The Games Are Not the Same - The Political Economy of Football in Australia (Paperback, Print on Demand ed.)

Australians are intensely proud of their sporting traditions, and have always had a passion for football in its various forms: Australian football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer. But how does a nation of only 21 million people sustain the viability of four football codes at the professional level? This book provides a detailed analysis of each code's commercial evolution, including a discussion of the ways in which major incidents and turning points impacted on clubs, players and fans. It not only highlights what and when things happened but also provides a conceptual framework that locates the incidents and turning points within a specific context, and breaks down their progress into discrete periods, culminating in predictions about their future progress.