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Commoditization of football players (Introducion (how are football players…
Commoditization of football players
Introducion
def. of commoditization
The process of things becoming commodities. Things (goods, services, ideas, people,…) that were not for sale before become something that you can buy and sell on the market.
how are football players considered commodities
We will only consider football players transfers as commodities during an actual transfer where his value materializes. We will only consider the tranfer itself as the main transaction, as players have the freedom to negotiate their contracts.
def. of football player as a worker
specifically african football players can be seen as commodities given their lack of say in the bargaining
Since a player´s value is given by his individual performances (either in training or during games), he is the one who should be responsible by the variations on his value
Argument for coercion
Underlying principle: Exchange must be carried out with consent under fair bargaining conditions.
Although it is carried out with consent, football players do not have a say in the amounts of their transfer fees (these being determined by the market), maing them commodities with no bargaining conditions (in terms of transfer fees)
Argument from corruption
Market valuation and exchange degrades certain goods and practices.
There are things that money can’t (or shouldn’t) buy.
football transfer market literally put a price tag on any player, creating a diferente kind of labor market, where workers are, more commonly, bought instead of hired.
additionally, the direct link between a football player´s performance (in and out the pitch) and a club's market valuation turns the player into na asset rather than a worker
Personal evaluation
Is the commodification in question morally acceptable or not?
It is not morally acceptable, since you are pricetagging a human being. In na extreme point of view, the football players market resonates to slavery in the sense of trading human labor in return for a monetary sum
Is the argument from coercion and/or from corruption convincing/decisive?
they are not decisive, given na utopian solution of a fair trade in the football transfer market
Are there other moral considerations involved?
On the other hand the transfer market gives na opportunity for football players to pursue better carreer opportunities.
commoditization of football itself turns football players into marionets
Conclusion
Given the restrictions and harsh rule of law, from FIFA, the football transfer market has become, mainly, a competition for players where the highest bidder almost always wins.
Clubs in the top divisions of Europe's five biggest leagues (England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany) accounted for 72 per cent of the entire €3.3bn (£2.44bn) spent in the last summer transfer window
http://www.cityam.com/226624/football-transfer-system-unfairly-benefits-top-clubs-and-fails-players-argues-economist-stefan-szymanski-in-new-fifpro-study
But, if a transfer market would be created it woyld have to follow a set of rules designed to protect every player and every club the same way.
table 2
We may argue by analogy or from a conception of the good
analogy
Considering football players as workers, if we do not pay a transaction fee for workers from other sectors, why should we do so with football players?
conception of the good