Football and the world economy

The world economy may be in a bad way, but as the recent players' strike in Italy reveals, the football world sails on unaware that there is anything to worry about. However, the shock transfer of Samuel Eto'o from traditional football power centre Milan, to a remote corner of Russia, reveals why the sport swims against Europe's depressed economic tide.

The Cameroonian striker's move, at the top of his game, will make him the world's richest player. But his transfer to the periphery forms part of a rising trend in the game. In recent years, Brazilian players like Ronaldinho have been heading back home to Brazil. Though the brilliant, mercurial Brazilian may be in the later stages of his career, he is far from washed up. The move home merely signalled the growing economic strength of Brazil's clubs.

If Europe's economies are slumping, Brazil's is getting stronger. The corporate money which underpins modern football strength is increasingly going south. Football was a sport early to globalise, and so players have been able to ride that wave. But the effect shows up in other sports, too. After all, whereas England might once have been seen as the money magnet of cricket, today the action is increasingly in India.

It's not just players who are cashing in. So, too, are clubs. The way they are doing so is revealing. It's far from clear that Eto'o's new boss will succeed in turning his new club into a powerhouse. Many a tycoon has thrown good money after bad trying to turn a sports club into a successful vanity project. And the old clubs are proving resilient. The heartland of club football remains the European leagues.

Local brands, global appeal

But that is not because of Europe's economic clout, which is ever diminishing. It is because the club owners have taken local brands, and given them global appeal. Take Manchester United. This past year, in the midst of an economic slump in the United Kingdom, and despite having to pay ever higher player salaries, the iconic club set new records for revenues. The driver of all this new income has been, largely, new commercial deals with overseas partners, such as sponsorships and merchandise sales.

The club's owners are an American family with an eye on global opportunities. They now plan a share flotation in Singapore, eager as they are to raise capital in a market more flush with loose cash than is the case back home in London. Manchester United has transformed itself into a global dynasty by living the mantra of the age - thinking local, acting global.

Heartland advantage

The US is also emerging as a new pole for talent. This is not so much because its economy is booming; it isn't. Rather, because Americans came late to the passion of football, so there is a lot of pent-up demand driving the sport's rapid rise. Preseason tours are now becoming increasingly standard fare for European clubs. However, as Manchester United recent trouncings of American teams showed, when it comes to club football, the advantage remains decidedly back in the heartland.

Where change is showing up, however, is in national football. Where the improving quality of football in its periphery is being combined with youth-development programmes, so as to raise the general quality of play, the overall competitiveness of the country is improving. So far, this has shown up mostly at an individual level. Cte d'Ivoire, for example, produces outstanding footballers. Its national squad fails to reflect that.

This results from the organisation of the sport in Cote d'Ivoire, which is beset by ineptitude and corruption. As Jamaica knows all too well, producing lots of talent does not lead to national growth if there is no outlet for its exercise at home, or if vested interests inhibit its expression.

Young men may be going south to get rich. But they may continue going north to get started.

John Rapley is a research associate at the International Growth Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science.