Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 102). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 102).

Successful presentation of a country as a brand and positioning its unique image on the global level can give significant opportunities for development and progress of the state in the different areas. This research applies theories on the country branding to estimate impact of mega sport events on the image of state. To accomplish these goal I used case study – formation of brand Ukraine before hosting European Football Championship 2012 (EURO 2012). To investigate  brand strategy of Ukraine and analyze implemented projects I conducted in-depth interviews with government officials and independent experts, who are involved in promo campaigns of Ukraine. The research concluded that Ukraine is in the process of  brand formation, but it is too early to to assume the existance of the comprehensive brand of the country. For Ukraine, EURO 2012 impulses change of negative perceptions of the country and  is a step towards complex strategy of brand creation. Future of this strategy therefore depends on conducting preliminary studies of each promo project and coordinated collaboration between all actors who take part in creation of brand Ukraine. Research also provides recommendations on how to make brand campaign more efficient.

Through empirical research, this paper studies the impact of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on European football clubs and whether transitioning to public ownership is a desirable path for football clubs to follow. Research was carried out using a unique panel dataset of 19 publicly listed European football clubs from 9 national leagues. The study finds that IPOs do not lead to positive returns for a football club in terms of on-field performance and is not the best path to follow in order to assure the future success of a football club financially.

The game of football has transformed from just being a game into a huge economic market attracting investors from all over the world. As clubs spend more and more money on player acquisitions, player registrations (considered intangible assets) now represent a significant part of the total assets of major European football clubs. Due to this, treatment of player registrations has become a significant accounting issue. The purpose is to analyze and compare from the perspective of an investor, how a sample of European football clubs account and disclose values of player registrations. The purpose aim to answer the questions how and what kind of information each club discloses on their financial statements. Also, are current accounting procedures and disclosure harmonized, and do they present a true and fair view of top European clubs financial status. A descriptive case study was the most appropriate as it aims to answer the questions “how” and “why”. A sample selection filter was set in the beginning of the process together with the research questions. The final sample was set to be: Arsenal FC, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus FC and FC Porto. The purpose of the selection filter was to get a study both fair on economical as well as competitive sports level. Primary data consist of information from annual financial reports, and in order to enhance validity, interviews with professionals have been conducted and used.  Findings show similarities as well as differences in disclosure and treatment of football player registrations. All clubs meet the minimum requirements from IAS 38 and UEFA. However, how and what kind of information each clubs disclose differ substantially and due to lack of valuation models and the possibility to capitalize home-grown players and free agents, the value of player registrations is not presented in a true and fair view.

The thesis deals with the competitive balance in professional sports leagues. It focuses on the comparison of two systems: open European and closed North American. Aim is to analyze competitive balance in selected leagues. Open system is represented by the top football leagues of Europe and closed by NHL. It specifies what regulatory instruments are adopted. The thesis also tries to find answer to question whether competitive balance influences the average attendance. Within NHL, it examines whether salary cap improved the competitive balance.

Proper valuation of professional football clubs requires understanding and taking into account specific features of sports. Once we are familiar with the relevant issues and have reliable input information, we can determine appropriate valuation techniques, which shall respect purpose of the valuation alongside with any related specific features. Subsequent application of the valuation techniques determines the value of the club. Comparing results of various methods within one club, as well as between the clubs, may test reliability of the values. With regard to their status and importance, Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC are the clubs chosen for the analysis and valuation performed in this dissertation thesis. The workflow and logic above facilitates performing reliable valuations of selected teams, as well as drawing the guidelines and recommendations for the valuation of professional football clubs with regards to specifics in their financing and economic functioning.

Title: The impact of the European Championship 2016 on market value of football players Objectives: The main objective of this thesis is to find out if the European Football Championship 2016 had the impact on market value of football players. Another aim is to give an insight into these changes in terms of national teams, leagues, football clubs and transfers of football players. Methods: After a detailed literature research was found out that there is actually no unique method to notice and compare a change in market value of players, however for the purpose of this thesis was used analysis of documents and nonstandard interview. Results: It was found that the market value of players has undergone some changes after their participation in a sporting mega - event. There was recorded increase, immutability and decrease of market values of participating players. Keywords: Market value, change of market value, football player, European Football Championship, football

Qu'est-ce que l'Europe politique et l'Europe du sport peuvent faire afin de mieux former les jeunes footballeurs et de mieux les protéger au cours d'un transfert ? Cette interrogation permet aisément la lecture de ce qui est en jeu à la jonction entre le champ sportif et le champ politique. Cet espace de positions sociales que constitue le football européen voit s'affronter des acteurs du mouvement sportif d'un côté, avec d'autres agents issus des institutions européennes. Nous démontrerons comment répondre politiquement à un problème footballistique, ce qui passe par une volonté politique de haut-niveau. Ainsi, le processus de policy-making résulte d'un compromis rendu obligatoire par l'autonomie et la spécificité dont bénéficie le football. La coordination entre les autorités publiques et le mouvement sportif sera un élément prépondérant de contrôle et de régulation pour faire face aux défis actuels dans le monde du football, dans lequel les Nations conservent le véritable pouvoir. / What can the political Europe and the Europe of sport do to better train young football players and to better protect them during a transfer ? This question allows us to see what is at stake in the junction between the sports and the political social field. This European football social space is divided into actors from the sports movement on one's hand, and into agents from the European institutions on the other hand. We'll demonstrate how to answer politically to a problem dealing with football, which requires a high level of political will. Thus, the policy-making process is a compromise made compulsory, both by the specificity and the sports movement autonomy, and by the weight of the national habitus. In the future, coordination between public authorities and the sports movement has been identified as a key element of control and regulation, in order to face up to the current challenges in the world of football, upon which the Nations still hold the real power.

長期以來制度與發展在許多研究中被討論兩者的關係與相互影響。在全球化的衝擊下，相信自由市場促進發展的論調相對的被接納並推廣，淡化了制度的影響力，然而從歐洲足球制度變遷至今，卻沒有呈現這樣的景象。 本研究的三個案例中，採取對市場毫無保留的俱樂部難以獲得良好表現，相對的對市場沒有完全接納或甚至拒絕市場的俱樂部，可以維持一個更加穩定的表現，過去討論運動發展時角色定位並不清楚的球會管理，將分析其利益導向與決策背後的邏輯，發現了全球化下的自由球員市場只能算是一個制度環境，而球會管理治理本身的制度選擇才是決定俱樂部發展的主因；不同的誘因結構限制了各自球會代理人的制度選擇，也直接的影響了不同治理下的俱樂部發展，進而勾勒出歐洲足球競爭的基本風貌。 / The relation and inter-influences of institutions and developments have long been the discussion in many studies. Under the impact of Globalization, many adapted and promoted the arguments that believed free market stimulated the development and lowered the weights of institutions. But from the institutional change of European football, there’s another picture. During the three cases of this study, club management is not vivid according to past discussions that the interest orientation and logic of decision-making will be analyzed. The free market of players is mere an institutional environment while the institutional selection behind the club management is the main point at the same time framing the development of the club. Different incentive mechanisms bounded each choice toward the institutional selection and directly influence the club development.