1. Football: Is it still “The Beautiful Game”?
In his book “My life and the beautiful game” the great Pele once described
Football as the “The Beautiful game”, the Manchester city legend Peter Doherty in
1958 during his commentary career described the game as “The Beautiful Game”.
1However, at a closer study, how far away are these statements from the truth? Is
Football still “the beautiful game”? With all the money, corruption, cheating that
has been exposed and implemented into the game over the last ten years then to
an extent there is a doubt that this game that millions and millions of people
watch all around the world. Billions during special tournaments such as the
World Cup and the champions league, have been blinded by the darkness and
ugliness of the game. It may not be seen as “the beautiful game” anymore, and
maybe instead it may be seen as “the ugly game”, or even “the dying game”. But
then again, of course we can look at these ugly traits of the game and completely
forget about the happiness and hope that football brings to the people.
As Brian Clough once said “Football is the people’s game”, Football is nothing
without the fans. The 2014 World Cup is an example where the fans make football
the sport it is today - exciting, colourful, dramatic, emotional, loud, proud. With all
the talent on show, the best countries taking part with a collaboration with the
most colourful fans in the world coming together - then who says it’s a “dying
game”?
In this case we can see what Pele meant by “The Beautiful Game” as it’s
displayed right in front of us with all the talent of players and colours of fans, that
is beauty in itself. Although it could be said with all the diving, cheating and the
hypocritical officials who overlook the tournament with their pockets full of cash
and the constant accusations of bribes, then maybe the World Cup is fake. Maybe
everything that the nations fight for within the cup is false; glory, passion, fans,
medals, respect etc… is worthless. Maybe, it’s all in vain. Recently, we have seen
Fifa massively exposed by The Times newspaper for accepting bribes by nations
such as Qatar and Russia in order to ensure that the World Cups of 2018 and
2022 would be hosted in these nations. To see this makes you wonder whether
this game, that was once discovered all the way back in the 19th century by the
English, was all for nothing. To see thirty - two nations battle it out for their fans
and nation in tough and near impossible conditions almost seems pointless due
to the fact that they are being overlooked and watched by corrupt and detrimental
officials within the game.
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beautiful_Game

2. According to “The Economist”, Football is the Beautiful game but with “dirty
business”.2 That “dirty business” reference was particular to the controversies of
the schemes of bribery and corruption which have come about in relation to the
Qatar World Cup 2022. After an investigation by “The Times” newspaper 3in May -
July 2014, Fifa were massively exposed to corruption and bribery by foreign
businessmen in Qatar and Russia.
There were numerous amount of payments to Fifa officials and even suggestions
that Qatar was always going to be the only nation considered as the location of
the 2022 World Cup. In the past we have match fixing whether it was in the 1980’s
by ex- Liverpool keeper Bruce Grobbelaar or a friendly match between Ghana and
Cameroon, these incidents have been dealt with.
The difference between match fixing and the corruption of Fifa is that match
fixing has a tendency to include outside parties and in some cases gangs to force
players to cooperate. With Fifa, as the people we put our trust and faith to the
organisation that was set up by Italy to be fair and respectful of the game, to deal
with corruption, to deal with badly behaved players, to deal with issues such as
racism, sexism or other forms of discrimination within the game. So for the
organisation of Fifa to be exposed so rawly, and just so openly as a corrupt and
unjustified business if you like, is a real disrespect and disgrace to the fans and
clubs that love football. How can the fans, players and clubs respect and
understand the decisions of Fifa if they are being stamped on over long periods
of time?
How can an organisation that runs the whole nature of Football essentially, be so
corrupt? What’s even more of a disgrace is that the head of Fifa Sep Blatter, was
alleged with the bribing and Qatar 2022 scheme. The Head of football, the leader,
the man whose direction is followed all over the world whether it’s Sunday
League or the the World Cup be so corrupt and dishonourable to the sport that he
supposedly wants match fixing and cheating to be exposed and wiped out
forever. That is where this ideology of a “dirty business” from “The Economist”
comes from, it gives an insight into what really happens behind closed doors and
shows us the people, that in fact, Fifa doesn’t for keeping the game alive, but to
undermine and corrupt it on every level.
2
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21603433-football-great-sport-it-could-be-so-much-better-if-it-
were-run-honestly-beautiful-game
3
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/fifa/article1417325.ece

3. It is clear that the game is a lot richer than it was 20 years - even 10 years ago.
What with massive TV companies such as Sky, BT Sport, ESPN buying the rights
to broadcast games every week, spending billions of pounds to better 4each other
- to ensure they get the best fixtures and deals to screen to us the people. The
fans. Whether, they are hosting 3 games a week or 10, these big broadcasters are
spending billions to host these games mainly in the UK, but also worldwide. Now
admittedly this can have its benefits for fans.
At least there is guaranteed coverage of football every week, there is a massive
access to watching the big teams such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United,
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich etc… We as fans can watch the best players in the
world every week, watch every competition and exciting fixture on offer for a
relatively fair fee per month. However, although yes the best players are on show
for the world see and yes the big teams are shown to provide essentially
entertainment but also to receive monthly subscriptions and more viewers.
Are these TV broadcasters really about the fans and supporters or at the end of
the day are they just providing these games purely for money and selfish
intentions? Or are they trying to turn the game that is so widely loved into a
commercialised business?
By showing so many games, supporters may not feel the need to go out and
spend money on a ticket or an away game. It also may reduce a lot of kids from
supporting their local team and instead support a big club like Manchester united
because they have just grown watching big star players on Tv. This is a shame,
and I think it’s a main cause for a lot of smaller and respectable clubs losing out
fans to bigger clubs. Kids that live in London are supporting teams such as
Manchester united, Manchester City, Liverpool but without even going to the
game. Without even experiencing the matchday atmosphere, the buzzing around
the fans, travelling in large numbers to various away grounds.. This is sad, and I
think the corporate Tv broadcasters such as Sky, Virgin, BT are contributing to
this. Furthermore, by spending billions on Tv rights, the broadcasters have a
huge influence on the fixture list - this can be extremely detrimental to football,
mostly to the fans. With the broadcasters having a massive influence, they can
change the times of fixtures.
This can have a detrimental effect on the fans, fixtures that were scheduled say at
3pm could be moved to 5:30pm or 12:45pm. This is significant especially for away
4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24879138

4. fans, an away day on average can cost £1025, and even more depending on where
you’re travelling to. For what originally was a “working man’s game” this is
extremely pricey.
The rise of inflation mixed with the influence of T.v broadcasting rights has led to
the price a match day out to be too expensive. So for fixtures to be moved can
cause a £102 day out to be even more - maybe £150. 6So this can put off fans from
going to away games or home games as it’s nearly impossible to afford. Take
Sunderland vs Cardiff for example in the 2013 - 2014 season, Cardiff fans had to
leave Cardiff at 4:30am via coach (only transport available at the time) so that
they could make at 12:30 kick off.7 That is crazy. 1,200 Cardiff fans had to travel 7
hours or so just to make a 12:30pm kick off. That was because of Sky
manipulating the broadcasting times to suit their own agenda. By the way, Cardiff
lost the match 4-1, well worth it eh…. By constantly changing the times it puts off
the fans, by having expensive tickets again, it puts off the fans. All these different
factors contribute to the ideal that Football is no longer a working man’s game,
but more of a rich man’s game.
How is it justified for those 1,200 fans who had to get up at maybe 2:30 - 3am, pay
at least £10 or so on a coach journey on top of other expenses just to see a 4-1
loss? It’s a really strong indication that maybe the Tv broadcasters that we
heavily rely on to provide entertainment, indeed don’t care about the fans that go
to games, but in fact have more consideration for the armchair fans who never go
to games….
Although it is clear that Football in itself has strong suggestions that it may not
be the “Beautiful Game” as it is commonly described, there are still aspects that
indicate that there is still hope for the future and that the game that is so loved
isn’t dying. Take the 2014 World cup for example, although yes behind the scenes
it’s been described and exposed as corrupt and unfair on a parts of the Brazilian
public (lack of funding on roads, schools, education..). The actual World cup has
been an incredible tournament so far. Every 4 years we see countries come
together, every country has the backing of millions of their own people. Here in
England, the passion and nationalism is incredible, it raises the spirits of the
people and gives them hope that maybe just maybe “this is our year” (even if
England crashed out in the groups…).
5
http://bornoffside.net/2011/10/the-cost-of-football-breakdown-of-an-away-day/
6
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21142999
7
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/how-can-cardiff-city-fans-7067088

5. The passion and colour of the fans, a sea of yellow/green/red/blue/white within
stadiums, the best players, the goals etc… everything about the World cup is
unique and beautiful.8 This World cup has been an example that even if there is
trouble behind the scenes, nations can come together and focus on the beauty of
the football and the best players battling it out for glory, passion, pride, for the
fans. That in itself shows that maybe that “dirty business” that was described
earlier is possibly forgotten and overshadowed by the beauty and passion of the
actual on - the - pitch football.
The commercialisation of football is significant, and as discussed earlier the price
of football is expensive which could be due to the ever increasing influence of Tv
broadcasters… However, an encouragement for the game is the increase of fans
attending games, in the 2012 - 2013 season (Premier League) there was a 4%
increase of fans attending live games from the 2011- 2012 season.9 Although that
may not seem like a significant figure, it does suggest that the fans instead of
watching the game at home on Tv, they want to experience the game by being at
the grounds surrounded by fans and atmosphere (lets face it, it’s a lot better!).
Furthermore, it may also suggest that fans aren’t fazed by the price of attending a
game - especially away. Teams like Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle, Aston
Villa, even lower league teams like Leeds, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Wolves have
always had a reputation of selling out away allocations in the past. But even with
the inflation of ticket prices and a general day out, these teams continue to sell
out. This is significant as it shows that fans of all clubs even if it does cost a
fortune, will spend the money on their team no matter how much it costs in order
to show that loyalty and love.
The old saying goes “Football is nothing without the fans”, that is so relevant as
the fans do make football so unique. This season (2013 - 2014) all Premier League
clubs were given £200,000 each in order to help the fans.10 Cubs such as Stoke
and Fulham spent the money so that there would be free coach travel and
subsidised tickets for away games. This outcome was positive as Fulham sold
out every away allocation from February 2014 onwards.
8
http://worldcup2014places.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/brazil-fans-world-cup_1404022393.jpg
9
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22541130
10
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24446082

6. This suggests that maybe, the fans are not being shut out from the game by
senior boards such as The FA, Sky, The Premier league, The Football league… in
fact they are encouraging more fans to go to these games because of the
excitement and passion, for the real life experience. In Germany for example
season tickets at Bayern Munich and Dortmund two of the best sides in Europe,
cost just £100 - 120. That is significant as it shows that the boards of these top
clubs care about the fans more than anything. It shows that passion, good
football and the fans are more important than the money… I think to an extent
Football could still be considered the “Beautiful Game” on this basis.
Although it could be argued that due to the diving, the simulation, the play acting,
cheating etc… the actual Football game isn’t beautiful. Every week we see
controversial decisions whether it’s via referees, linesmen, players or managers
yet it still doesn’t put the fans off from watching - it entices us to watch more.
Especially the players, of course you have the fans and their passion, but the real
spectacle, what the fans pay their money for is to see the players.
The players create the beauty we see. With the likes of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo,
Yaya Toure, Aguero, Xaxi Alonso, Santi Cazorla no wonder millions of fans tune
in to watch. The players make the game in the sense that their skill, ball control,
shot, pace, flair, strength all from the top athletes create incredible games. And
yes, sometimes these players do not live up to the hype in certain tournaments or
games e.g. Ronaldo, Daniel Sturridge, Balotelli were all examples of world class
talent underperforming. However, when these players are on their top game
whether it’s in the league or a European competition, then it is a fascinating, it is
beauty. Yes, some might argue that professional players are overpaid - the most
average players can earn between 50-100k per week.
However, talents such as Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar are one offs, they create
beauty and inspire youngsters to dream big and play with their soul. Without the
players there is no football match, without some of these so called “overpaid”
world class superstars there is nothing significant or classy about the game. To
this extent, the game is “Beautiful” due to the amount of talent that is offered and
shown to the people for our entertainment.
By Christian Paul