2022/08/15 by Henk Erik Meier, Borja García, Serhat Yilmaz +2 · 19 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Amateur #Commission #Football #Law #Legitimacy #Political economy #Political science #Politics #Sociology #Sport and Mega-Event Impacts #Sports Analytics and Performance #Sports, Gender, and Society
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/jcms.13405
published in JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies 61(3), 692-711 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2022/08/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21
Abstract The article traces how European football regulation has been ‘captured’ by the football governing bodies. The European Commission re‐aligned with the European football governing body Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), which enabled the latter to solidify its role as industry regulator. Four factors seem to account for the successful capture of European football regulation by UEFA. (1) UEFA enjoys a substantial mobilization advantage. (2) As legitimacy maximizer, the Commission avoids unnecessary confrontations. (3) Substantial interest heterogeneity amongst football stakeholders such as clubs, players and leagues prevented the emergence of strong countervailing constituencies to oppose UEFA regulatory proposals. (4) The legacy of amateur ideology in European football nurtures a strong socio‐cultural regulatory frame, which depicts the football governing bodies as trustees of the public interest in football as community institution. The findings come with implications for EU football regulation and the limits of the EU regulatory state.