ABSTRACT

For years football, along with cycling, has been the national sport of Belgium, and in the broadest sense of the word football is the most popular. It has the largest participation, the highest economic contribution, the highest media coverage, and the widest social reach, but its organisation is also significantly influenced by the Belgian federal structure. Today about 15 percent of all the sport associations in Belgium are football clubs with another 5 percent being futsal clubs (Van Poppel, 2009; Scheerder & Vos, 2010).