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Research Question: Contemporary football (soccer) is a competitive industry. Some football clubs have enacted new roles, such as the Sporting Director, to gain a competitive advantage through effective recruitment of non-playing staff. This qualitative research examines the recruitment strategies of Sporting Directors through the lens of network theory. Research Methods: An empirical qualitative study was conducted, involving semi-structured interviews with 25 Sporting Directors in football clubs in England (English Premier League n=12; English Championship, n=13). The qualitative data was thematically analysed. Results and Findings: The study contributes novel evidence on recruitment in elite-level football, revealing the theoretical underpinnings and practical nature of this marketplace unique to the football industry. The evidence shows that whilst normally in recruitment weak ties are essential for getting a job, in football, trust and knowing people is the most critical aspect in recruitment, and recruiters rely on strong ties. This homophily creates several unintended implications for business and performance. Conclusions: This study responds to a gap in our theoretical and practical understanding of recruitment in elite-level football. The findings raise important questions for those managers and leaders involved in securing talent, as the over-reliance on closed networks may constrain the flow of information and innovation and ultimately limit the potential performance of the organisation. Homophily in recruitment processes may have unintended consequences that require further research, notably for player welfare, inequalities and performance.

The structure of football can also be conceived as a form of ecosystem, or even a social world, constructed through a network of individuals, within a division of labour, that interact under a set of specific conventions. In this commentary we describe that socially constructed world – Football World. The nature of this structural world makes network theory an appealing framework to explore processes of the football ecosystem during COVID-19. While we focus on the English Premier League, notably this league is embedded within a European and international marketplace it offer relevance for the broader global football ecosystem. We proceed to explore this dynamic Football World by considering how the different collectives forms – specifically fans, players and clubs – have been affected by COVID-19. We comment on the potential implications for the connective fabric of the broader network and what these observations mean for potential future research.

Following advances in information technology and the rise of social media, prosumption – a model of simultaneous production and consumption of the commodity – has become a significant focus in many industries and for academic study. Prosumption represents a new message creation and delivery paradigm, where anyone can seamlessly shift from consumer to contributor, to creator. Central to this is the idea of creating 'use-value' and re-orientating 'exchange value'. Perhaps an overlooked facet, but one deeply engrained in its manifestation is that prosumption is inherently relational, involving micro-interaction between consumer and producer. The recent global COVID-19 pandemic, it too being relational in its transmission, has had a paralysing effect on global leisure activities with households and sports organisations experiencing some form of state-enforced residential lockdown. Using social network analysis, this commentary examines the network structure of a prosumed leisure activity during societal lockdown and its implications for the leisure industries.

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. COVID-19 has sent a shockwave into society and sport. As result of this, sport and football resuming without spectators - fans or supporters, has brought a number of financial issues that has threatened the sustainability and future of many clubs. This commentary unpicks what has happened and some of the tensions, decision-making and consequences surrounding the return of spectators. The commentary presents the case that spectators are key to the survival of football clubs and that the United Kingdom Government must reverse their decision to not let spectators return. Now more than ever, these words hold substance, meaning and truly matter to clubs and their networked communities, “Football without fans is nothing”.