Football is often referred to as the ‘‘global game’’ and is all-pervasive across most parts of the world. Indeed, countless people play the game, talk about it, and generally organise their leisure time around it. Alongside this, football has progressed from being a ritual and a celebration to become an amateur sport, a professional sport, and now, increasingly, a commercial sport. This means that football in many countries now faces a distinctive set of challenges. In particular, this includes reconciling the history and traditions of the game with the commercial opportunities and problems posed by the twenty-first century
