The Rise of China Research Papers (original) (raw)

The fundamental idea at the basis of this thesis is that football is more than just a game. The aim of this research is to demonstrate the validity of this hypothesis considering the Sino-Italian football collaborations. For the sake of this goal, it is necessary an introduction of the current situation of football both in Italy and China in order to understand the context where the collaborations take place. Regarding the Italian situation, because of the large amount of literature on the topic redacted in the past, the choice is to focus specifically on the current decline of football. Considering the situation of football in China, because of the relatively new topic that it represents, the choice is to present a careful chronological exploration of Chinese football. Through a presentation of Italian and Chinese football, it will be possible to achieve a first and partial confirmation of the initial hypothesis: in conclusion football is the final combination of interactive forces which are culture, politics and economy. The hypothesis then is going to be confirmed thanks to a deep illustration of the Sino-Italian collaborations in the field of football. The research, presenting different examples and case studies, is constructed in order to show that football can be effectively considered a complex and intertwined entity wherein cultural, political and economic elements exist at the same time.
The first chapter is a general introduction dedicated to football as a phenomenon where culture, politics and economy influence and support each other. The aim of this chapter is to give the theoretical instruments in order to comprehend football not only as a sport but as a complex phenomenon. The introduction comprehends a literary review of the topic and the reasons why the author decided to focus on the Sino-Italian football collaborations.
The second chapter is dedicated to Italian football. The brief presentation focuses on the current situation of football in Italy, symptomatic of a more general crisis that the country is experiencing.
The third chapter is a chronological history and evolution of football in China, from ancient time to the current renewed Chinese interest for the most globalized sport.
The fourth chapter specifically focuses on the Sino-Italians collaborations. The first goal of this chapter is to identify and list all the collaborations between Italian and Chinese entities (football team, associations, companies, local governments etc.) from 2008 to 2015. In this section, large space will be dedicated to three specific collaborations: the case of Juventus FC and its projects in China, the Pavia football Club’s acquisition from Chinese investors and the really recent possibility for a Chinese investors group to buy half shares of AC Milan. Through the analysis of these three examples, conducted using the materials available in the web and thanks to the interviews the author had the chance to conduct, it will be possible to highlight how the different dimensions of football (culture, politics and economy) influence each other and concur to shape a positive background environment for the football relations between China and Italy. As a result, the current football collaborations between the two countries reflect a more general situation that overstep the merely football sector.
The fifth chapter is dedicated to the Sino-Italian collaborations in Chinese Youth football development. Specifically, the work will focus on two different case studies. The first is the project of ASD Sesto football club in Wenzhou, while the second is the project of Parma Development Sport in Nanjing. The aim of this chapter is to show that also the collaborations dedicated to youth football development can show how football is definitely a product of the three different dimensions (culture, politics and economy) influencing and supporting each other. The last paragraph of this chapter will be dedicated to the most common category of football collaborations between Italians and Chinese entities that are summer camps thanks to the experience the author had the opportunity to gain during this period of field research.
This research is based on a qualitative approach. In order to construct the theory and in order to explain its application for Italian and Chinese football, the majority of the sources refers to academic papers and scholar’s books. The second part of the research, dedicated to the football collaborations between Italy and China, consists in an online wide research where all the sources come from journals, newspapers, online articles, website and blogs. In order to find evidences for the main hypothesis of this thesis, two examples and three cases studies are selected. The two examples (AC Milan and Pavia Calcio) are built from the materials available in the web while the three case studies (Juventus FC, ASD Sesto and Parma Development Sports) are also supported by interviews conducted with the protagonists of these projects. Every example and case study is analyzed with a general introduction at the beginning and a final discussion session in the end. The introduction describes the collaboration from a general point of view, while the final discussion helps in identifying the different dimensions of football. The importance to speak about Italian and Chinese football is supported by an auspicious global environment and by the current situation of the two different realities. For different reasons, explained in this research, football really matters in Italy as well as in China. For Italy it comes from a long tradition, while for China, its importance is confirmed by a renewed interest by the government and by the President of the PRC himself.
Some results have been achieved at the end of this research. First of all, the topic represents a very new tendency: it is the first time that someone focuses specifically on the football collaborations between Italy and China. At the end of this research is possible to have a quite clear overview of all the collaborations (both supposed and finalized) between Italian and Chinese entities from 2008 to 2015 (included). Some conclusions will be accomplished.
For instance, the different nature of the actors involved reflects the different interests behind these football collaborations. Following the basic idea at the foundation of this work that is “who knows only about football doesn't know anything about football”, the collaborations between the two countries in the football sector are going to be analyzed considering the relations that intervene between the three different dimensions of football: culture, politics and economy. At the end of this research will be possible to understand clearly that the Sino-Italian football collaborations are, in effect, the result of cultural, political and economic factors that influence and support each other.