Football is the world’s most popular sport. Its power lies in its ability to promote national unity, identity, and pride. It is also often extremely efficient in conveying a country’s values internationally through football teams and athletes. 

Football clubs recognize the importance of their home country as integral to their success and potential international presence. Clubs are continuously working to attract and raise the best athletes, upgrade their facilities and increase their attractiveness.

Raising a homegrown player contributes to national pride as a population can identify with this specific athlete. Yet, raising homegrown players may be challenging for many reasons, some of which are: 

• Significance of successfully producing players through clubs’ own academies
• Absence of expertise and competencies to train and groom a player
• Relatively high cost and effort 

Selective alliances between football clubs are a solution to transfer competencies and efficiently raise homegrown players without giving up their national identity. National identity is not only valuable for local population but for foreign fans too.

A club seeking to raise homegrown players may benefit from:

• Getting the know-how of the Academy in terms of expertise, experience, and education
• Developing a scouting and teaching program from scratch to the top adapted to the club’s environment
• Enhancing marketing and merchandising, key cornerstones for success

On the other hand, the club transferring skills would develop a Scouting and Teaching program from scratch adapted to its partner club’s identity and environment while benefiting from :

• Accessing the most talented players in another country either through transfer or loan
• Penetrating new markets facilitated through the partnership, a soft way for the commercial and marketing outreach
• Getting an affiliate club to loan players

Today, for clubs looking to develop and raise their homegrown players, alliances have proven to be the most efficient. Depending on the importance of the clubs, their cities, sponsors, and government policies, alliances between clubs may be expanded to build and strengthen political and economic ties between cities and countries.

In the twenty-first century, elements of local and international influence of a government are changing due to the advancement and spread of technology; a country’s competitiveness will depend on science, technology, and human-beings rather than on the possession of natural resources.

Technology has:

• Allowed the spread of values, agendas, and injustices that may have gone unnoticed.
• Prevented conflict at times and fueled confrontation at other times.
• Emphasized individualism and promised better life standards.
• Empowered global companies to innovate and attract talented youth.
• Created industries requiring a new skillset.

Governments are now under the pressure to deliver in a ‘smarter’ and more demanding world. Sports has a major role to play due to its many benefits:

Sports promotes tolerance among people of same and different societies.

Governments are investing heavily in arms and cyber security systems. They are also keen to break the vicious cycle of intolerance leading to conflict. Friendly sports matches reduce ethnic, gender, and cultural stereotypes and foster values of peace and co-existence.

Sports increases national pride during periods of wars or economic difficulty.

Governments are concerned about the possibility of violence due to poverty and distress. Sports invokes loyalty to one’s country as it creates fans for athletes, teams, and nations. For sanctioned or war-torn countries, sports also helps restore broken national identity and pride.

Sports improves workforce productivity and reduces national health bills.

The global competitiveness of a country depends on its population’s health. Sports participation improves health and reduces stress levels. Public health expenditures can then be channeled to improve the country’s general health sector.

Sports teaches the essential skills of tomorrow.

Professions of the future require soft skills that athletes acquire on the field. An athlete knows the values of teamwork, communication, and common goals as teams share challenges and victories. Moreover, sports increases perseverance, creativity, and leadership.

Sports creates hope and confidence especially among youth.

Today, it is difficult to be a young person. One has to be more educated and more competitive. A good sports match creates successful role models through athletes. An athlete is a symbol of hope because he has the courage to dream and change the status quo.

Sports boosts the status of countries on the international scene.

Sports can be an efficient international policy tool due to its attractive nature. Emerging superpowers still lag in soft-powers essential to influence and push their agendas. On the other hand, post-conflict countries can rely on sports to promote their image and attract economic aid and foreign investment especially after a period of extreme violence.

Major media and entertainment conglomerates have quickly spotted the opportunity in sports and increasingly own sports clubs. This ‘privatized’ sports policy will expand due to the global reach and power of these conglomerates.

As governments are re-thinking their policies focusing on science, technology, and innovation, sports can play a complementary and important role in achieving government agendas during this transitionary and somewhat chaotic period.