Guard the Post: Sochi 2014 is on the horizon

7 years ago, Sochi, Russia was granted the 2014 Winter Olympic games. At that time, Russia needed the attention that comes with hosting the biggest sporting event in the world. In hindsight, the attention may have been a little bit more than the Russo's were looking for. Anti-gay legislation, money problems, political unrest with the United States and other world powers, threats of terrorist attacks, and bombings in other Russian cities, just to name a few.

Guard The Post: Nelson Mandela: Sport Can Change The World

 

Now that we are two weeks since the passing of Nelson Mandela, and we are approaching the new year, I think it is an important time to realize how vital Sport is for the furtherance of our culture and society. Nelson, who led beyond the world of sport, spoke so eloquently about its value to our society as a whole and that it really can "change the world".

World Cup 2014: Update

Global Scope: Farewell to the Heineken Cup

The Heineken Cup, also known as the H Cup in France (because of alcohol sponsorship restrictions), is considered the most prestigious European club rugby tournament. The Cup’s inaugural season was in 1995 involving 5 countries (France, Ireland, Wales, Romania, Italy) with a total of 12 clubs competing. The Heineken Cup has seen many changes in format throughout its 18 years of existence, leading up to the “present day” version with 24 teams from England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Italy. The competition is held from October to May, overlapping domestic club competitions. Also, The Heineken Cup’s major winners are Stade Toulousain (France) and Leinster (Ireland) with four and three championships respectively.

Under Further Review: A World Away In A Desert

"FIFA cannot sit by and see greed rule the football world. Nor shall we." - Sepp Blatter, FIFA President.

A world away somewhere in a desert in the Middle East in the oil-rich country of Qatar people are dying. That's the reality of it, no matter how sad or bleak it may sound. Qatar is making the riots across Brazil look humane and controlled. And to think we are still nine years away from the 2022 World Cup.

The London Experiment

By: Aaron Coleman

 

 

Let’s face it, it is probably fair to say that most American NFL fans are not huge on NFL games being played in London during the regular season. Fans are probably not too keen to see their squads potentially lose a home game just so our mates across the pond can watch the Steelers and Vikings play live in a “soccer” stadium. Personally, I would honestly not be too excited for Robert Griffin III, Alfred Morris, and the rest of my Washington Redskins squad to have to take a 10+ hour flight to go play in front of an unfamiliar “home” crowd.

The Closer: Sport Ideology of Great Britain

This essay was written during my British Culture class while studying abroad in London, England this summer. Its topic is Sport Ideology of Great Britain.



The first thing that everyone thinks about when prompted with the word “sport” and the “United Kingdom” is football. There is a lot more to the sport culture of the UK than what is going on in the Premier League; the make-up of sport in the United Kingdom roots back much further than the creation of football in 1863. The history of sport culture has made sport in the United Kingdom a fascinating subject to study as it has shaped so much of what is seen today on the field and in everyday life. Not unlike any other nation, the United Kingdom clings onto their stars in particular sports and rides with them until they fall off, but it is interesting to follow where people’s allegiances are while taking club affiliation into the equation. By looking at two of the largest sports in the UK, football and tennis, this essay will compare how these sports, teams, and stars are portrayed and followed by the media and the general public. Using small comparisons to sport figures and organizations in the United States, some differences and similarities will become clear. Those comparative points can be attributed to cultural differences between the two nations, which will also be mentioned throughout the essay. Football has always been the international figure of British sport, as it is the most popular sport in the world.

The Closer: London Style: A Year after the Games, where is London now?

This week marked the one year anniversary of the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Last year, London held a landmark Games, and being that this was the city's 3rd time hosting, it was definitely well run. Many believe that London 2012 was the best structured, best run, and overall best Olympic Games in recent memory.

Fun Friday: Drexel Sport Management Group in Ireland!

The Drexel SMTSU team would like to wish the group of Drexel Sport Management students currently in Ireland an amazing trip as they immerse themselves in Irish Sport Culture. A special "shoutout" goes to our President, Kevin Giordano, and our Vice President, Kevin Rossi. Also, our blog contributors, Matthew Puzio and Josh Brackett!

 

Have fun and Éirinn go Brach!

Global Scope: FIFA Club World Cup

The world's most popular sporting event is the FIFA World Cup, an international football competition played by the top 32 national teams from all the continents. The World Cup is hosted by a different country every four years since 1930, and the last World Cup was in 2010 hosted by South Africa and won by Spain. The next FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil for the second time (1930, 2014). 

The World Cup is the major tournament where different nations can test their quality against each other, and from all over the world. When dealing with club football there is only one tournament every year where teams from all over the world can play each other, the FIFA Club World Cup. The Club World Cup has been organized entirely by FIFA in its current format since 2000, with a brief interruption of four years and a few modifications here and there. In the past the title of "World Champion" came from a match played between the champion of South America versus the champion of Europe. As of 2012, most teams qualify to the FIFA Club World by winning their continental competitions, be it the Asian AFC Champions League, African CAF Champions League, North American CONCACAF Champions League, South American Copa Libertadores, Oceanian OFC Champions League or European UEFA Champions League. Along with the fore mentioned, the host nation's national league champions qualify to participate in the tournament as well. The competition is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary; it features seven clubs competing over a two week period.

In the 2012 version of the tournament, the Brazilian team Corinthians FC beat the English Chelsea FC by a score of 1-0. The goal was scored by Corinthians' Peruvian star striker José Paolo Guerrero. The competition was held in two different host cities in Japan, Toyota and Yokohama in two state-of-the-art stadiums. This year's clubs were: Corinthians FC (Brazil), Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea), Monterrey (Mexico), Chelsea FC (England), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Auckland City (New Zealand), and Al-Ahly (Egypt). This tournament was a special one because of the involvement of Corinthians FC. Known for having the biggest and most passionate fan base in São Paulo, the fans traveled in bunches to Japan. For the first time in this tournament's history was the stadium actually full with fans from one of the team's playing, and not only sympathizers and locals. This tournament is also notorious for being more of a big deal for South Americans than for the Europeans. The truth is that the South American calendar makes it easier for clubs to travel to Asia with a longer time to prepare. This year Chelsea FC broke this tabu that European clubs aren't as into this title as the South Americans, with numerous interviews with players and coach Rafa Benitez emphasizing how important this victory would be. It was also very clear after the match was over, and many Chelsea players were either sobbing or just very disappointed. Also, with Corinthians FC winning the Club World Cup this year, Europe and South America are now tied with 26 wins each. 

José Paolo Guerrero, scored Corinthians' two goals in the Club World Cup

Global Scope: World Soccer's Awards

We are getting closer to the end of the year and at the end of every year there are a few international awards for top players, coaches, and teams in the wide world of football. One of the most prestigious of these awards is given out by the British magazine World Soccer. Well regarded as the world's top magazine for international football fans, they give out an award every year for the best player, young player, manager, and team of the year. One of the main reason's as to why their awards are so special for players is because it is 100% decided by fans. Fans will vote on the magazine's website and the results are out on the magazine's January edition (released to the public in December).

The top player award was first handed out in 1982 for Juventus and Italy's Paolo Rossi who received 23% of the votes. In 1982 Rossi won the Italian first division (Serie A) with Juventus FC and the FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team where he was the competition's top goal scorer (6 goals), and scored one of the three goals in the final versus West Germany. After Rossi the award moved forward, passing through players such as Zico, Maradona, Maldini, and many other legends until it was last handed out to Lionel Messi. In 2011 Messi was awarded top player for the second time, first being in 2009, and with a record breaking percentage of 60.2%. The awards for coach of the year, young player of the year, and world team of the year were last awarded to Josep Guardiola (Barcelona), Neymar (Santos), and FC Barcelona respectively.

This year's list of finalists for the awards really do represent what fans have been watching in international football and is filled with interesting stories. The finalists for top player are Drogba (Chelsea/Shanghai Shenhua), Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid), Eden Hazard (Lille/Chelsea), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Neymar Junior (Santos), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), and Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona). There really is a case to be made for every one of those players to win the top player award, but it is likely that it will end with Messi, Ronaldo, or Iniesta. Messi had a fantastic scoring record last season with 73 goals in 60 appearances with Barcelona, while Ronaldo and Iniesta led their teams to success in the Spanish First Division and the Eurocup 2012.

The finalists for the award of best coach of the year travels the globe from South America, to Europe, and to Africa. The ten coaches in the mix are Marcelo Bielsa (Athletic Bilbao), Vicente del Bosque (Spain), Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea), Rene Girard (Montpellier), Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Luis Tena (Mexico Olympic Team), Tite (Corinthians), Herve Renard (Zambia). There are so many interesting and successful story lines in this mix that it is tough to only pick one, so I'll pick three. The Italian Roberto Di Matteo, who is a Chelsea former player, was brought in to fill the gap left by Andre Villas-Boas he led his squad to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time. Jose Mourinho was able to finally stay ahead of FC Barcelona and win the Spanish First Division with Real Madrid after four years, where Barcelona won for three years in a row. There is also Tite, the coach of Brazilian side Corinthians FC, who last season won the Brazilian league and this year the Copa Libertadores da America (equivalent to the UEFA Champions League in South America) for the first time. There is also a very special mention to be left for French head coach of the Zambian national team Herve Renard. He was able to take a fragile Zambian squad to their first ever African Cup of Nations title win in 2012. Zambia beat favorites Senegal in the group stages and then defeated Ghana in the semi finals and the Ivory Coast in the final. The win was made even more special when the team dedicated this historic accomplishment to the 18 players who died in a plane crash in April of 1993.

Finally, up for the award for best world team of the year are Atletico Madrid (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Chelsea (England), Corinthians (Brazil), Juventus (Italy), Mexico, Montpellier (France), Spain, Universidad de Chile (Chile), and Zambia. In this list again they are all well deserving of this award. Chelsea winning their first ever Champions League, Dortmund with back to back league titles, and even Universidad de Chile with an impressive Copa Sul Americana win. However I am going to pick three teams to keep the same pattern. The favorite for this award is Spain, winning their third major title consecutively and consolidating their place in history. Following not too far behind is Juventus FC who bounced back after a few tough years and won the Italian first division (Serie A) in undefeated fashion. Finally, the third candidate would be the incredible Zambian national team. Beating African powerhouses on their way to Nations Cup success for the first time ever.

Global Scope: European Soccer Market

The United States of America is very unique in terms of their sports market. There are four, potentially five (if include the MLS) different sports that are generating money every year, with an already established and clear market. The four major sports/leagues in the USA are the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League. However, in Europe (similar to many parts of the world) there isn't really an already established and clear market for multiple sports. Depending on which part of Europe you are looking at there might be only football, while others may have a strong market for rugby, basketball, and other popular sports. Given the fact that most of Europe concentrates mainly in football, the biggest sponsorship deals are going to be found within the football teams.

A partnership between two consulting agencies, Sport Intelligence and PR Marketing, released information about the sponsorship deals that are made between European football clubs and major multinational brands. It is interesting to see the partnerships that  have been maintained for very long periods of time, highlighting the one between Bayern Munich and Adidas, that has been going strong for over 40 years. This year both sides also agreed to extend their partnership at least until 2020. Another interesting observation is that from the ten clubs listed below, all have deals with either Adidas or Nike except for Liverpool FC. This is the first year that Liverpool's kit is supplied by Warrior, an American company that is trying to get into the football market. Liverpool FC is owned by an American company called Fenway Sports Group (also the owners of the Boston Red Sox) since October of 2010 when they also bought Liverpool's home ground, Anfield.

A succesful partnership must be beneficial for both sides, and its not different when dealing with European football. These major brands such as nike and adidas are also making a lot of money with the partnerships with European clubs. As you can see below it seems that Adidas is leading in this category, but taking into consideration that Umbro is now a part of Nike, they end up with the top spot with 40% of the market share.

Billion Dollar Giant

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) has agreed to a five year broadcasting agreement with Nine and Fox Sports in a deal worth more than $1 billion, which makes it the largest agreement in Rugby League history. It might not even end there, since the agreement allows Nine and Fox to show all the games in Australia, leaving the ARLC open to pursuing further broadcasting revenues in New Zealand. The agreement with Nine and Fox also includes a cash component of $925 million, $90 million of which will have to be paid before the start of the first season. Advertising packages of up to $100 million are also included in the same agreement. The Australian Rugby League Commission chair, John Grant said "This whole package is simply a fantastic result for Rugby League. The cash that comes from the agreement, used wisely, will provide the funding base for sustainably growing our game from the grassroots to the elite levels."

The Nine Network will broadcast three weekly matches, three Thursday evening matches during the year, 4 special events throughout the season, and 2 hours of Rugby League content every evening. Meanwhile, Fox will be showing five matches a week, starting on Saturday and ending on Mondays. Also, both channels will be providing coverage of The Four Nations tournament, one of the most prestigious international rugby competition in the world.

National Rugby League (NRL) clubs are expected to receive an immediate $500,000 payment, and a salary cap of up to $6 million will be talked about next Monday at the inaugural meeting of the ARLC Council. This deal is a huge win for players, clubs and hopefully the development of the sport. The deal is showing a significant increase from the current deal that expires at the end of this season, of $500 million over a span of six years.

The NRL is well regarded as the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Oceania. The current version of the league had its first season in 1998, and it is comprisef of 16 teams total, 15 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. The most succesful team in the NRL is the South Sydney Rabbitohs with 20 titles in total (the last championship came in 1971). The NRL is also regarded as the top Rugby League championship in the world and is the single most viewed and attended rugby competition in the world per season. The season always culminates in the NRL Grand Final, one of Australia's most popular sporting events and also one of the world's largest attender club championship events.