<論説>戦後期イングランドにおけるプロ・フットボールの社会的文脈の変化 : フットボール争議の分析を中心に

Abstract

第二次世界大戦後のイングランドのプロ・フットボールにおいて、選手の契約・給与問題を巡ってフットボール・リーグと選手組合は労働省を巻き込む形で争議に突入した。二〇年近く断続的に続いた争議を通じて財政規則が改定され、選手の待遇や社会的イメージの向上が図られたが、リーグの閉鎖的なガバナンスのあり方の根幹は保たれた。その一方で、争議を通じてメディアの報道や政府のスポーツ推進政策が加熱し、国際的競争が激化したこともあり、フットボールへの国民の注目度が高まった。メディアや政府などの多様な回路と結びつくことで、プロ・フットボールは単なる娯楽産業の枠を超えた存在になっていった。つまり、争議を通じてプロ・フットボールは、国家の福祉政策を充実させるための財源として、国際競争における国の誇りを体現する国民的行事として、イングランド社会におよぼす影響をましていったのである。

Professional football had developed into one of the most popular entertainments in post-war England. The number of spectators rose to 40 millions in 1948/1949. In addition, a various kinds of international tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Champions Clubs' Cup, promoted intense competition beyond national boundaries. On the other hand, such developments put strong pressure for reform of the governance of the Football League. In particular, the financial regulations that controlled players' transfers (the retain-and-transfer regulation) and rewards (maximum-wage regulation) were targets of criticism. The Association Football Players' Union pressed for reform of the regulations by the League, and the football dispute, which broke out in 1945, continued to 1964. The Ministry of Labour intervened in the dispute in response to the appeal of the Players' Union, and a wide range of the media reported the process actively. As a result, the dispute strongly influenced the change in the social position of professional football. This article considers not only the process of the dispute through an analysis of documents of the Ministry of Labour, which have not been examined in previous research, but also the change in the social context of professional football through an analysis of media and government policies. In the post-war era, the change in the financial structure of professional football stimulated reform of the League's governance. The development of football pools, TV broadcasting and supporters' clubs produced new revenue sources for the professional football clubs. The League hesitated to make use of such revenue sources that might lead to a decline in gate receipts. In the 1960s nevertheless, the League was forced to cooperate with TV companies and football pool firms to secure revenues. As a result, the traditional financial structure based on gate receipts, which had justified the financial regulations, had to be reformed. With the change in the financial structure, the Players' Union and the League came into dispute. Players sought an organization to negotiate the revision of the regulations of the League as well as the abandonment of the financial regulations. In the first half of the dispute, the Players' Union, led by Jimmy Guthrie, sought improvement in players' rights as workers. The League blocked the intervention of trade unionism into the dispute by relaxing the wage limit. The Ministry of Labour, which emphasised the mutual agreement between the League and the Players' Union, did not force the League to abolish the regulations as the Players' Union had sought. During the later half of the dispute, on the other hand, Jimmy Hill, the new president of the Union, renamed the Players' Union the Professional Footballers' Association and maintained distance from trade unionism. Instead, he employed various means, such as media and politicians, to improve the social images of the players. As the Ministry of Labour also agreed with the change in the strategy, the League decided to abolish the maximum wage-regulation, which led to the conclusion of the dispute. Moreover, the social context of professional football had changed dramatically in post-war England. The media harshly criticised the Leagues' old-fashioned governance through interviews with famous foreign players. The British government also pressed for the reformation of the League in order to make use of professional football as a financial source to promote sports policy. In addition, the poor showing of English clubs and the national team in international competition heightened the frustration of the citizenry. These changes in the environment also influenced the dispute. Consequently, it can be claimed that the post-war football dispute was the turning point of English professional football. Though the dispute, professional football obtained the position of an important national event that embodied national pride and power.