6-1 Organization them

5

Overview and Societal Perception of a Sports Organization

Antonio McClan

Sport and Society

September 4, 2022

Overview and Societal Perception of a Sports Organization

Overview: Event

The sports organization selected for this project is FIFA (Federation International Football Association). The main objective of this sports organization is to grow the football association at a global level and include as many members for its international and national tournaments as possible. It also governs the rules for the tournaments and makes sure that fair play is exercised. It is organizing world cup tournaments for the men and women separately. Out of all the events organized by FIFA, I chose “FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2022”. This tournament takes place every two years, and only teams of women less than 20 years of age are allowed to participate. The tournament is the 10th edition of “The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup”. This event took place in Costa Rica from 10th august to 28th august. A total of 16 under 20 teams participated in this tournament ( FIFA, n.d.). COVID-19 pandemic delayed the 10th edition of this tournament that was planned in 2020. Later on, in 2022, Panama and Costa Rica were both selected as co-hosts, but for some reason, Panama left, leaving Costa Rica the only host. The sixteen teams participating in the tournament were Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Korea, Spain, and the United States ( FIFA, n.d.). The costs of the tournament are divided among different parties. These parties include FIFA, the organizing association, and participating member association. The sale of tickets also helps in the finances of the tournament. 95% of the revenue for the tournament came from the broadcasts on television, brand sponsors, advertisement campaigns, and licensing rights related to the FIFA World Cup™ ( FIFA, n.d.). On August 29, the Spain football team won in the final match against the football team of japan.

During an interview, Shirley Cruz, a women's football icon, said hosting FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be like creating a legacy in Costa Rica. She also mentioned that the FIFA U-20 tournament provides a great platform for women to develop significant football skills and positively affects women's confidence (FIFA, n.d). FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup has created many opportunities for women of every race and ethnicity and inspired them to come forward. This is the most phenomenal effect of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in the field of sports.

Overview: Challenges

The first challenge faced by FIFA in organizing the women’s world cup is that it has been trying to replace the plastic turf with biodegradable infill. FIFA has been facing difficulty in finding the appropriate polymeric infill for the playing surfaces ( FIFA Innovation Programme, n.d.). Other than that, the biggest challenge that FIFA faces during the women's world cup is match-fixing. It has also been called the cancer of football. In the last few years, match-fixing has increased by 2.4% since the last survey of 2019 (de Cima, C, 2022). In collaboration with national federations and global policy agencies, FIFA has put in much effort to eliminate this issue, but it still finds its way into the tournaments. Racism and fan violence is also an issue faced by FIFA, and it is more common and severe in the women's world cup. It challenges the objective of the organization of spreading football at the global level. During the FIFA world cup held in Russia, it was suggested that the black players could boycott the world cup if the country could not eradicate racism. Blatter, the ex-president, had to rebuke calls for black players to boycott. This is also a great challenge for FIFA as it is not just an organization related to football but also international relations, international affairs, and human rights equity. It has to clear out these racism-related issues as these incidents can greatly influence other sports as well.

Societal Perception: Values and Purpose

The societal perception regarding FIFA is multifaceted. One school of perception is that FIFA is introducing new cultures into the field of football which is evident by the decision to award the hosting to Qatar for the World Cup in 2022 (Griffin, 2019). On the other hand, FIFA has been bashed many times for corruption, indicating the negative perception of society about it (Woods, 2019). As mentioned in the interview statement of Victor Umaña, the CEO of the local organizing committee, society perceives the FIFA women’s world cup as a celebration of sisterhood and hope (FIFA, n.d.). In the recent decade, FIFA has also influenced and worked on sociocultural aspects such as gender equality, education, and the economy (FIFA, n.d.). In terms of economy, FIFA influences the economy of the countries selected for hosting the world cup as it boosts their event-based tourism (Szymanski, 2020).

Societal Perception: Reinforces Cultural Norms

The new brand identity “beyond greatness” is a high-spirited and dynamic slogan for the FIFA women’s world cup. It adds distinct and diverse cultural elements to the identity of FIFA. It aims to encourage and unite all women belonging to any culture in the world (FIFA, n.d). The FIFA women’s world cup and the “beyond greatness” initiative explain how FIFA is reinforcing cultural norms such as women's empowerment in sports. It has worked from the beginning to preserve these norms. FIFA has also been working on cultural understanding and sustainability. During the tournaments, it articulates cultural guidance to the participants, which supports intercultural tournaments and discourages discrimination based on culture. FIFA also promotes the cultural norms of the host countries and includes their cultural elements in their tournaments. In this way, the cultural norms of the host countries are represented on an international level. These cultural norms reinforced by FIFA help attract society and encourage their participation in mega sports events.

References

Beyond GreatnessTM in 2023. (n.d.). Beyond GreatnessTM in 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/australia-new-zealand2023/media-releases/new-brand-identity-launched-for-fifa-womens-world-cup

Challenges Set for the FIFA Innovation Programme. (n.d.). Challenges Set for the FIFA Innovation Programme. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.fifa.com/technical/football-technology/innovation-programme/challenges-set-for-the-fifa-innovation-programme

de Cima, C., & Moriconi, M. (2022). Assessing public and sports policies to tackle match-fixing.  Understanding Match-Fixing in Sport: Theory and Practice.

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2022TM: match schedule and Official Draw date unveiled. (n.d.). FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2022TM: Match Schedule and Official Draw Date Unveiled. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/womens/u20womensworldcup/costarica2022/media-releases/fifa-u-20-womens-world-cup-2022-tm-match-schedule-and-official-draw-date

FIFA Women’s Football Development – The Story So Far. (n.d.). FIFA Women’s Football Development – The Story So Far. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.fifa.com/womens-football/news/fifa-womens-football-development-the-story-so-far

FIFA. (n.d.). FIFA. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/finances

Griffin, T. R. (2019). National identity, social legacy and Qatar 2022: the cultural ramifications of FIFA’s first Arab World Cup.  Soccer & Society,  20(7-8), 1000-1013.

Mission, Vision & Values – FIFA Watch. (2021, February 23). MISSION, VISION & VALUES – FIFA Watch. https://fifa.watch/mission-vision-values/

Szymanski, S., & Drut, B. (2020). The private benefit of public funding: The FIFA world cup, UEFA European Championship, and attendance at host country league soccer. Journal of Sports Economics,  21(7), 723-745.

Woods, C. L., & Stokes, A. Q. (2019). ‘For the game, for the world’: An analysis of FIFA’s CSR initiatives.  Public Relations Inquiry,  8(1), 49-85.