Vasilis Kostakis: “The real success of clubs should not be measured only by trophies, but by how much they contribute to the development of a healthy football ecosystem”

Vasilis Kostakis
Professor at Tallinn University of Technology and a researcher at Harvard University, author and member of AnotherFootball organization.

Dimitris Rapidis
Grants Officer & Political Researcher - ETERON

Can football be a learning tool for young children? And if so, in what way?

All sports are inherently learning tools. The question is how they are used and what values ​​are promoted. Is extreme competition or cooperation cultivated? Punishment or empathy? Football has this magical property of being both simple and complex. A child kicks a ball and feels joy. Yet through this simple act, he learns profound truths about life.

Through football, children can understand the importance of cooperation, experience the beauty of collective effort, and internalize the concept of solidarity. Without boring lectures and book study. But through action and experience. Initiatives, such as the John Moriarty Foundation in Australia, use football to empower children from marginalized communities, helping them develop their critical thinking and empathy.

Furthermore, Paulo Freire’s pedagogy, which focuses on the liberation of the oppressed through critical thinking, can also be applied to football. When children learn to play in a way that prioritizes the joy of the game rather than winning, when they are encouraged to participate in decision-making, then football becomes a space where children can discover themselves and their potential.

It has been said that football is the fairest of sports: One ball, 22 players on the pitch, and for 90+ minutes, both teams are fighting for victory. Is it really the fairest sport, or are there issues of inequality before the players even step onto the pitch?

Everyone’s starting point is different. This creates inequalities and oppression. Football, while seemingly fair – with the same rules for everyone – reflects the inequalities of our society.

Social, economic and racial inequalities shape who has the opportunity to reach the professional level. Children from privileged backgrounds or from countries with a football tradition have access to better infrastructure, coaches, nutrition and medical care. Even gender plays a role – for example, women’s achievements are overlooked or undervalued.

Moreover, modern professional football has become a field of expression of inequalities between rich and poor clubs. The teams with the most money can acquire the best players, creating a vicious circle where the rich get richer.

Truly fair football would require a radical reorganization that would address structural inequalities, not only in the game but also in the society from which it emerges.

Football is a huge industry that generates billions, but at the same time it sends messages, teaches history, and has profound social dimensions. What fascinates you most about football?

What fascinates me is the ability of football to function as a mirror of society, but at the same time as a tool for change. I am fascinated by its dual nature: it is art and struggle, cooperation and competition, individual expression and collective effort.

Football, at its core, is a physical expression. Every movement, every touch of the ball is like a brushstroke. Every match is a painting. This collective production of art has the ability to move us deeply and create moments that remain forever in the collective memory.

I am also fascinated by the moments where football has become a vehicle for social change. From Democracia Corinthiana in Brazil to John Moriarty’s efforts to use football as a means of empowering Aboriginal communities in Australia. These moments show us that another football is possible – a football that will not simply be a mirror of the inequalities of our world, but a foreshadowing of a better future.

Is there a difference between football played in urban areas and football played in the countryside, in the mountains, by the sea or in the village? Is the feeling the same or does it seem more liberating in some places?

Football in large urban centers often obeys the logic of the market: standardized training programs, emphasis on specialization and professionalization from a very early age, the pursuit of performance and results. On the contrary, football played in the fields, in the villages, by the sea or in the mountains, perhaps preserves the authenticity and joy of the game.

I am not an expert. But I remember the field in Lakkomata, Ioannina, where I grew up and ended up in a small, concrete cliff. There the game adapted to the environment, and not the other way around. In such spaces, the rules are more fluid, participation more open, the hierarchy less rigid.

This disconnection from the structures and expectations of formal, institutionalized football allows for a freer expression. Children playing in the village have no coach telling them what to do – they improvise, experiment, fight, make up and find their own voice in the game. This spontaneous, self-managed football has a liberating dimension that is often lost in the academies of big cities. A balance is needed, a synthesis of the good elements of organized academy football with grassroots football.

Europe’s biggest clubs are investing in academies: from Barcelona and Ajax to Athletic Bilbao and Porto. Is it important to invest in and nurture young players, or is spending large sums of money on transfers enough to bring a club to a high level of success?

Investing in academies and developing young players is fundamental not only for the sustainability of a club, but also for the formation of a distinct footballing identity. The clubs you mention do not simply invest in talent – ​​sometimes they cultivate playing philosophies, values ​​and ways of perceiving the sport that characterize their culture.

Ajax Amsterdam, for example, has built its tradition on Total Football, a fluid and creative style of play that requires players with high technical training and spatial awareness. Athletic Bilbao, on the other hand, with its cantera policy, strengthens local identity and is deeply connected to its community.

In contrast, the “quick wins” approach through expensive transfers often leads to short-term results without long-term sustainability. We see clubs spending hundreds of millions on transfers without building a coherent identity or philosophy.

Furthermore, investing in academies has deeper social implications. Academies can function as spaces where young people find meaning, broaden their horizons and shape their identity – not just as players but as people.

Ultimately, the true success of clubs should not be measured by titles alone, but by how much they contribute to the development of a healthy football ecosystem and complete personalities.