Welcome to issue #014 of Contemporary Football, your inside look at how the game really works behind the scenes.
Monday to Friday, you’ll uncover a new perspective on football business, and sometimes a deeper story that sharpens your thinking and gives you an edge in the beautiful game.
If you need support on your football journey, just write me.
Hey everyone,
Last night, I kept thinking about a type of club we all know.
Not the big ones.
Not the disasters either.
The ones in the middle.
Stuck.
Drifting.
Not dead.
Not alive.
Just… existing.
Zombie clubs.
🧟♂️ You recognise them immediately
Half-empty stadiums.
Same owners for 30 years.
No academy kids in the first team.
Local sponsors who’ve been there since 1983.
They’re not failing.
They’re not winning.
They’re not inspiring.
They’re just… there.
A kind of football limbo.
The Zombie Trap
These clubs spend years waiting for things that never arrive:
the wealthy buyer who magically solves everything
the miracle season that fixes decades of mediocrity
the market shift that finally brings them money
Meanwhile, smaller clubs with identity and courage jump ahead of them.
Mjällby. Lecce. Girona.
All clubs that picked a lane.
The choice every club faces
There are many ways to succeed in football.
But “doing nothing different” has never been one of them.
Pick a lane:
be the player trading club
be the academy club
be the community club
be the analytics club
Just don’t be the club with no lane at all.
Because that’s how zombie status begins.
The real problem
Zombie clubs all share the same illness:
No strategy → no identity
No identity → no progress
No progress → zombie
The cure?
Movement.
Any movement.
Try a new ticketing model.
Launch a youth experiment.
Partner with a data company.
Test new pricing.
Rebuild scouting.
Create a real story.
Even the wrong move teaches you more than standing still.
And in football, standing still is basically moving backwards.
Stay uncomfortable.
Stay sharp.
Stay dangerous.
Is your local club alive, thriving… or quietly becoming a zombie?
That’s all for today!
See you tomorrow,
Federico