Visualisation of the Football Player Market

Daniel, Kate and jackson

Background

Focus on the English Premier League, known as the ‘global league’68 countries represented last year

League renowned for the wealth of its ownership, resulting in huge amounts of imports and exports

2012-13 - Visualisation

Looking to make the otherwise invisible nature of travel visible.

Stem of arrows show where players have come from.

Also makes the comparative expense of these imports visible.

Thickness of arrows shows how much players from these nations have cost British clubs as a whole.

Working on a relationship from our understanding of the semiotics of an arrow means to us, and changes in relative size

Arrows don’t speak to number of people going but collective amount paid for players of these areas.

2014-15 - Visualisation

Comparing trends with 2012-13

You’ll notice that Spain is the biggest arrow in both

You’ll also see in both we have a huge focus on Europe, little focus on North and South America

No arrows from Africa, Asia or the Oceanic region.

Most transfers come from the ‘big four’

Average player transfer value from England/Wales is 3.88million

Average player from overseas is 7.5million

Explanation For Findings

CONTEXTEngland and Spain, Major tournaments – World Cup

& Euros

OutliersCan be clear discrepancies due to way data has been

transferred over.

Effect of Visualisation

Relationships between sport and mobility uncovered through relationship between data and signs.

Changes how we may think about football

Relate it to financial aspects rather than global reach and appeal.

Global reach is even questioned as map is narrowed to focus on Europe.

Publics Affected

Players/FansObviously concerned with whether they should be

following such trends and how much easier it is to see which places have the money to offer them more money, also which places to avoid if there is an exodus from that place.

ClubsTransfers are often concerned with talent, so it is in

the best interest of clubs to take note of these arrows and follow where talent may be coming from.

Could be more helpful if it was more specific in terms of clubs and ownership.

Government (English)Breaks down language barriers in a global forum, the

visualisation of data can help with allocation of funding and focus on tourism, even though most clubs are owned privately.

International Organisations (FIFA/UEFA)Connection between data and map can translate to a

representation of footballing culture. I.e. Heavy focus on Europe and Sth America, football

largely thought of in those areas.

MediaVisualisation has been a large facet in demonstrating

the increasing amount of money/globalisation in football.