Who's fault is it ? : An analysis of the press coverage of football betting scandals in France and the United Kingdom

Sport betting is a lucrative business for bookmakers, for the lucky (or wise) punters, but also for governments and for sport. While not new or even recent, the deviances linked to sport betting, primarily match-fixing, have gained increased media exposure in the past decade. This exploratory study is a qualitative content analysis of the press coverage of sport betting-related deviances in football in two countries (UK and France), using in each case two leading national publications over a period of five years. Data analysis indicates a mounting coverage of sport betting scandals, with teams, players and criminals increasingly framed as culprits, while authorities and federations primarily assume a positive role. As for the origin of sport betting deviances, French newspapers tend to blame the system (in an abstract way); British newspapers, in contrast, focus more on individual weaknesses, notably greed. This article contributed to the growing body of literature on the importance of these deviances and on the way they are perceived by sport organizations, legislators and the public at large.

A comparison of injuries among children and adult football (soccer) players

Football is a universal and an affordable game but we need to minimize the incidence of accidents among the increasing number of young football players. Our 11 year retrospective epidemiological study (1990-2000) of football injuries in children (N= 1000) was compared with those of adult players in the 2006 European Championship. This comparative study confirmed that the anatomical, biomechanical and biological conditions differ between adults and children and that they warrant particular attention to protect the latter vulnerable group against bone avulsions, overuse pathologies and fatigue-fractures. Injuries were shown to increase significantly with age up to 16 years (P=0.005). Children suffer mainly from contusions, fractures and sprain injuries. Head injuries were more common in boys (P=0.070), while girls were more prone to sprains. The types of injuries differ between adults and children (sprain versus fractures), the anatomical location of injuries is different (lower limbs in adults, lower and upper limbs in children), the circumstances of the injuries are different (contact in adults versus non-contact in children), and teenage girls have different types of injuries than teenage boys. An increased incidence of injuries is due to changes in the position of the center of gravity and in the morphotype during rapid growth. For these reasons it is mandatory to adapt the training to the age and sex of the players. It is unsafe to train children the same way as adults. The height, the weight and the speed of growth must be taken into account by the multidisciplinary team when organising the training programmes. -- Le football fait partie des sports les plus pratiqués au monde en raison de sa popularité et de son accessibilité économ ique. L'incidence des blessures liées à cette pratique doit être diminuée surtout chez les jeunes joueurs en raison de la croissance exponentielle du nombre de joueurs féminins et masculins. Une étude épidémiologique rétrospective sur 11 ans (1990-2000) a été réalisée chez les enfants victimes de blessures liées au football (N==1000), puis a été comparée aux données recueillies de l'UEFA lors d'un Championnat Européen en 2006 sur les lésions des joueurs adultes. Cette étude comparative confirme que les structures anatomiques, biologiques et les tensions biomécaniques chez l'enfant diffèrent de celles de l'adulte. Les enfants ont un risque plus élevé de souffrir d'avulsion osseuse et de fractures de fatigue que les adultes. Les blessures augmentent significativement avec l'âge jusqu'à 16 ans (P==0,005). Les traumatismes crâniens sont plus fréquents chez les garçons tandis que les entorses sont plus à risque chez les filles. Les adultes font plus souvent des entorses tandis que les enfants font plus de fractures. La localisation anatomique diffère également entre ces deux groupes (les membres inférieurs chez l'adulte et les membres inférieurs et supérieurs chez l'enfant). La circonstance des blessures diffère également (choc avec un autre joueur chez l'adulte et des blessures sans contact chez l'enfant). Chez les adolescents, les blessures des filles diffèrent de celles des garçons. L'augmentation chez les enfants de cette incidence est liée au déplacement lors de la croissance du centre de gravité, avec une maladresse accrue lors des phases de croissance. Pour toutes ces raisons, il est justifié d'adapter les entraînements de football en fonction de l'âge, du sexe et du morphotype. L'entrainement des enfants doit être différent de celui des adultes. Le poids, la taille et la vitesse de croissance doit être prise en compte dans des structures multidisciplinaires afin de permettre une meilleure longévité sportive des jeunes joueurs de football.

Coaching agile methods in research and development projects

Agile coaching of a project team is one way to aid learning of the agile methods. The objective of this thesis is to present the agile coaching plan and to follow how complying the plan affects to the project teams. Furthermore, the agile methods are followed how they work in the projects. Two projects are used to help the research. From the thesis point of view, the task for the first project is to coach the project team and two new coaches. The task for the second project is also to coach the project team, but this time so that one of the new coaches acts as the coach. The agile methods Scrum process and Extreme programming are utilized by the projects. In the latter, the test driven development, continuous integration and pair programming are concentrated more precisely. The results of the work are based on the observations from the projects and the analysis derived from the observations. The results are divided to the effects of the coaching and to functionality of the agile methods in the projects. Because of the small sample set, the results are directional. The presented plan, to coach the agile methods, needs developing, but the results of the functionality of the agile methods are encouraging.

Johdon coaching: Rajanvetoja, taustateorioita ja prosesseja

Johdon coaching on henkilokohtainen johdon kehittamisen menetelma, jossa coach auttaa coachattavaa itse loytamaan omaa kehittymistaan ja toimintaansa koskevia ratkaisuja. Johdon coaching on lisaantynyt maailmalla ja Suomessa voimakkaasti viimeisten vuosien aikana. Kasvaneesta suosiosta huolimatta johdon coachingia on tutkittu vahan Suomessa. Tassa tutkimuksessa tutkittiin, miten johdon coaching maaritellaan ja miten se eroaa sita lahella olevista menetelmista, seka mitka ovat johdon coachingiin liittyvat taustateoriat ja miten johdon coachingia toteutetaan. Tutkimus pohjautuu sosiaaliseen konstruktionismiin. Tama vaitoskirja koostuu kahdesta osasta. Tyossa on kasiteanalyyttinen ja aikaisempaa teoreettista kirjallisuutta analysoiva osuus seka laadulliseen tutkimukseen pohjautuva empiirinen osuus. Tutkimuksen empiirisen osan aineisto tuotettiin teemahaastattelemalla 29:aa johdon coachingia toteuttanutta henkilda. Tutkimuksen tuloksista tulee esille johdon coachingin prosessimainen, tavoitteellinen ja systemaattinen luonne. Johdon coaching voidaan erottaa sita lahella olevista kasitteista, kuten terapia, koulutus, liikkeenjohdon konsultointi, mentorointi ja tyonohjaus, joskin rajanvedot eri kasitteiden valilla ovat epamaaraisia. Johdon coachingissa hyodynnetaan useita taustateorioita. Tyypillisesti eri taustateorioita yhdistetaan toisiinsa. Johdon coachingia voidaan toteuttaa eri lahtokohdista kasin ja eri tavoin, mutta tyypillisin toteutustapa on kuitenkin coachin ja coachattavan valinen keskustelu.

Sport-based corporate social responsibility in European professional football

In the past few decades, sport has become a major business with remarkable international reach. As part of the commercial sector of sport, professional sport is said to be intrinsically different from other businesses due to its unique characteristics, such as the peculiar economics and the intense loyalty of fans. Simultaneously with the growing business aspect, sport continues to have great social and cultural impacts on our society. Sport has also become an increasingly popular means of attending social problems due to its alleged suitability for such purposes and its popular appeal. A great number of actors in the professional sport industry have long been involved in socially responsible activities, many of which have been sport-related. While Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been extensively studied in general, its role in the professional sport industry has received less attention in the academic research until recently. It has been argued that due to the unique characteristics of professional sport, CSR should also be studied in this particular context. The objective of this study was to contribute to filling the research gap and increase the understanding of CSR in the context of professional sport by examining sport-related CSR realized by professional football clubs in Europe. The theoretical part of this study leaned on previous literature about using sport as a means of attending social issues and the role of CSR in professional sport industry. The empirical part of the study was carried out through web site analyses and interviews. The clubs to be examined were chosen by using purposive sampling technique and taking into consideration the accessibility and suitability of information the clubs could offer. The method used for analyzing the data was qualitative content analysis. The empirical findings were largely in line with the theoretical framework of the study. The sportrelated CSR of the clubs was concentrated on teaching the participants diverse skills and values, improving their health, encouraging social inclusion, supporting disabled people, and promoting overall participation in sport. The clubs also emphasized the importance of local communities as targets of their CSR. CSR had been an integral part of the clubs’ activities from the beginning, but there were remarkable differences between large and small clubs in terms of structured organization and realization of their CSR. Measuring and evaluation of CSR appeared to be a challenge for most clubs regardless of their size and resources. The motives for the clubs to engage in CSR seemed to be related to the clubs’ values or to their stakeholders’ interests. In general, the clubs’ CSR went beyond what the society is likely to expect from them in legal or ethical sense.

Coaching-konstruktio strategian jalkauttamisessa

Tämän pro gradu – työn tavoitteena on selvittää miten coachingia voitaisiin hyödyntää strategian jalkauttamisessa esimiehen ja alaisen välisen viestinnän näkökulmasta. Tavoitteena on myös luoda ja toteuttaa konstruktio, jota voitaisiin käyttää johtamismenetelmänä esimiehen ja alaisen välisen viestinnän ohjaamisessa strategian jalkauttamisen hyväksi. Tutkielmassa sovelletaan kvalitatiivista ja kvantitatiivisista analyysitapaa ja tutkimusstrategiana on tapaustutkimus. Aineistonkeruu suoritetaan empiirisen osion osalta strukturoidun haastattelun avulla. Teoreettinen viitekehys rakentuu strategian jalkauttamisen ja esimies – alaisviestinnän aihepiireistä. Tutkielmassa kartoitetaan kohdeyrityksen strategian jalkauttamisen tasoa ja siinä tapahtuvia muutoksia coachingin seurauksena. Tutkielma nostaa esille niitä strategian jalkauttamisen osaalueita, joihin coachingilla voidaan mahdollisesti vaikuttaa. Aineiston analyysin perusteella coaching-työkalun käyttämisellä ei kuitenkaan pääosin ollut merkittäviä vaikutuksia strategian jalkauttamisen valittuihin osa-alueisiin. Työn suorittamisen tueksi saadun tiedon riittävyyden, oleellisen tiedon liikkumisen, strategian toteutumisesta keskustelun ja palautekäytäntöjen todettiin hieman parantuneen.

Time motion analysis of football (soccer) referees during official matches in relation to the type of fluid consumed

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of volume and composition of fluid replacement on the physical performance of male football referees. Ten referees were evaluated during three official matches. In one match the participants were asked to consume mineral water ad libitum, and in the others they consumed a pre-determined volume of mineral water or a carbohydrate electrolyte solution (6.4% carbohydrate and 22 mM Na+) equivalent to 1% of their baseline body mass (half before the match and half during the interval). Total water loss, sweat rate and match physiological performance were measured. When rehydrated ad libitum (pre-match and at half time) participants lost 1.97 ± 0.18% of their pre-match body mass (2.14 ± 0.19 L). This parameter was significantly reduced when they consumed a pre-determined volume of fluid. Sweat rate was significantly reduced when the referees ingested a pre-determined volume of a carbohydrate electrolyte solution, 0.72 ± 0.12 vs 1.16 ± 0.11 L/h ad libitum. The high percentage (74.1%) of movements at low speed (walking, jogging) observed when they ingested fluid ad libitum was significantly reduced to 71% with mineral water and to 69.9% with carbohydrate solution. An increase in percent movement expended in backward running was observed when they consumed a pre-determined volume of carbohydrate solution, 7.7 ± 0.5 vs 5.5 ± 0.5% ad libitum. The improved hydration status achieved with the carbohydrate electrolyte solution reduced the length of time spent in activities at low-speed movements and increased the time spent in activities demanding high-energy expenditure.

Why to invest more in women's football for your brand and your business?

The aim of this master’s thesis is to study the role of sponsorship in the business value of companies and clubs. In order to achieve this goal, the French women’s football context is studied. The main research question is formulated as follows: What is the business value in sport sponsorship? The literature and theory part consists of three chapters that clearly follow the theoretical framework: from the sport sponsorship to the sponsor brand, from the sponsor brand to the brand equity, from the brand equity to the business value. The empirical part of the master’s thesis is based on qualitative research method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 4 participants who are Sponsorship Manager or General Manager of French women’s football clubs or sponsors and thus considered as specialists of the study context. The results of the study show that the planning process, the objectives, the sponsor brand, the brand equity components such as the customer behaviour, the economic, financial and immaterial values have positive impacts on the business value in sport sponsorship in the French women’s football context.

Stade Élisabeth, 21-3-20, [football] association, équipe [féminine] En Avant : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58568

Stade Élisabeth, 21-3-20, [football] association, équipe Fémina Sport : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58569

7/3/20, [football] association, A.S. Cannes contre Olympique lillois [Coupe de France, stade rue Olivier-de-Serres] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58352

7/3/20, [football] association, Cannes contre Olympique lillois [Coupe de France, stade rue Olivier-de-Serres] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 58353