A footballer who had played in Turkey for many years once took part in a television program and had the following exchange with the host:
Host: “Footballers are very uncultured and uneducated. They usually drop out of school during primary or middle school, and then suddenly start earning huge amounts of money…”
Footballer: “Yes, you’re right.”
Host: “So why are they so uncultured? I don’t understand.”
Footballer: “Because all artists are Oxford graduates, footballers naturally appear more uncultured compared to them.”
Have you ever owned a chain necklace, or worked in the jewelry industry?
You have certainly seen chains, which are essential structural elements of necklaces and bracelets. They resemble a long, thin thread made up of dozens of interlinked rings. Unlike a thread, however, they are not a single piece but a flawless structure formed by the union of many components. Each ring serves as a connection point for the ones next to it. You can add as many links as you like; as long as they remain compatible with the rest, the structure maintains its order and integrity.
The importance of any newly added link increases as the chain grows longer. As more links attach to it, it ceases to be a mere end piece and becomes one of the main load-bearing centers of the system. Ultimately, regardless of how long the chain becomes, what preserves its unity is the uninterrupted support each link provides to the next.
In economics, there is a concept known as the Circular Flow of Income. First introduced in the 18th century by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon, it has evolved over more than 200 years into its modern form.
What this long process has revealed is that the economy is not a system of isolated individuals, but a vast network of interconnected actors. A bookkeeper, for example, is not merely someone working at a desk; they are part of a significant economic circulation. This is not primarily because they pay salaries (though partially true), but because they regulate a company’s financial structure. The bookkeeper organizes the finances, the company pays its employees, the employees consume goods and services, and that consumption fuels other sectors.
If we expand this cycle across all professions, what emerges is an endless loop. My production depends on your consumption; your consumption depends on someone else’s production.
This is, in essence, a chain, and we (the professionals) are its links.
This is, in essence, a chain, and we (the professionals) are its links.
Now let us shift perspective and return to football: where exactly does football stand within this cycle?
To answer this clearly, we must examine the sectors, and more specifically the professions, connected to football. Let us start from the closest: agents, coaches, referees, dietitians, trainers, and tourism professionals.
To better visualize this, consider a typical scenario: an ordinary league match played in a mid-sized stadium. Hours before kickoff, a surge of activity begins around the stadium. Staff open the gates, security personnel take their positions, cleaning crews prepare the stands, and concession workers arrange their products.
As fans arrive, they stimulate the transportation sector; buses, taxis, and even fuel stations benefit from this movement. Every bottle of water and every sandwich sold inside the stadium activates another production chain behind the scenes.
When the match begins, what we see is not merely 22 players on the field. Behind them stand coaches, medical teams, club executives, and vast infrastructural systems.
When the match begins, what we see is not merely 22 players on the field.
Once the match is broadcast, television networks, advertisers, and the media industry come into play. Even the cost of a single second of advertising demonstrates the magnitude of this cycle. And when the match ends, the activity does not stop. Winning teams sell more jerseys, losing teams become material for sports debates, and social media engagement skyrockets.
In other words, a 90-minute match is, in reality, a massive economic cycle sustained by hundreds of interconnected professions.
It seems that within this chain, football constitutes one of the central links that carries a significant portion of the system’s load.
According to the host’s perspective, footballers may be “uncultured and uneducated.” However, when viewed through this broader lens, it becomes undeniable that they occupy a position of substantial influence within society and the economy.
Moreover, the notion of being “uneducated” is, in itself, highly ambiguous. Research and observations suggest that elite footballers possess cognitive abilities that could almost be described as superhuman.
Take Kevin De Bruyne, for instance. He perceives the field as if viewing it from above through a drone camera. His greatest strength lies in his ability to calculate, with near-mathematical precision, the movements of defenders and the runs of his teammates before the ball even reaches him. While most players execute what is possible, he creates opportunities by passing into spaces that do not yet exist.
Or consider Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta, who controlled football like a chessboard. Xavi, in particular, was known for constantly scanning his surroundings. He turned his head hundreds of times per match (approximately 800–1000 times) to construct a mental map of the field. This allowed him to maintain possession under pressure and strategically dictate the tempo of the game.
And there are many more like them.
The football industry, as a critical link in this vast chain, is in fact one of the most visible pillars of a global macroeconomic system worth trillions of dollars. Evaluating the individuals on the field solely through traditional definitions of education risks ignoring these complex interconnections.
Evaluating the individuals on the field solely through traditional definitions of education risks ignoring these complex interconnections.
Ultimately, when the stadium lights go out, what remains is not merely a 90-minute game. Instead, it leaves behind a powerful industrial force that intertwines mass sociology, financial capital, and human labor. This entity is, in its own way, profoundly “educated,” yet sometimes perceived as “uncultured” due to personal backgrounds and experiences.
References
- Jordet, G., Aksum, K. M., & Pokolm, M. (2020). Scanning, contextual factors, and association with performance in English Premier League footballers: An investigation across a season. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 553813.
- Aksum, K. M., Pokolm, M., Bjørndal, C. T., Rein, R., Memmert, D., & Jordet, G. (2021). Scanning activity in elite youth football players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(21), 2401–2410.
- Jordet, G. (2024). Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shootout and other high-stakes football situations.
- Cantillon, R. (1755). Essai sur la nature du commerce en général (An Essay on the Nature of Trade in General).
- Murphy, A. E. (1986). Richard Cantillon: Entrepreneur and economist. Oxford University Press.
- Deloitte Sports Business Group. (Annual reports). Annual Review of Football Finance.
- Szymanski, S. (2009). Playbooks and checkbooks: An introduction to the economics of modern sports. Princeton University Press.
- YouTube. (n.d.). [Video].