For all its supposed ‘magic’ and ‘charm’ and its cultural and symbolic significance for many fans and supporters, much late-modern professional sport also has severe structural problems. For sport’s many critics, these are difficulties that are not that easily masked. This is a clear case, then, for sociological investigation.
First, the hegemonic dominance in the European sports market of a single sport, professional football, is telling. It would be hard to imagine the same type of commercial interest, hype and emotional investment that is generated in this country for football to be the same around, say, field hockey or basketball. In much of Europe the story is the same: men’s football is still king, often swallowing up its rivals and typically jamming the television sporting airways.
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