The Future of Football Social, Cultural and Economic Perspectives

1 Introduction: La Lupa – An Autoethnographic Introduction. Belonging, Distance, and the Futures of Football 
ALESSANDRO PORROVECCHIO
PART I
Institutions, Rules, Perspectives
2 Will Football Still Be a Popular Sport?
PAOLO CORVO
3 The Future of European Football: The Super League and the Conflict between Business and Sport
CORRADO DEL BÒ
4 The Takeover Bid on Football: The Super League Project in the Context of Conflicts within the SMS Triangle
MARIO TIRINO
5 The Impact of Var on the Referee’s Role and Biopolitical Control of the Football Show
PIPPO RUSSO
PART II
The Fans
6 Fan Ownership in European Football: Models and Perspectives 
IGOR BENATI
7 Are Soccer’s Fans Like Any Other Fans?
WILLIAMS NUYTENS
8 Ultras Groups and Right- Wing Extremism: Unraveling Communication, Actors, and Links
SILVANO RIZIERI LUCINI AND ALESSANDRO BOLPAGNI
PART III
The Players
9 The Evolution of the Labour Market in the Professional Football Industry
FRANCESCO ADDESA
10 Biographies of Refugee Professional Footballers: A Sociological Analysis
ENRICO MICHELINI
11 The Football Player as Politician: The Case of George Weah
ANDREA GOLDSTEIN
12 Notes on the European Football Novel
ANTONELLA EMINA

Biography

Paolo Corvo is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, where he teaches Food Consumption and Social Dynamics and Eating Netflix. His research focuses on the sociology of sport and football, tourism phenomena, food, wellness, and quality of life. He deals mainly with the sociological issues of contemporary football, such as the difficult balance between global dynamics and a sense of community, the new roles assumed by social actors, and the influence of technology. He is a member of the Board of the Research Network no. 28 Society and Sports of the European Sociological Association and of the Scientific Board of the Sociology of Sport Section of the Italian Sociological Association.

Alessandro Porrovecchio is Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Health at the University of the Littoral Opal Coast, France, where he co- coordinates the master’s programmes in Adapted Physical Activity and in Sport Sciences. A former coordinator of the European Sociological Association Research Network 28 (Society & Sport) and a certified art therapist, his work combines sociology, qualitative and arts- based methods, and research- intervention approaches. His research focuses on health, embodiment, belonging, and social representations, particularly in the context of physical activity, rare diseases, and education. He has co- edited special issues in international journals including Contemporary Social Science, STAPS, and the Italian Sociological Review.