Abstract

The dynamics of power within FIFA, the world football's governing body, had, at least from 70s onwards, a deep bond with the metamorphosis of football as a commercial and media sport. This article analyzes the events of the recent conflict for the elections of the president of FIFA, using a socio-historical approach. The work emphasizes how these events are interwoven with the economic, technological media and journalism narrative mechanisms that made football - and the World Cup first of all - one of the most followed global shows. The article proposes a development of the theoretical paradigm used in the sociological studies on the topic, the sport-media complex pattern, which examines the close connection between media, transnational corporations and sport governing bodies in contemporary transformations of sport as huge business. The theoretical proposal wants to emphasize the category of power, in its different forms, as a useful tool to improve the understanding of sociological processes related to soccer.