The limitations of economic analysis — the case of professional football

Abstract

The analysis of sport and leisure is being increasingly conducted from an economic perspective, thereby endangering some of the benefits the field of leisure studies has gained from an interdisciplinary approach. We feel that this problem is reinforced by the introduction of a narrow definition of this economic approach. This article attempts to highlight some of the limitations of an orthodox economic focus on professional football in England, although we feel that the arguments are applicable to a wider range of interests. We would argue that quantifiable solutions to the economic problems of the game often suffer from loose correlations with the evidence since the problems need to be conceived more broadly than the economic formulae allow. The problems facing football cannot be addressed without the proper recognition of the cultural traditions of the sport, within the framework of a broadly defined political economy.