ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book looks at the different actors of the sport industry, namely teams, players, athletes, leagues, federations, events, sponsors, equipment makers, and so on. It deals with the construction and management of a sport brand: When building and managing a sport brand, managers face external pressures and internal ones. The book explores the fundamental concepts associated with the new trend of using sport as a tool for development and peace, to present the challenges related to the operationalization of this concept and to discuss the specific issues facing this industry. New thoughts about regulation are required, or even urgently needed, in the face of a European soccer financial crisis that results from both insufficiently efficient rules and deregulation of the labor market for sporting talent.
