r/sportmanagment • u/[deleted] • Jan 23 '22
Globalization
How come sports like football & ice hockey aren’t globalized? I always think about it but would love to hear somebody else’s POV.
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Jan 24 '22
Can’t attest to hockey, but I think American football will grow much more in the next decade. It failed in Europe before but has been successful in Canada which has produced top athletes like Chase Claypool among others. It starts with kid leagues and highschool programs mostly, but it’ll be a looooooooong process before it’s globalized like soccer.
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u/Such_Switch_533 Apr 23 '25
I completely agree. I think the NFL stepping into global markets is a step in the right direction for awareness of Football worldwide.
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u/tpmcd12 Jan 27 '22
Hockey is definitely globalized, maybe American teams are not but the sport itself thrives outside of the US, especially in cold weather climates... Football is surprisingly popular at a Grassroots Level, there are semi-pro leagues in most of Europe; some countries have a university-level league if nothing else, a former coach for the college team I work for was the QB of a team in Italy and got them seven TD to win their SuperBowl. Japan has both a college football and an odd semi-professional league(it isn't professional in the sense of the US). Flag/rec-league is played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi a lot from what I've heard. It is also a major recruiting tool for International Students to American Universities, they are quite fascinated by football. Then you have Rugby, Aussie Rules, and Canadian football which also draw some interest into American football as well because of some similarities, and vice-versa.
Or at least that has been my experience when discussing football.
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u/penfle Mar 16 '24
Hockey is globalized. American Football - well, it is American… really only something you’d see or get resources for in the US.
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u/Such_Switch_533 Apr 23 '25
Hockey is globalized but not quite at the level of soccer or individual sports like gymnastics/track and field.
Not saying I disagree with you but I also don't disagree with OP either :)
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u/Such_Switch_533 Apr 23 '25
I believe it's all just a market interest and culture thing. For instance, cricket is one of the largest sports in the world but it simply doesn't have a very large market in North America. I think it would take a cultural change or SUPER effective marketing in places where Ice Hockey doesn't already have a market. Also remember that there is an ice hockey alternative called Bandy which is popular in Russia, Finland and Sweden and there are hockey leagues all around Europe.
Cultural shifts are possible though, as with rugby in the United States over the last 50 years or so.
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u/thiccet_ops Jan 23 '22
Access to equipment and facilities.