The Games Are Not the Same: The Political Economy of Football in Australia

Description

Australians are intensely proud of their sporting traditions, and have always had a passion for football in its various forms- Australian football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer. But how does a nation of only 21 million people sustain the viability of four football codes at the professional level? This book provides a detailed analysis of each code's commercial evolution, including a discussion of the ways in which major incidents and turning points impacted on clubs, players and fans. It not only highlights what and when things happened but also provides a conceptual framework that locates the incidents and turning points within a specific context, and breaks down their progress into discrete periods, culminating in predictions about their future progress.

Bob Stewart is Associate Professor of Sport Management in the School of Human Movement, Recreation and Performance at Victoria University in Melbourne. He is also an associate of the Centre for Ageing, Rehabilitation, Exercise and Sport at that institution. Bob has taught in the field of sport policy and management for the last twenty years, and is the co-editor of More Than a Game- The Real Story of Australian Rules Football, published by Melbourne University Press. Contributors- Rob Hess, Matthew Nicholson, Peter Horton, Dwight Zakus, Alan Edwards, James Skinner, Geoff Dickson, Braham Dabscheck, Robert Macdonald, Ross Booth.