Ahead of the Game - The Network of Value Captures in Professional Football

By looking at the international dimension of soccer (European football or henceforth football) this paper will focus on the development of value captures in the professional football business. We will identify and describe the business parameters in professional football that vary from those of any other business. The proposed network of value captures recognizes the following dimensions (1) the product and its features, (2) the various customers groups, and (3) the vision of the future of the club central to different levels of strategy aggregation. Knowing how those value captures are interlinked is of significant practical relevance and importance. To advance the empirical analysis further the value captures will be organized along two dimensions: its extent of “virtuality” as well as its spatial spread into local, regional, international or global business. Finally two dominating trends in the football business will be elaborated: (1) exploring global markets, and (2) developing the individual club as a global brand.