ABSTRACT
In the year of the World Cup in Brazil 2014, the sheer mass of content across multiple sources in both the media and research outputs suggests that football is a world game. Estimates of viewing figures for the most recent Football World Cup Finals range from 250 million actual viewers (i.e. those that watched the final game) to 700 million viewers who consumed ‘some part’ of the game (i.e. the reach) (see FIFA, No. 1 Sports Event). FIFA also reported that the cumulative television viewing figures for each of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups in Germany and South Africa was an incredible 26.29 billion.1 Significantly, it is the ability of football to ‘reach’ so many people that makes it a true game for all, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, religious belief, disability, socio-economic or health status. Brazil is the heart of creative and attractive football and the home of carnivals and sunshine. The business world readied itself to capitalize on the exposure that any alignment or presence at the World Cup could bring global awareness to their brands. However, it would seem that those who seek to encourage and foster social good through football have been slow to capitalize on such intrigue and interest in order to capture and connect with all who have some propensity to consume football or to be reached by and through football. Most notably, the limited attention to social good or social welfare campaigns aligned to the World Cup was arguably the biggest miss of the whole tournament. This volume explores the power of football and its role in engaging and including its ‘populous’ in positive social and behavioural activity. Specifically, this volume highlights a range of approaches that have been adopted and actioned by researchers, practitioners and organizations in order to stimulate, create and influence social good through football.
