The IDP Football League is an interdisciplinary study group of the Brazilian Institute of Teaching, Development and Research (IDP), composed of professors, researchers, master's and undergraduate students, and may also include external collaborators linked to other academic institutions and organizations related to sport.
The group brings together contributions from the fields of Law, International Relations, Economics, and Communication, while maintaining a dialogue with areas such as Political Science, Administration, Sociology, and Public Policy. Its work combines training and outreach, creating a permanent space for research and debate about football beyond its purely sporting dimension.
LdF is linked to the Private Law in the 21st Century Research Group, and the Football Hub constitutes its communication and public dissemination platform, aimed at circulating the knowledge produced by the group and expanding the dialogue between the university, the sports sector, and society.
The IDP's Gloria Steinem Football League is named in honor of the American journalist, writer, and activist Gloria Steinem (1934–2026), a central figure in the women's rights movement in the United States. Its purpose is to create a permanent space for teaching, research, training, outreach, knowledge production, and project development related to football, bringing together different academic areas and connecting the university with institutions, professionals, and organizations that make up the sports ecosystem. Seeking to understand football in its complexity, the LdF investigates not only what happens on the field, but also everything that structures and influences the sport.
Research Area : Football, International Relations and Geopolitics
Description: This research line investigates the relationships between football, international politics, and transformations of the global order, analyzing the role played by states, international organizations, companies, clubs, federations, and other transnational actors.
Subjects of interest include phenomena such as mega sporting events, sports diplomacy, soft power, international projection strategies, foreign investment, the internationalization of clubs and competitions, the international movement of athletes and capital, and the integration of football into the political and economic strategies of different countries and regions.
Research Area : Communication, Media, Culture and Society in Football
Description : This line of research investigates football as a communicational, cultural, and social phenomenon, considering the transformations in the ways the sport is produced, circulated, and consumed.
This includes research on sports media, broadcasting rights and platforms, institutional communication, social media, brand building, fan behavior, new forms of engagement, narratives and identities, as well as the relationships between football, culture and society.
It also considers the transformations brought about by digitalization, new platforms, and emerging technologies in the communication and consumption of football.
Research Area : Governance, Law and Regulation of Football
Description : This research line investigates the institutional, legal, and regulatory structures that organize football at the national and international levels. It encompasses studies on sports governance, sports law, sports justice, integrity, compliance, licensing systems, regulatory mechanisms, and relationships between clubs, federations, leagues, and other entities responsible for organizing the sport.
It also includes discussions on financial sustainability, economic regulation, financial fair play, athletes' rights, transfers, dispute resolution, and the impacts of national and international regulations on the functioning of football.
Research Area : Political Economy and the Football Industry
Description : This line of research analyzes football as an economic activity and business sector, investigating the different agents, markets, and financial flows that structure the contemporary sports industry.
Among its themes are club management and ownership models, football corporations, investments, funds and institutional investors, commercial revenues, broadcasting rights, sponsorships, the transfer market, financial sustainability, new business models, and processes of capital concentration and internationalization in football.
