| This thesis examines how oligarch football club investments in Central and Eastern Europe face restrictions based on regime type. Oligarchs gained political and economic control of this region following the collapse of communist regimes in the early 1990s. This region also saw great change when athletic institutions fell and football became an avenue for oligarchs to ensure political capital. Although many similarities exist, I argue that oligarchs use different strategies toward clubs to ensure beneficial forms of political capital based on their respective regimes. As a result, I highlight the structure of oligarchs in neo-authoritarian, oligarchical democracy, and de facto state regimes to assess how regimes influence oligarchs' use of football clubs. I advance this discussion with three case studies of oligarchs and their ownership of local football clubs. My cases include Suleyman Kerimov and FC Anzhi Dagestan, Gigi Becali and FC Steaua Bucuresti, and Viktor Gushan and FC Sheriff Transnistria. |
