About this Event
Please join us our Spring 2026 series "Soccer: The Beautiful Game" at the German Historical Institute Washington.
Stefan Szymanski: Paying for Soccer - Making Money out of Soccer
Soccer is the world'd dominant sport, it is also among the least profitable. Professional clubs in particular have a history of loss making, financial collapse and bankruptcy. This is in stark contrast to the highly profitable major leagues of the US. This appears paradoxical but in fact conforms to standard economic concepts or perfect competition and monopoly, as taught in every economics 101 class. Under perfect competition firms make zero economic profits and business thrives, under monopoly, profits are vast but growth is constrained.
Stefan Szymanski is an economist specializing in sports, well known for his research on soccer and the comparative economics of US and European sports. For most of his academic career he was based in the UK, and moved to Michigan in 2011. As well as more than 100 papers in refereed academic journals he has written a dozen books, of which the best known is Soccernomics (with Simon Kuper).
About the Spring 2026 Lecture Series "Soccer: The Beautiful Game" at the German Historical Institute Washington:
Soccer, the world’s most popular sport, unites people across continents, cultures, and languages. For over a century, the game and its institutions have been inherently global in nature, with clubs, leagues, national teams, and tournaments drawing people together from around the world, while local aspects such as fan culture have contributed significantly to soccer’s global success. The (hi)story of the “beautiful game,” however, is not only a positive one. Corruption, scandals, and discrimination have plagued the sport since its early beginnings and form a significant part of the game’s story.
Doors will open at 5:30 pm and will close promptly at 6:00 pm with the beginning of the lecture. Access to the lecture after doors close will be at descretion of the GHI. Registration does not guarantee access once event capacity is reached.
On the occasion of this summer’s men’s soccer World Cup, hosted across Mexico, Canada, and the United States, the GHI Washington’s 2026 Spring Lecture Series, “Soccer: The Beautiful Game,” will explore the sport’s impact from multiple perspectives: popularizing soccer, globalizing soccer, and paying for soccer. The series will feature leading scholars and seasoned practitioners offering diverse insights into the sport’s popularity, globality, and financial aspects.
The lecture will be recorded and made available for viewing.
Organized by by Sarah Beringer, Andreas Greiner, and Ulrike von Hirschhausen in cooperation with the .
Please be aware that this event or conference, or a portion of it, could be live-streamed to registered participants watching remotely via ZOOM or a similar platform, or could be videorecorded for publication. By participating in-person, you understand that it is possible that you could be seen by registered participants watching the stream, that your comments may be seen/heard by participants watching the stream, and that a recording of the live stream could be made available on a video sharing service such Vimeo.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
German Historical Institute, 1607 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, D.C, United States
USD 0.00
