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Nafziger, James A.R. --- "European and North American Models of Sports Organization" [2011] ELECD 813; in Nafziger, A.R. James; Ross, F. Stephen (eds), "Handbook on International Sports Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Handbook on International Sports Law

Editor(s): Nafziger, A.R. James; Ross, F. Stephen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847206336

Section: Chapter 4

Section Title: European and North American Models of Sports Organization

Author(s): Nafziger, James A.R.

Number of pages: 24

Extract:

4 European and North American models of sports
organization
James A.R. Nafziger



I. INTRODUCTION
Comparative legal commentary on the organizational structure of sports, particularly of
professional sports, has been of substantial interest in recent years. In particular, the
commentary has compared European and North American models of organization.1
This chapter first describes the two models and then considers whether they are accurate
and whether they remain divergent or are converging. Both models are largely European
constructs. It is not surprising, therefore, that they are widely known among policymak-
ers, practitioners, and scholars in Europe, especially the European Sports Model, but are
relatively unknown in North America. It is also not surprising that, given the primacy of
the European Sports Model, the North American Sports Model may simply be that which
the European Sports Model is not. Even so, the models are useful in analyzing character-
istics and trends in national and regional organization of sports. Comparing the models
highlights divergent values and characteristics, sharpens analysis, and yields new insights.
A few preliminary observations may be useful in defining the models. First, they are just
that: models ­ that is, general representations of reality rather than precise descriptions of
organizational structures. We should not expect too much of them. Also, we should not
overlook significant variations within each of the two regions. The European Sports
Model is based largely on a single sport, football/soccer, which dominates public attention
on that continent. Other sports, however, have their own distinctive structures. ...