Knowledge Transfer about Football Infrastructure in Varna, Odesa, Burgas, and Mykolaiv at the End of 19th and at the Beginning of 20th Centuries

Abstract

Infrastructure is one of the main parts of football industry in contemporary time. Pitches, stadiums, sporting goods stores, museums of different teams and clubs are very important now. These facilities began to appear in Central-Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The aim of this research is the comparison of f knowledge transfer about football infrastructure in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Varna, and Burgas. This article shows participants and ways to disseminate knowledge about football infrastructure, location of football pitches and stadiums in four port cities. It also illustrates the importance of local educational institutions and businesses in disseminating such information. More generally, the comparison provides insight into the influence of industrialization level on the speed and the scale of the implementation of knowledge in practice. British entrepreneurs built the first pitch in Odesa. Swiss teachers demonstrated for the first time the rules for equipping grounds in Varna. In Mykolaiv and Burgas, the transfer of knowledge about the construction of football infrastructure originated from Britain and the Ottoman Empire. Societies of these cities equipped pitches thanks to the information gained from British sailors and Ottoman football fans. Educational institutions were important in the creation of the first sports facilities in all cities. However, in Varna, Mykolaiv, and Burgas their role was more prominent, than in Odesa, where entrepreneurs were the leading force. Not only maritime trade, but also the growth of industry, foreign investment, and education became important factors in the development of sports in the port cities of Ukraine and Bulgaria. Population also influenced the speed and extent of the dissemination of knowledge about football.