How sport facilitates the globalization process and the interplay of international companies and sport organizations

1. Sport &
Globalization
China
• China is a very attractive market of 1.4 billion consumers.
• The NBA in the last decade has made a significant effort to reach
this market.
- Kevin Durant in China
- Lebron James in China
- NBA player speaking Mandarin

2. Sport &
Globalization
China
• Sportswear companies like Li-Ning have secured deals with
popular NBA stars:
- Dwayne Wade (I, II)
- Shaquille O’Neal

3. Sport &
Globalization
China
• In 2002 Yao Ming joined the NBA. He was a 7’6 giant nicknamed
The Great Wall.
• Houston Rockets’ games were watched by 200 million Chinese
people (the average for an NBA playoff game in America was 5
million viewers).

4. Red is a lucky color in Chinese culture. Coincidence?

5. Sport &
Globalization
China
• The impact of Yao Ming’s time in Houston made his teammates
targets of Chinese companies

6. Golden State has also made movements to attract Asian people

7. Sport &
Globalization
China
• Jeremy Lin was point guard number 4 in the depth chart in 2011 for
the NYK. He was the 15th player in the roster.
• He played in the D-League and was bound to Europe when a
series of injuries forced coach D’Antoni to give Lin a chance “in
desperation”.
• He averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists in the next 12 games.
• According to The New York Times: ‘the Knicks most popular player
in a decade’.

8. Sport &
Globalization
China
• LINSANITY:
 “No player has created the interest and the frenzy in this short
period of time, in any sport, that I'm aware of like Jeremy Lin
has” Commissioner David Stern
 The team quickly began selling replicas of Lin's No. 17 jerseys
and t-shirts, and the sales and traffic for its online store
increased more than 3,000%
 For the one-year period ending April 2012, Lin had the second
highest selling jersey in the league behind Derrick Rose

9. Sport &
Globalization
China
• LINSANITY:
 Within three weeks of his first game as a starter, at least
seven e-books were being published on Lin.
 Global Language Monitor declared that Linsanity had met its
criteria to be considered an English-language word.
 New York City restaurants introduced new food and bar items
in honor of Lin

10. Sport &
Globalization
China
• LINSANITY:
 The companies embraced the hero narrative and capitalized
heavily on his global fame to reach Asian markets:
 Volvo
 Adidas

11. Sport &
Globalization
China
• After the New York Knicks, he has played for the Houston Rockets,
and Los Angeles Lakers, two of the most prominent NBA markets
for Asian population.

12. Sport &
Globalization
China
• The NFL has also begun recently a similar approach to the
Chinese market

13. Sport &
Globalization
Qatar
• FC Barcelona and Qatar are in an ongoing relationship since
December 2010.
• First Qatar Foundation and then Qatar Airways substituted
UNICEF in Barça’s chest.

14. Sport &
Globalization
Qatar
1. What do you think about promoting a company in your teams
shirt?
2. Barcelona gets $189m in 5 years, but what does Qatar get from
the deal?

15. ‘The traditional International Relations literature is unable to explain Qatar’s
diplomatic choices and behavior’ (Cooper and Momani, 2011)
I.
Its size combined with
its wealth coming from
liquefied natural gas
exportations make Qatar
a very vulnerable
country to predators, as
happened in Kuwait
(Peterson, 2006)
II.
Qatar is a small state that,
unlike most of its kind,
does not want to follow a
heads-down strategy but
one based on innovation
and unorthodoxy (Cooper
and Momani, 2011)
Sport &
Globalization
Qatar

16. Qatar National Vision 2030
Major conferences, involvement with international organizations
UN General Assembly president in 2011
UN Security Council member in 2006
US largest military base in the Middle East
US university and museum franchises
Al Jazeera, the Arab world’s leading broadcaster

17. Major sport events held in Qatar
Exxon Mobile Tennis Tournament
2006 Asian Games
FEI Equestrian Global Champions Tour
Moto GP Grand prix
Formula 1 testing
2014 Swimming FINA championship
2015 Handball World Cup
2016 Initial stage of Tour de France (in
negotiation)
2017 World Athletics Championships
(unsuccessful bid)
2018 World Artistic Gymnastics
2022 Football World Cup
2024 Olympic Games (bid)
Sport sponsorship and ownership
FC Barcelona shirt sponsorship
TV rights for French football league
70% ownership of Paris Saint-Germain
Reportedly, shares in Liverpool AC
Takeover attempt over Manchester
United
Qatar National Vision 2030
Sports Sector Strategy
(2011-2015)
Qatar Sports
Investments
‘Sport is becoming a
tool for leaders in the
gulf to reposition
their countries on the
world map’
(Amara, 2005)
‘Qatar’s sport
investment is less
concerned with
immediate economic
return than status,
prestige and
relevancy’
(Campbell, 2010)

18. ‫قطر‬
Qatar’s Global Sport Jigsaw Puzzle

19. On what moral grounds could the
free world invade a country hosting
the Olympic Games?

20. Sport &
Globalization
Qatar
• Qatar 2022 Soccer World Cup. Labor conditions under scrutiny.
ESPN documentary.
• Allegations of FIFA executives being bribed by the Qatari
committee. FIFA conducted an internal investigation and cleared
themselves from any wrongdoing.
• Soft Power

21. Sport &
Globalization
New scenarios
1. Sport tourism: I need Spain
2. For professional footballers playing in European leagues
retirement means emigration to Middle East countries or the US:
• Drogba, Raúl, Thierry Henry
3. The financial crisis in Southern Europe has prompted sport
professionals to migrate to better paid leagues:
• Qatar, Bundesliga, Poland, Hungary…

22. Sport &
Globalization
New scenarios
4. The global soccer market has become increasingly complex.
Soccer agents and investment groups are playing a bigger role
and this endangers the integrity of the game.
5. Gas oligarchs from Russia and Middle East are buying large
portions of the European soccer market. Monaco, PSG,
Manchester City, Chelsea, Valencia…
6. Third-party ownership. The Falcao Case (Lanceros, River, Porto,
Atlético Madrid, Monaco, Manchester United)

23. Sport &
Globalization
New scenarios
7. Big signings are based sometimes on the marketability of the
player in foreign countries: Japan, Brazil, Chile… David Beckham
was a noteworthy case.
8. Supranational governing bodies (FIFA, UEFA, IOC) increasingly
behave as private corporations but still are treated as non-for-
profit organizations.