The logical methods used in rest to minimize the errors required the evaluation and the strategies to consider the second-order derivatives. On the other hand, the sensitivity also was analyzed by the reports obtained from the multiplayer perception. The process of analysis involved the use of complete data and then distributing it into small fragments as required for the connections of the network. The variables were modified from time to time in order to calculate the results. The function used for the process was

Sxi = ∑j=1n (Φ xij(o)) – Φ xij)2

Where Φ xij(o) was considered as the output with the variable xijbeing 0. The classification was known to establish the importance and sensitivity of the data.

4.3 Samples and Analysis

The research was conducted on the European football clubs, which were around 230 clubs, which participated in the research process, and the time required to complete the process was 3 years. Out of 230 clubs around 90 clubs were facing a financial crisis and others were having different challenges. As considered in the research, by the UEFA, the generation of profits was significant that helped the European clubs overcome the challenges and issues. The primary reasons as mentioned for the crisis were negative coverage, negative net income of the club along with the net revenue generated. In order to get a better view and analysis, the samples were further divided into three subsamples according to the time perimeter, considered as one year, two years, and three years. The information about the club's financial situations was obtained from the various databases, where the data of more than 24 million European companies were available. The companies have their main activity to invest in sports clubs across the European countries. The information regarding the football clubs was collected and the variables were organized in order to perform further research. The variables with their explanations along with the codes used were

Corporate governance factors

Performance Factors

Financial Factors

From the table, the different variables in and there in the clubs were described. Considering the governing factors for the clubs, out of four variables two provided positive results whereas the other two were observed as negative. On the other hand, considering the factors that affected the performance of the clubs, a total of eight variables were recognized. The population, stadium attendance, points gathered, the promotion methods, bills along with the distribution were recognized. The factors were as observed, mostly were fulfilled sober the prediction of the research whereas one factor did not fulfil the demands Whereas for the financial factors, twenty factors were recognized, out of which two did not provide a clear response, eight factors did not fulfil the criteria and the test showed good results for the clubs. Moreover, the reliability was tested of the selected models for analysis, and for the purpose, another set of samples were used. From the analysis of all the samples, along with the factors considered to deal with the financial crisis of the clubs, it was recognized that out of 239 clubs only 90 clubs were facing financial issues. Considering the corporate governance, the club which was free from the financial crisis had a significant number of stakeholders. The main clubs of the city were observed to face the crisis of averages. As per the research, the bills used to lead to high expenses that led to the financial crisis which was managed to maintain and fulfil the requirements.

4.4 Discussion

In order to achieve the results from the analysis as performed on the paper, two tables were created that explained the results. The logical classification showed the training amounts from the samples, classification of the testing samples, and the corresponding curves. On the other hand, one table was created in order to recognize the same variable by the multilayered perception technique.

From the table for the logit model, it was observed that the significant variables were repeated as per the requirements in the procedures. The most common variable used was the primary club of the city, as it was related to its popularity in the city, which resulted in the stadium attendance and the sakes for the club. Whereas the debts were considered, as a substantial variable in the research that revealed the significance of the debt to into e ratios for the clubs, as it was related to the monetary conditions of the clubs regarding the required payments to and investments. Thirdly, the assets and liabilities were evaluated in the course of the research, which emphasized the club's financial viability.

On the other hand, considering the table of the multilayer perception, the main variable recognized was the debt and revenue. The other prominent variable noticed was the assets and debts along with short term debts that highlighted the club's ability to repay the short-term debts. The other significant variable recognized was the net capital, which helped the club to maintain its processes.

4.5 Summary

The analysis of the collected information of the research concluded that the football industry process was different compared to other sectors. The variables involved in the industry were significant and helped in the development of the business models of the clubs in Europe. The primary variables as recognized from various methods in the research were revenue, the club's popularity, and debts on the club. The variables were recognized and analyzed in a manner that the outcomes helped the clubs develop their finances. The activities related to football were different, and that made it important for the financial as well as the investors to develop a great design that enhanced the business of the club. Considering all the variables that resulted in financial problems for the European football clubs, the required models were adapted. The models were so developed that it recognized the liquidity, indebtedness, performance along with the size and popularity of the clubs. Moreover, the methods used in the analysis provided accurate information for the research. The information provided in the analysis has helped the clubs and the players to perform better. The methods suggested to the managers of respective clubs led them to plan better regarding the finances. The promotion suggestion helped the clubs to gain popularity in the city that in turn lead to a large audience in the stadiums thus helped the clubs have increased sales and generate revenues.

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

From the overview of the factors and highlights of the regional cultural impact on the business of the football clubs, the chapter has dealt with authentic secondary information obtained from the analysis of the available data. The complete analysis of the data gathered has reached the conclusion that the football clubs’ business has been affected by the culture and other factors of the region. In other words, the chapter has helped in the recognition of the cultural impacts of different regions, and factors that caused financial crisis and debts in extreme levels. In that case, the culture of a region has always played an important role in changing the dynamics related to various sports in the region. On the other hand, while introducing the research, if the paper has mentioned the objectives and aims of the research, it had also been examined and linked with the justified outcomes as well. The review of literature has provided an in depth opportunity to look into the matters and data with a serious note, whereas; it had also thrown down light on the research methodologies provided with further area of examination and detail researching using sufficient knowledge regarding the research. Moreover, analysing the data collected from secondary-based research, which dealt with the collection and evaluation of the data required for the research procedure. Considering the research being secondary, the data collection and analysis have been based on the financial crisis of the European clubs, which has been obtained by the evaluation of journals and publications related to the research. The chapter has also focused on helping the reader to understand the proposed objectives and the theories and literature linked with them. Along with the links, the study has also focused on the recommendations, as proposed by the researcher by the evaluation of the collected data. Owing to the research, certain limitations are exerted which has been discussed in the further along with scopes for the future researchers performing the research on topics related to the concerned and exploring different aspects.

5.2 Objectives and Aims explained

The chapter is considered to be final for the research paper, therefore the objective and aims proposed should have been lined with the outcomes and the research. The link with the objectives has been further explained

Objective1 - Analysis of the culture and cultural aspects of football in the regions

According to the data collected and evaluation, the first objective for the research was to analyze the cultural aspects of football, which has been addressed in the literature review of this paper, where the influence of the local culture and values of a region on the football clubs’ businesses were depicted. At the same time, the advancement and globalization of the game have helped to nurture the talents in numerous ways, which has been described as well.

Objective 2: Identification of the local and Global Factors influencing on the Football clubs

Beside, the information collected, the second objective as proposed has been well explained and evaluated in the second chapter of the research paper. The global acceptance and popularity of the game along with the help of cultural values have helped the growth of the football clubs. The local and global factors that have led to the identification of overseas players on the European clubs have also been acknowledged.

Objective 3: To find ways to overcome the challenges being faced by the football clubs

The information collected and evaluated with respect to the third objective as proposed has been explained in the literature review of the concerned research. The business strategies that have helped the clubs to overcome the crisis faced and the impacts have also been described along with proposals to encourage players.

Objective 4: Implementation of the strategies in order to help the club to grow the business

The mentioned objectives regarding the implementation of strategies were used to help the clubs grow their business that has been explained in the research methodology and the data analysed here of the research paper. The factors leading to the financial crisis of clubs, the impacts along with the perceived ways that have helped the clubs have also been interpreted as well. The results of the implementations made have been evaluated too.

The aims of the research have been addressed as well in the research procedure. The community beliefs related to football have been illustrated in the literature along with presentation and data evidence as well. The influence of culture and community on the football clubs has been addressed. The role of the clubs in the promotion of the game in the region and the country has been portrayed in the research procedure. The effect of the culture and the community, on the game, was also addressed as the research question that helped in the progress of the research paper.

5.3 Propositions as recognized

On the analysis and evaluation of the collected data, the researcher has recognized few issues that were addressed in order to help the clubs improve their strategies and plans for the enhancement and growth of the clubs. The recommendations based on the overall secondary research and investigation has been placed below:

Proposition 1: Training of the management

The training of management seemed to have helped the club to organize the training schedules for the players, which in turn resulted in enhancement of the team's performance, which has led to increased popularity. The management has also been responsible for hiring the staff along with the selection of the players of the clubs. The hiring and selection have been done on the basis of merits and without any biasing.

Proposition 2: Independent Auditing for respective clubs

The football clubs were advised to make use of independent auditors that have helped them to plan the budget for the games, regarding the training of the players, the management of the investments made by the stakeholders, the planning of the expenses in the process of promotion and the wages of the management members.

Proposition 3: Training and checking the performance of managers

The managers were trained well to communicate between the team and the owners about the requirements of the team. The managers should be concerned about the growth areas for the team, and recognize the factors that will bring in business to the club. The promotion of the club has been considered significant, as more popular clubs help in bringing more crowd to the stadiums, that has led to an increase in revenues. The increased revenue has been observed as an important factor in the development of the business of any sector

Proposition 4: Opting for experienced Trainers

The club's management had worked earlier on the hiring process for the clubs. It had enhanced performance of clubs that were connected with the training, as they are provided along with the values of the culture and community. The trainers were chosen so that they helped the players to improve their games, along with acknowledging them about the beliefs and practices related to the game which were helpful. At the same time, they have helped in the recognition of players and strengthening their talents to play better.

The business of any sector has been affected by the cultural beliefs and the values of the region. For sports, the local culture affects the game, the players’ behaviour towards the sport, and its importance. The culture has been an important aspect in shaping the economy of numerous countries. The European countries considered football as an investment in their economy, and most of the business sectors invest in the football clubs. So, the cultural beliefs would need to be well recognized and implemented in order to facilitate the clubs grow their business in all aspects. Hence, certain ways have been recommended for analysis and better growth in the Football Club Association.

5.4 Limitations concerned with the Research

As the research was conducted by previous scholars relying on the secondary data evidence, so there are certain limitations linked to maintain ethics. The primary limitations have been recognized and undertaken in the process of the research. The research was conducted on the impacts of regional culture on the business model of football clubs across Europe. At the same time, it was restricted by numerous factors, regarding the data collection and evaluation methods heresearch process rooted was secondary, therefore the sources of all the information were journals from institutions, publications as the newspaper and magazines, and various websites from the Internet. The sources of data were limited hence, it could be accumulation and evaluated, as per time limitations as well.

5.5 Scope for future Research

According to study, it has been accepted and recognised here that concentrating on the limitations of the research paper, the future scope of this research is to explore it with further examination using primary study as well. The data collection and evaluation can be performed, as a specific area that will help the researchers to concentrate on other aspects related to the research topic. Similarly, the research would help in well acquaintance with the growth of the business of the football clubs across Europe and other nations as well. Moreover, the football industry has been considered important part in European countries, that it had made it a pillar in the economy of the nations, which might develop a lot with time and again for future research and history. Especially, the gaps found in relationship with the theories and practices can be associated with the cultural and community values of the region with great aspects of future.

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