Football Development Index: Rationale, Methodology, and Application

This book provides a comprehensive overview of football development from a scientific perspective, emphasizing the multidimensional framework of assessing sports development. It introduces the Football Development Index (FDI) as a composite indicator that encompasses on-pitch performance, popularity, and development environment. The practical implications of the FDI cover performance measurement, funding allocation, sports development policy, and stakeholder relations. While the findings on the impact of socio-economic determinants on football development are inconclusive, the research contributes to the theoretical development of performance measurement systems and sheds light on the factors influencing football development.

Format: Hardback
Length: 138 pages
Publication date: 06 December 2017
Publisher: Lexington Books

This comprehensive book delves into the realm of football development, offering a systematic and scientific perspective. It proposes a multidimensional framework for assessing sports development, particularly focusing on association football. This framework extends beyond conventional metrics such as medal tally counts and win percentages, seeking to encompass a broader understanding of football development. At its core, the Football Development Index (FDI) revolves around the notion that football development encompasses all athletic proficiency levels, from grassroots to elite, and involves all stakeholders in the football community. The proposed composite indicator of football development highlights three key dimensions: on-pitch performance, popularity, and development environment.

The book provides a rich conceptual discussion on football development, exploring various techniques employed for constructing composite indicators. It also offers practical implications, covering a wide range of fundamental sports economics and management issues, including performance measurement and management, funding allocation fairness, sports development policy, stakeholder relations, and more. While providing concrete guidelines and recommendations, the book also raises thought-provoking questions about the influence of socio-economic determinants on a nation's sporting performance. While the findings remain inconclusive, further exploration of this notion reveals insightful correlations between socio-economic development levels and football development, shedding light on more complex questions that the book cannot fully address.

The findings of this research have the potential to be adopted by FIFA, continental and national federations, to inform decision-making related to development programs and activities in football. By embracing a multidimensional and holistic approach, this book contributes to our understanding of football development and its impact on various aspects of society.

Weight: 368g
Dimension: 161 x 237 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781498555197