ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on players operating in the field of the production of sporting events. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the field as a methodological tool, it aims to identify predominant agents, groups of agents, and coalitions within the field as well as their positions and strategies. In order to facilitate a greater understanding of objective relationships between these agents, they are distributed into three distinct universes according to the specific types of capital that they hold: symbolic capital (event-producing institutions); economic capital (individuals involved in commercialization); and cultural capital (those who legitimate strategies). Although FIFA and the IOC obtain their revenue through different means, their respective holdings have been sufficient to attend to the interests of institutions involved in the promotion of sport spectacle. In order to sustain these revenues, they depend on a kind of clockwork moved by three basic “gears”: first, broadcasters who seek exclusive transmission rights in every territory; second, “partners” who seek exclusive sponsorship in their product category; and third, cities who gain exclusivity by hosting the events. For both the IOC and FIFA, maintaining their brand’s value depends on keeping these gears constantly turning and well balanced.
