Professionalism versus amateurism in grass-roots sport: associated funding needs

Abstract

Considerations of professionalization within sport are typically limited to the commercialization processes that generate the funding regimes and impact the expenditure patterns of professional sports teams. By contrast, using historical data, this article analyses how professionalism and the professionalization of elite rugby has impacted the amateur game, in general, and challenged the core values of amateurism and the associated funding needed for the amateur/grass-roots game, in particular. It compares funding and expenditure patterns in amateur sports clubs for a particular sport – rugby football union, aka rugby. This article utilizes a case study analysis of amateur clubs in the Wellington Rugby Football Union, a provincial union of the New Zealand Rugby Union. It finds that professionalism is exhibited in the amateur game both as a top-down phenomenon and a bottom-up phenomenon as new actors have entered the institutional field. The study also notes that whilst such changes have been gradual, the costs of these changes are now outpacing clubs’ ability to fund them.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373215615873
Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School > Accounting
Additional Information: Copyright © 2016 The Authors.
Uncontrolled Keywords: amateur sport finances,sustainability of sport,rugby union, club sport
Publication ISSN: 1032-3732
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2024 08:26
Date Deposited: 15 Feb 2018 08:40
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2016-02-01
Published Online Date: 2015-12-18
Accepted Date: 2015-12-17
Authors: Cordery, Carolyn J. (ORCID Profile 0000-0001-9511-7671)
Davies, John

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