Global and local interactions in football: the changing field of professional football stadiums in Finland and Hungary in the 2000s

Abstract

This article aims to increase understanding of the global-local contexts in football by exploring the changing field of professional football stadiums in Finland and Hungary in the 2000s. More specifically, the cases of two clubs, HJK (Finland) and Ferencvárosi TC (Hungary) are studied. We employ concepts of sport and globalization. The research data consist of semi-structured expert interviews with Finnish and Hungarian football practitioners, media and club documents, and data from observation. The results suggest that interactions of global and local forces are reflected in the development and operation of stadiums. On the one hand, international and national governing bodies have strengthened their control over the different aspects of stadiums, indicating increasing standardization. On the other hand, due to distinct local histories and conditions, the development and management of stadiums have shown dissimilar trajectories, as demonstrated in the Finnish and Hungarian contexts, therefore highlighting both homogenization and heterogenization processes.