Two Tiers of Representation and Policy: The EU and the Future of Football

Grant, Wyn. (2007) Two Tiers of Representation and Policy: The EU and the Future of Football. In: UNSPECIFIED, Montreal, Canada. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This paper considers the representation of football in the European Union in terms of conflicting associative state and company state models. The EU has a stated preference for dialogue with associations representing civil society, but is often susceptible to influence exerted by individual firms and big business generally. The EU’s involvement in football stems from its regulatory state form, the requirements of competition policy which apply to football as a multi-billion euro business and its search for means of establishing its legitimacy among European citizens. The paper analyses the development of the G-14 organisation that claims to represent Europe’s top clubs and compares with Uefa which emphasises principles of solidarity. There has been a battle for influence between the organization which at the moment stands as a score draw with extra time to be played with the final result uncertain. Uefa has made effective political use of the EU’s Independent Review of Football. In some respects G-14 has done less well than some other big business groups, reflecting popular interest in football. The topic raises more general issues about the response of the EU to globalisation.

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