To What Extent is Football Still a Poor Man’s Game?

Abstract

Football is a sport which is played and watched by millions and millions of people worldwide. However, the game has progressed a lot since its introduction wherein it was once recognized as a poor man's game and now runs as a corporation fuelled by wealth and money. For example, in the Premier League alone this year, the clubs spent a total of 1.9 billion pounds. In 1999 they spent a total of 220 million Pounds. This shows the stark difference and the sudden increase in expenditure. This paper aims to unfold how the sport began, and the certain factors which influenced the change in the game, making it a game which is mainly dominated by businessmen and billionaires. The latter half of this paper focuses on how even though the bigger leagues may be dominated by these mega tycoons of business, the game still belongs to the people and benefits them. Keywords: Football, poor man’s game, footballer, people’s sport.