Soccer, business and globalization

Brazilian clubs in the new era of multi-club ownership

Abstract

Soccer has acquired new forms of organization in a period marked by the technical-scientific-informational milieu, in which companies become globalized. The appropriation of local soccer clubs by global companies and businessmen is one of such forms. Often, these businesses own more than one club, a process known as MCO (multi-club ownership). US-based private capital has considerably increased its interest in soccer worldwide and has channeled large investment into the sport. In Brazil, the sales of 90% of Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) Botafogo and of 70% of SAF Vasco for American investors in 2022 are major examples of such phenomenon. This study analyzes the interaction within those soccer clubs’ networks since the development of MCO, with a closer look at the new wave of US investments in soccer clubs in Brazil in the past few years. This article attempts to answer the question: Does this investment trend reinforce a subordinated insertion/introduction of clubs in an operational organization in networks? The present trend of US investment in soccer clubs in Brazil was perceived to deepen the phenomenon of MCO, enabling the subordination of local clubs to a centralized structure, especially since the implementation of SAFs.