Football clubs, as with any business, are ran by higher management who are tasked with acting in the best interest of the organisation. It is therefore essential that these executives have a strong critical thinking and decision-making ability.

Clubs’ CEOs have a strong influence in what players are purchased and sold, all of which involves significant factors being weighed up against one another, such as price, ability of player, contract length etc. Critical thinking concerns the “the ability to cross-examine evidence and logical argument” (Korn et.al, 2014) and therefore evidently applies to the process of buying a football player.

Moreover, it is vital for the team coaches to be capable decision-makers and be able to asses risk. “In top teams managerial risk taking is not sensitive to prior outcomes” whereas “in weak teams, coaches strongly react to prior outcomes” (Bucciol, 2018) which indicates that coaches in so-called less talented teams are more rational and think more critically when preparing their team for the next match. Considering this, is there argument to suggest that CEOs and mangers of wealthy, successful clubs lack the capacity to logically construct arguments and make decisions, instead relying on the financial backing of the owners alongside the talent of the players themselves to bring positive results to the club?

It is interesting to give thought to the idea that executives in the football world would perhaps struggle to perform in different sectors due to the nature of football as a sport in which money seems to have little meaning and profit for the organisation is not the main objective, thus critical thinking not being such a necessary skill to possess.

Global warming is perhaps the most critical issue in the world today and its impact is undeniable. Football itself has not been able to escape the effects of climate change which ever increasingly threatens the longevity of the sport.

In recent times, with the earth’s temperature on the rise, football has seen a number of actions taken in an attempt to tackle the problem. “The introduction of ‘cooling breaks’ to alleviate the effects of heat during a match” (Tabona, 2018) is an example of this, however, the extent to which these breaks are considered popular is somewhat uncertain. Both managers and players have argued they disrupt the flow of the game, leaving fans bored and frustrated. Considering its impact on football, is there any proactive methods the sport can take to prevent climate change, as opposed to the current reactive approach?

A team in the English 4^th Division, Forest Green Rovers, have pioneered the way in which football clubs are run, implementing numerous measures to create a more sustainable organisation. Since 2010 they have installed solar PV panels along the roof of their stadium” and have introduced a completely organic pitch with “no pesticides or chemicals” (Sustainibility in Sport, 2012). Evidently there is contribution to be made by the sport in order to help protect the environment, and it is critical that it is done so.

The 2022 World Cup, perhaps the biggest sporting event in the world, for the first time in history is set to take part during winter due to the host country (Qatar) being deemed ‘too hot’ to hold a summer tournament. If climate change is not dealt with, could football eventually collapse as a sport altogether, with the heat being near-on impossible to play in?

Football teams, at whatever level, often employ multiple international players to play for their team. Whereas in the past this has been considered a mundane task, with the introduction of Brexit, things may take a more complicated turn.

Just like any job, football players moving from country to country are required to hold work permits. Before Brexit, EU citizens have been able to easily attain permits to work in EU countries, however, it is evident that it is going to become increasingly difficult, particularly in the football industry who rely on fast paced changes in jobs and contracts.

“Once Brexit is complete there is no guarantee that EU nationals living in the UK will be allowed to stay” (Messer, 2018) and for the Premier League, this will have a huge impact, with 69% of players not being English (Messer, 2018), therefore clubs may lose large proportions of their team. As previously mentioned, buying players will also become more difficult and certainly more expensive for English clubs post-Brexit.

Teams wanting to purchase foreign players will be charged increased visa fees of up to £2000 and a skills charge of £1000 (Bridge, 2019), which for smaller clubs may be considered too much.

Although on the surface Brexit may appear detrimental for football in the UK, it may actually have the opposite effect. As in any industry, Brexit may force organisations that “rely on EU labour or a seasonal workforce” to switch their recruitment process to aim towards hiring “British talent” (Kerridge, 2019), and the same theory can be applied to football. Clubs will have to nurture their home-grown talent and in return, may England perform better on the world stage?

Being a business, you inevitably have to reach out to your consumers and grow your customer base. The same applies to football clubs. Through expanding their brand internationally, clubs can increase profitability and therefore hope to perform better during the season.  Social media provides the perfect platform to do just this.

In 2018, 79% of the 18+ UK population were in fact users of Facebook (Battisby, 2019), and the numbers are similar in most developed countries. It is obvious that by exposing your brand online, there is unlimited opportunities for expansion due to the huge consumer base out there.

Every season football clubs appear to increase their online presence, particularly on social media. On a day to day basis, an individual club will post hundreds of pieces of content, ranging from interviews to match highlights, in a bid to engage fans. It has been found that “greater customer activity through social media can be deemed attractive and can increase spectatorship” (Nisar, 2018) which is an obvious objective for any team in any sport.

Not just from a consumer perspective, but also in terms of recruitment, social media can be a hugely powerful tool. “The use of social media positively relates to corporate reputation, which in turn is positively linked to intentions to apply for a job” (Sivertzen, 2013) and taking this into account, it is in clubs’ best interests to portray a positive online image in order to attract the best footballing talent.

Wherever the future of football is heading, social media is certainly going to be a significant part of it.

In today’s world, with football as a sport only growing in popularity, the introduction of female football teams has become increasingly successful. Despite its success, there is an undeniable gender pay gap in the footballing world.

On average, a male footballer in the English Premier League earns £50,817 a week (BBC, 2019), compared to the highest paid female player, earning just £35,000 in a year (Manchester Evening News). Evidently there is a huge wage differential, but is it justified?

Firstly, it is important to compare the gender pay cap across industries, to identify whether football is the worst offender. In the UK public sector, the average difference in wage is 24.5%, and in the private sector it is 36.5% (Jones, 2018). This pales in comparison to that in football which currently stands at a whopping 83.42% (Onita, 2018). Considering this, it is clear there are factors causing this extortionate difference.

Men’s football, for whatever reason, is hugely more popular across the globe and as a result, the game itself draws in billions more pounds than the female game. Inevitably, with this greater income, clubs can afford to pay the male players a higher wage.

Moreover, it has been revealed that “firms with foreign owners on average display a substantially larger gender wage gap than domestic owned firms” (Vahter, 2018) which could explain the issue in British football, with the majority of clubs being owned by wealthy international billionaires who potentially share different cultural views.

Despite this, there is an argument to discount this view, being that: could clubs use the income generated by men’s football to help support the women’s game and help the two become more equal?

By now it must surely be a worldwide aim to help increase gender equality and equity throughout football, in order to continue to encourage participation and the growth of both games.