Football in the Americas ─ Futbol, Futebol, Soccer

Football (soccer in the United States) has a long history in the Americas, but it currently displays many signs of crisis. In South America the combination of spectator violence, poor business management, and the emigration of players is undermining professional football. In the United States, in contrast, a professional league (Major League Soccer) has taken root in the last decade, and the U.S. women's team has gained international success.Football has always provided its players and fans with identity and belonging, whether to a nation or to a particular social group. It has been both a vehicle for the politically ambitious and an arena in which citizens can make sense of national failings and contest existing power structures. This volume explores many of these themes. The fifteen essays range widely, with theoretical and empirical contributions on the region as whole, as well as chapters specifically on Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and the United States.

Rory M. Miller is reader in international business and at the University of Liverpool and a member of the Football Industries Group at the University, which pioneered the first MBA program specializing in the football industry. Liz Crolley is lecturer in management at the University of Liverpool Management School, and a member of the Football Industries Group.