Piłkarz jako marka i peryferyjny kibic jako aborygen. O wybranych społecznych konsekwencjach komercjalizacji sportu

The article is an attempt to analyse the social consequences of the commercialisation of the world of sport. The starting point is the conviction that the transformation of sport, and particularly football, is a consequence of ‘broad’ social changes consisting in the submission of a succeeding area of social life to the process of commercialisation and subordination to supply and demand mechanisms. The commercialisation of sport occurs simultaneously in: (1) sports rivalries, (2) the design of stadium infrastructure, and (3) the transformation of the collective behaviour of fans. In all three spheres, sport has become a commodity whose value has been reduced to the ‘accounting’ dimension. The article addresses two of these spheres: the top-down transformation of sports clubs and athletes into ‘commodities’ and ‘brands’, and the transformation of fans - once industrial fans - into ‘McFans’ and spectacle consumers. The author shows the social consequences of the commercialisation of football, including the turbo-capitalist 26 DOMINIK ANTONOWICZ, RADOSŁAW KOSSAKOWSKI, TOMASZ SZLENDAK division between the sports centre and peripheries and in bringing football matches to the rung of an entertainment service offered to consumers.