...Mark Middling; Christina Philippou; Simon Lillystone Purpose To develop a normative framework of governance and accountability for professional football clubs by studying the views of English men's football club supporter representatives through a downward accountability lens. Design...

...Deborah Agostino; Anna Thomasson Purpose This paper explores how two European football clubs translate the contested concept of social sustainability into their local contexts in terms of sustainability reporting, highlighting the dynamic, context-dependent and often ambiguous processes underlying...

... of a Soccer Society, as well as reflecting on the challenges that evidence of corruption in soccer (the beautiful game) has had on the game to date. Reflections on these matters are then utilised to offer a prospective analysis of issues for further research. Design/methodology/approach The paper...

...Daniel Torchia; Simone Domenico Scagnelli; Laura Corazza Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend research on boundary making and breaking through alternative football clubs. These entities have borne out of the disappointment caused by the neoliberal turn of the football industry, which...

...Andrew Adams; Stephen Morrow; Ian Thomson Purpose To provide insights into the role of formal and informal accounts in preventing the liquidation of a professional football club and in post-crisis rebuilding. Design/methodology/approach This case study, framed as a conflict arena, covers...

...Stefan Ingerfurth Purpose Also due to the “50+1 rule”, which exists in the German football Bundesliga and was introduced to regulate competition, clubs with a wide variety of legal forms participate. The aim of this article is to explain the consequences of the rule, the dominance of nonprofit...

...Massimo Ruberti Purpose This study explores the motivations underlying the European Super League (SL) breakaway attempt. While institutional settings bind football to tradition, investors conceive football companies as an opportunity to diversify their investments in a fast-growing technological...

...Deborah Agostino; Anna Thomasson Purpose This study explores the relationship between governance model – private organisations vs non-profit organisations (NPOs) – and performance in football clubs. Design/methodology/approach The study is a comparative case study of two football clubs...

...Noel Hyndman; Mariannunziata Liguori Purpose There has been limited research on why football clubs contribute to charity. This paper examines how football clubs and their charitable conduits report information when discussing their connectedness. In addition, it explores reasons why...

... undertook the management of and accounting for the All Nations’ Fair, a philanthropic activity designed to rescue the Geelong Cricket and Football Club from its parlous financial position. Despite women undertaking the work, the management of and accounting for, the Fair was attributed to men. This reflects...

...Katarzyna Herd Purpose The purpose of this commentary paper is to analyze the burst of joy experienced by global football fans when England lost the final match during the Euro 2020 against Italy. Design/methodology/approach The author worked with netnography (Internet ethnography), gathering...

...Hamish McKenzie Purpose The current paper is a comment on goalkeepers in football. This paper aims to explore the skillset of the contemporary goalkeeper and whether these can be reliably measured. This paper advocates the recognition of the goalkeeper as the most important member of the football...

...John Edward Burns; Stephen Jollands Purpose Most football clubs were founded by members of the local community within which they are based. The success of a club is built on the time, effort and resources given by these locals, which is offered due to the benefits that football promises...

...Christina Philippou Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide commentary on Soccer Society debate that is used to create accountability research agenda. Design/methodology/approach The methodology applied is thematic analysis of debate in relation to accountability research gaps...

...Gianluca Risaliti; Roberto Verona Purpose This study seeks to examine the influence of the gamut of changes that have taken place in the past 15 years in the world of international football that have permanently transformed football from a game into a real business, while also considering some...

... Lacan. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines the notion of accountability by analyzing a case study of the hostile takeover of Manchester United Football Club by the Glazer family. The field of football presents an interesting arena in which to study accountability because of its extremely...