MOD NOTE: Let's keep the politics in PRSI.
B
While it might be a good idea to try to keep politics - per se - in PRSI, there are some areas where it is impossible to ignore issues of power and politics in football, especially if one is to understand the wider context of the environment within which football operates.
And I am not just referring to the projection of national identity (and aspirations) onto national football teams during international competitions, either.
Likewise, on cannot ignore issues of financial power, and the fact that many clubs are now global brands with everything that entails.
Moreover, matters such as media rights - with the whole idea of pay-per-view, the increasing power of Sky and the influence wielded by individuals such as Mr Murdoch - further issues such as broadcasting rights, are all stuff that inform how football is viewed, marketed, consumed and who and what gets to see it.
And - as for wider ('political') discussions I don't think that any serious discussion of football can overlook power structures; changes in the Premiership in recent decades have drastically altered the model of ownership of clubs, which in turn has transformed budgets, global brand reach, and ethos.
Then, there is also the small matter of the manner in which decisions regarding who - or what country - should host the World Cup have been taken in recent years; if that isn't political - yet relevant to any discussion about football - I don;t know what is.
