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In many countries, football has ingrained itself into the national culture, and many parts of life revolve around it. Many countries have daily 'football' Newspaper s, as well as football Magazine s. Football players, especially in the top levels of the game, have become role models and aspirational ideals for many people. The game itself has now become glamourised, with many children practising the game and aspiring to the wealth shown off by the top footballers (it may be argued that for most footballers that this extravagant lifestyle is unrealistic). THE GAME 'Derbies' ''Main article:'' Local Derby Derby matches, or matches between two neighbouring rival teams, are fiercely competitive and provide a spectacle in football, for the supporting fans as well as for interested onlookers. Sometimes there are underlying Political and Sectarian tensions. The term applies to matches between two local teams, that is in the same city or region. However it is sometimes erroneously used to refer to matches between big clubs from the same country - these can be found in the article '' Major Football Rivalries ''. Examples of famous football derbies include BBC Sport - "Which is football's fiercest derby?" :
Food In the United Kingdom , the attendance of football matches is also associated with consumption of what can be considered 'traditional football food'. Steak and kidney Pie s and Bovril are a staple of food outlets in stadiums. (It must be noted that some people consider football stadiums the only place where people want to consume Bovril — and, bizarrely, London 's exclusive Groucho Club .) Nowadays sales of food to fans raises a lot of income for clubs, and some clubs are now making an attempt to improve their service and diversify out of 'traditional' foods UEFA.com - article on football and food . In Brazil , '' Sanduíche De Calabresa '' ( Pepperoni sandwich) is a best-seller meal at the surrounding areas of stadiums after matches. Match programmes Match programmes (or souvenirs as they are sometimes called) are an integral part of football matches in the UK. The are sold inside and outside stadia before (and sometimes during) matches. In their most basic form, they provide basic information on the teams, players, and match officials. Larger clubs usually produce a multiple-page programme with a number of common features: comments from the manager and club captain, interviews with players, ex-players and backroom staff, information about ticketing arrangements for forthcoming matches, a detailed fixture list/review of the team's season so far, competitions, a page for the junior supporters' club, and/or a detailed feature on the opposition. Programmes from some matches are now collectible items, and can fetch a lot of money on auction. "Fair Play" "Fair Play" is the name of a FIFA Programme which aims to increase Sportsmanship as well as prevent discrimination in the game of football. This also involves programmes to reduce racism in the game. The programme extends to outside of football, in trying to support charities and other organisations which improve conditions around the world. The principles of the Fair Play programme can be summarised as follows: # Play to win # Play fair # Observe the Laws of the Game # Respect opponents, team-mates, referees, officials and spectators. # Accept defeat with dignity. # Promote the interests of football. # Reject corruption, drugs, racism, violence and other dangers to our sport. # Help others to resist corrupting pressures. # Denounce those who attempt to discredit our sport. # Honour those who defend football’s good reputation. The full text of the Fair Play 'Code of Conduct' can be found on the FIFA website {Link without Title} . Both FIFA and UEFA have awards which they hand out to individuals or groups of people who have promoted what they see as the 'spirit' of Fair Play, both within and outside of football. An example of this was the Italian player Paolo Di Canio who, while not given an award, was congratulated in many sections of the football world for a very generous display of "Fair Play" [http://www.uefa.com/footballcentral/news/Kind=2/newsId=12773.html . FANS Football chants See Also: Football chant Football chants are chants generated by the crowd at matches to encourage the supporters' team, insult the opposition, or just make a noise. Teams tend to have their own 'anthems' which the crowds can sing; some songs are even shared between clubs. While some chants are used to mock opposition players (e.g. "'' Who Ate All The Pies? ''"), others are more aggressive and of a personal nature against a player on the field. Some chanting in the crowds can be more than insulting, and may even be racist or sectarian in nature; chants like these tend to have been banned from football stadiums. Violence The level of passion with which football teams are supported has from time to time caused problems, and clashes between fans can result in violence. Some violence occurs by people deliberately aiming to cause trouble, often after a match takes place, a phenomenon known as in Italy and the Barras Bravas in Argentina. Violence by fans has had varying degrees of seriousness, ranging from scuffles between fans to tragedies (see Heysel Stadium Disaster , Football War ). There have been some incidents in fixtures abroad of fans being murdered: for example, two Leeds United supporters in Turkey in 2000 {Link without Title} . goalkeeper As of 2004 this aspect of the game seems to have passed its peak though it has by no means disappeared completely. Specialist police units and information-sharing between regional and international police forces has made it much harder for the hooligans to organize their displays of hatred. However there are still disruptions surrounding football matches, an example being the UEFA Champions League matches which were played on March 12 and March 13 2005 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4441863.stm [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4434413.stm]. Violence by fans has also affected players, but this is extremely rare. For example a message to player Andrés Escobar was murdered shortly after returning home from the 1994 World Cup . This was reputedly for scoring the Own Goal which eliminated Colombia from the competition {Link without Title} . Football violence has also occurred among players during games. For examples, see:
Accidents and disasters There have been many accidents and disasters in the history of football. Some of these, such as the Hillsborough and Ibrox Disaster s, were due to problems with crowd control. The Heysel Stadium Disaster was a combination of hooliganism and poor crowd control. The Bradford City Disaster occurred due to poor fire safety in the stadium. Lessons learned from these disasters have led to better and safer football stadia. There have also been deaths on the pitch and dugouts:
Other disasters have occurred away from any stadia: most notably, the Munich Air Disaster , involving the 1958 Manchester United team and the Superga Air Disaster of 1949 in which the Torino squad perished. Stadia and seating The atmosphere at football matches, is a major part of the whole experience for football supporters, and is also a major part of the "wow factor", that youngsters get when they go to their first football match. Unfortunately after the Hillsborough Disaster , standing has been banned from many places, and as a result the atmosphere has suffered. Although it is clear that standing wasn't the sole cause of the tragedy, and that standing areas have been proved safe since, especially in Germany , the authorities still won't allow it. Groups like Stand Up Sit Down are campaigning for its return. Women and football ''This topic is covered in the main article Women's Football (soccer) .'' Increasingly women have taken a role in football, both in playing the game as well as watching it. The FIFA Women's World Cup was started in 1991 , and has drew worldwide television interest. In the USA , the Women's United Soccer Association League was formed in 2001 due to the interest in Women's football in the country. Unfortunately the league collapsed in 2003 , but grassroots football was not affected in the country. In many countries there are Women's football leagues; however they are not as prominent as the equivalent Men's leagues. Football matches now tend to have increased numbers of female supporters attending the stadium itself, as well as watching the matches at home or in pubs or bars. Drinking and disorder In many countries football has been associated with Alcohol consumption. This can be before, during and after the game, with drinking occurring inside the stadium (sometimes illicitly) as well as in pubs and bars outside. However, the chaos caused by drinking has led to the banning of the sale of alcohol to general supporters in stadia across the United Kingdom . It must be noted that sales of alcohol still occur in executive lounges. A lot of teams and countries have supporters clubs which have 'friendly' drinking reputations. However some countries are more associated with 'drunken hooliganism' (see Violence section above). One interesting story is that of a Member Of The Scottish Parliament being arrested for being 'drunk and disorderly' while on a trip to see Scotland playing England at Wembley Stadium {Link without Title} . Pitch invasions ''Main article:'' Pitch Invasion Pitch invasions are occasions when supporters move from the stands onto the football pitch for the express reason of disrupting a match. This has to be distinguished from times when due to safety reasons fans are let onto the pitch. Pitch invasions in football tend to be rare as clubs are punished heavily for letting any unauthorised persons on the pitch. Mass pitch invasions tend to be rare, but famous examples can be found. One is the British Home Championship match between England and Scotland, again at Wembley. Here, after a Scottish 2-1 victory, the " Tartan Army " decided to invade the pitch and managed to break down the goalposts, as well as help themselves to some of Wembley's turf [http://football.guardian.co.uk/gallery/image/0,8556,-10704601121,00.html] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/aboutus/wirelesstoweb/decades/clip_display.shtml?decade=70s&clip_name=pitch_invasion&size=v&media_type=video] (RealVideo). Solo invasions are more common. In many cases these people are and the British Grand Prix . TEAMS AND PLAYERS From the beginnings of football clubs and players have contributed greatly to the culture of society. Teams have moved from amateur status to (in some cases) big commercial concerns. Players have also managed to increase their earnings massively during this change. Teams Money Nowadays football has become big business for the privileged few. While most grassroots clubs and lower division league teams struggle to make ends meet, the big clubs can make a lot of money. Teams such as has also undergone a transformation, buying up the services of many expensive football players, due to being bought by the billionaire Roman Abramovich . The catalyst for this change was the arrival of satellite television. Satellite TV companies paid massive sums for the rights to cover football matches, and in turn have recouped this investment from the many fans who are unable to catch the game in person. This benefits the 'hardcore' and 'casual' fan as they have more choice of which game they want to watch. While some clubs do well out of the increased money in football, other clubs can get into trouble trying to keep up. Leeds United F.C. attempted to do this by spending a lot of money, and were successful for a few seasons. However the debts became unmanageable, and the successful players were sold off, and the team were eventually relegated from the FA Premier League to the English 1st Division . Not all clubs do well out of television money. Clubs in lower leagues receive less money for matches and, if promoted to higher leagues, can have trouble matching the spending power of bigger clubs. This leaves them more likely to be relegated again. Clubs from smaller countries also have problems with this issue. Due to their smaller population base they receive less money from television rights. This leaves them comparative paupers compared to clubs from the big countries, and can lead to debt problems if they try to match spending in trans-national competitions. Some clubs have managed to buck the trend by training players through their youth academies, as well as making wise investments. Examples of these clubs are FC Porto and Ajax Amsterdam , although it must be noted that when these teams become successful, as in Porto's case winning the 2003/04 Champions League , the team tends to get sold off due to financial pressures. Football players Football players, especially in the top levels of the game, have become role models and aspirational ideals for many people. The game itself has now become glamourised, with many children practising the game and aspiring to the wealth shown off by the top footballers (it may be argued that for most footballers that this extravagant lifestyle is unrealistic). The top footballers also have "hangers-on", best compared to the Groupie s of rock stars. Such extravagance has recently been satirised in the UK TV show Footballer's Wives . Bad behaviour While many footballers can be argued to be "good role models", there have been many headlines in the news regarding bad behaviour by footballers BBC Sport - "Footballers behaving badly" . Such is the influence of footballers, their activities tend to be reported widely in the media and also bring condemnation from the government of the countries of which they play. One famous player was Diego Maradona . While he had exceptional skill and was voted FIFA's Player of the Century (alongside Pelé ), he also suffered problems with Drug Abuse . He was also sent home from the 1994 World Cup for doping offences. His cocaine abuse has led to his medical problems in recent times . There have been several incidents in UK of players being accused of violence and misconduct off the pitch. Although on many occasions, players have been found not guilty, such cases are very controversial. In 2001, two Leeds United players, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer , appeared in court over the assault of a student outside a nightclub. Woodgate was found guilty of Affray . In 2002 three players, two from Chelsea ( John Terry and Jody Morris ) and one from Wimbledon , appeared in court of charges of affray . All were acquitted. In 2004 , the Leicester City trio of Paul Dickov , Frank Sinclair and Keith Gillespie spent a week in jail after being accused of Sexual Assault while on a training break at the La Manga resort in Spain with their team BBC News - "Sex charges for Leicester three" . However, the case was dropped after forensic evidence showed the accusations to be baseless BBC News - "Leicester trio charges 'dropped'" . Although the players accused were ultimately innocent, the scandal led to a media outcry about footballers and their behaviour, especially with regard to children who look up to them. when he and Newcastle teammate Kieron Dyer fought each other near the end of a Premiership match . Ethnicity and football ''Main article:'' Ethnicity And Football People of different races have sometimes not been accepted as players in European football. This is happily changing during the start of the 21st century due to societal change as well as campaigning on the part of the football authorities in different countries. . However in the 1970s onwards players were increasingly accepted leading to a situation where many club and national teams have players of varying ethnicities. However full acceptance in the large footballing nations did not occur until the 1990s. While smaller countries without a large ethnic population have been seen to have problems with Racism , there have been recently notable incidents of racism in bigger leagues. There have also been problems with religious identity and football. Globalisation and players Globalisation has benefited current and former players, coaches, teams and others involved in football. For the best players it means their services can be offered to clubs in various different countries, and for whatever the price they want. The top players can make salaries of millions in a year, plus whatever additional endorsements they receive. Teams have also benefited from this by being able to find a wider support base outside their traditional local areas. They can also scout for talent from a wider area. However some European clubs have been accused of exploitation for doing this, as some African youngsters they have recruited for football teams have eventually been left with nothing after the team no longer requires their services. Coaches are also becoming sought after expertise internationally. This extends to national team coaches, once being native to their country, being brought in from other countries. Examples include Brazilian legend Zico coaching Japan , Sven-Göran Eriksson , a Swede who coaches England , as well as Berti Vogts , a German who until recently coached Scotland . Another German, Otto Rehhagel , is practically a national icon in Greece , especially after leading That Country's National Team to a shocking victory in Euro 2004 , and shortly afterwards turning down an offer to coach the German National Team to stay with Greece. Dutch coach Guus Hiddink has a similar iconic status in South Korea after coaching Its National Team to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup —so much so that one of Korea's World Cup stadiums was renamed in his honor shortly after the competition. SOCIETY In many countries football has ingrained itself into the national culture, and many parts of life revolve around it. Many countries have daily 'football' newspapers, as well as football magazines. The mood of regions and countries has been seen to be connected to football. Victory in a major tournament can bring happiness to the local community or country. Conversely defeat can lower spirits, and has been seen to be connected to mortality in the population Withdrawal symptoms when the football season finished have also been reported [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2949300.stm . The economy can also be seen to be connected to major football tournaments although the precise association is disputed [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1993105.stm . Arts, literature & film The popularity of football has been reflected in the arts, books and films in many countries. Many books have been written dealing with the culture, such as violence, surrounding football, as well as detailed histories of events or rivalries. Many consider that British football's image of a nasty working-class pursuit was changed into something far more respectable after '' Fever Pitch '', a memoir (later adapted very loosely into a movie) by Nick Hornby about his life as an Arsenal fan, was published. The book also provided Hornby's big break. Films have b |