RATIONALE Football in Europe has become an integral part of the culture of the whole continent.

From a minor weekly sport in its early days, the game has become a huge business on the continent. When seen financially, taking a career in football has become a very good option for the youth as the return it provides is huge. The last decade has seen the salaries and wages of football players rise drastically. Moreover, if one cannot play good football, he might choose to take coaching courses and join up the coaching ranks to become a part of the game. Apart from the onfield role, anyone can take up a job in the off the field roles in the administration and other such departments of football clubs and regulatory bodies. The game has promoted the manufacturing of sports goods and the merchandising products of teams, which supporters and fans purchase to show their love for their team and the game. Betting companies have sprung up also to avail the financial benefits of the growth of the game. Clubs have started moving to bigger stadiums to reap benefits of the ever growing fan base of the game through revenue of ticket sales. Investors from around the globe have started to bring in capital to become a part of this growth period of the game to gain profits and increase their earnings while also getting entertained. All in all, it is not just a game to pass the time; it has become a major financial sector. In terms of social and political views, the game has grown to play a central role to educate the European societies about various aspects. One such aspect is the topic of racism. During the last decade, the growth the European football has achieved in eradicating this disease of the society has been truly remarkable. With players of different ethnicities and religions coming together to play in the same teams, all efforts have been done to kick out racism. All this growth in the football industry has been primarily possible due to the role of the media. Previously, football clubs were only supported locally. The media brought a change to this in a huge manner. Due to the ease of access of television channels and the growth of the internet in the last decade, European football clubs have gained popularity all over the globe. This has made the clubs become more active in the commercial sector to earn increased revenue. The increase in fan base has also resulted in the growth of the market for the European clubs globally. This has made the clubs use their brand power to increase their revenue by selling their official club merchandise to fans all over the world. There has also been increase of ticket sales amongst foreign fans, due to which clubs exploit the benefits of their commercial value in the eyes of the increased foreign fan base by embarking upon pre-season tours to countries such as China, Japan and USA. The commercialization and the brand power of the European clubs and national teams, with their famous domestic leagues and tournaments like the UEFA Champions League and the Euros and their world class players, the European football industry truly has grown and continues to grow.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The primary objective of this research would be to identify the reasons for evolution the European football has gone through in the last decade. This can be broken down in sub-objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. To identify the reasons of increased foreign investments being made. To identify the financial impact commercialization has brought to the European football. To identify the reasons for huge wage demands by players. To identify the reasons for success of social campaigns such as against racism.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS While searching for the reasons for the growth of European football, it is important to identify the right questions to find solutions. It is evident that foreign investment has increased in the game of football nowadays. But the question to ask is why that is during times of global financial crisis the European football is attracting such huge foreign investment? Evidently, the foreign investment has resulted in the shift of the paradigm of power in many leagues around Europe. Clubs that had never been strong contenders for European tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League suddenly became title contenders. Chelsea can be used as an example over here. While players are already paid a hefty amount in terms of salaries and wages, let alone the inflow of money from royalties and sponsorships, why is it that salaries have drastically increased from what they used to be a decade ago, even though most clubs are financially stricken in the present? The players have also become relatively strong in negotiations when it comes to transfer deals and contract negotiations, showing an increase in player power. Although players of various ethnicities and religions have played together for a long time, the fight against racism had never been as intense as it is now. So what is that has created this huge amount of awareness within the game regarding the issue of racism? And how has football grown because of this battle? In recent times, apart from a few elite rich clubs, many clubs have found it difficult to cope with losses but they still continue to spend upon transfer of players to compete at the highest level and push themselves in debt. This is quite intriguing as why do clubs follow such a path towards their own doom? Arent there any solutions for issues as such?

GANTT CHART The Gantt Chart below indicates the expected time period to complete the paper. This meets the set deadlines for the project, while also allowing the summarizing of the weekly work to be performed on every stage of the project.

Month Week Stage 1 Introduction Proposal 30 Articles List Stage 2 Literature Review Stage 3 Research Methodology Stage 4 Comparative Analysis Stage 5 Conclusion Reflective Report

November 1 2 3

December 4 1 2 3 4 1

January 2 3 4 1

February

March 4

April 1 2 3 4

2 3 4 1 2 3