I remember sitting in a packed stadium back in 2018, watching what many called the "golden era" of football, and thinking this sport would never lose its shine. Yet here we are, just a few years later, witnessing what feels like a slow but steady decline. As someone who's followed football professionally for over fifteen years, I've noticed patterns that suggest we're facing something more significant than just a temporary dip in popularity. The recent news about Enciso returning to TNT and making the most of his playing opportunities with Tropang 5G actually got me thinking about the broader landscape—how even within these smaller success stories, we can see glimpses of the larger challenges facing football globally.
Let me start with what I consider the most pressing issue: the shifting attention economy. Back in 2015, a typical Premier League match would attract around 900,000 viewers globally through traditional broadcasts. Fast forward to 2023, and those numbers have dropped by nearly 40% in some markets. Why? Well, the rise of short-form content platforms like TikTok and the fragmentation of media consumption have completely changed how people engage with sports. I've spoken with younger relatives who find football matches "too long" and "predictable"—they'd rather watch ten-minute highlight reels or esports tournaments that deliver constant action. This isn't just anecdotal; studies show the average attention span for live sports has decreased from 90 minutes to about 25 minutes over the past decade. Football, with its traditional two 45-minute halves, simply isn't designed for today's dopamine-driven viewers.
Then there's the financial aspect, which has become increasingly unsustainable. I've had conversations with club managers who confess that the current model is broken. The average salary for a top-tier player has risen by 150% since 2010, while club revenues have only grown by about 60% in the same period. This creates a dangerous bubble—one that we're already seeing signs of bursting. Smaller clubs are struggling to stay afloat, and even larger ones are facing financial fair play sanctions. Remember when transfer fees above €100 million seemed extraordinary? Now they're almost expected, creating an arms race that's pushing the sport toward financial instability. What worries me most is how this trickles down to grassroots football; I've seen local academies close because they can't compete with the inflated costs of nurturing young talent.
The demographic time bomb is another factor I can't ignore. Football's core audience is aging rapidly—the average viewer is now 45 years old, compared to 35 just twenty years ago. Meanwhile, sports like basketball and esports are capturing the youth market. I recently attended a youth sports conference where only 2 out of 50 teenagers listed football as their favorite sport. They described it as "slow" and "traditional"—adjectives that should terrify football administrators. The sport has failed to reinvent itself for Generation Z, who value individuality, digital integration, and social causes alongside athletic competition. Basketball players have massive social media followings and personal brands that transcend the sport, while footballers often seem distant and media-trained to the point of being unrelatable.
Player development systems are showing cracks too. The story of Enciso with TNT and Tropang 5G represents a rare success in what's becoming an increasingly broken pathway. I've visited numerous youth academies across Europe and South America, and the same story repeats itself: too much focus on physical attributes over technical skills, excessive pressure on teenagers, and a production-line approach that stifles creativity. The result? We're producing athletes instead of artists. The percentage of technically gifted playmakers in top leagues has decreased from 35% to just 18% over the past fifteen years, replaced by physically dominant but less entertaining players. Football is losing its magic, its unpredictability—the very things that made me fall in love with the sport as a child.
Finally, there's the global saturation problem. With so many leagues and tournaments, football has become a 24/7 product that never stops. I tracked it last year—there wasn't a single day without some professional football match being played somewhere in the world. This overexposure has diluted the specialness of big events. The Champions League final used to feel like a global holiday; now it competes with countless other matches for attention. The magic of cup competitions has diminished because top players are often rested for "more important" league games. We've created a calendar so congested that players are burning out by their late twenties, and fans are suffering from what I call "football fatigue"—the feeling that there's always another game to watch, so why bother with this one?
Now, I don't want to sound entirely pessimistic. There are still moments of brilliance, like watching a veteran player like Enciso make the most of his second chance with TNT. But these bright spots can't mask the structural issues. Football needs what I'd call a "reset"—not just minor adjustments but fundamental changes to how the sport is structured, marketed, and consumed. We need to shorten matches, embrace digital platforms properly, fix the financial model, and make the sport accessible and exciting for new generations. Otherwise, I fear we'll look back at this decade as the beginning of the end. The beautiful game deserves better than a slow fade into irrelevance, but without significant intervention, that's exactly where we're headed. The final whistle hasn't blown yet, but we're definitely in injury time.
