Welcome to Offside Empire

We are ruled by sociopaths. And they have turned the game of football into a weapon used to distract and exploit us.

Here are just a few of the Empire's trends that are shaping the world today, and how each of them translates negatively into the game of football.

1. Profit is the Purpose
   The profit motive rules everything. Love of money has become the master-desire shaping not just economies, but culture, politics, and sport. In football, this means billionaire owners, overleveraged clubs, and ticket prices that squeeze out working-class fans.
2. Austerity for the Many, Luxury for the Few
   In the Empire, the rich get tax breaks and bailouts, while the poor face cuts to essential services. In football it's the same story: grassroots clubs struggle to survive while mega-clubs build mega-stadiums on the people's dime and their executives chase corporate sponsorships.
3. The Commodification of Everything
   Nothing is sacred. From land and labor to emotions and dreams, it seems everything now has a price tag. Football is no exception: clubs become brands, players become assets, and fans become data points to be mined and monetized.
4. Narrative Control
   In the Empire, centralized media is nothing but a megaphone for power. Corporate and state-aligned institutions decide what counts as news, what counts as truth, and what gets erased altogether. In football this shows up as sanitized coverage of favored clubs, censorship of political dissent, and media deals that silence real journalism. Players who speak out are framed as “divisive,” while corporate sponsors dictate what’s okay to say.
5. Spectacle Over Substance
   The Empire thrives on distraction. The goal isn’t to educate and inform—it’s to captivate, seduce, and overwhelm. Celebrity gossip, culture conflict, and endless advertisements dominate our screens while real suffering and class injustice are sold to us as unsolvable. In football the stories are all about new financial deals, superficial controversies, and marketing-driven spectacles. The beautiful game is turned into mere entertainment to hook the attention of pacified consumers.
6. Never Enough
   The Empire must always expand and never retreat. Growth is its modus operandi and its god. The European Super League was squashed, but the Club World Cup has grown to 32 teams. Always more games, more ads, more deals, more burnout. The health of the players, local community sustainability, and fan traditions are all sacrificed on the unholy altar of power and greed.

The situation is grim as the Empire marches on, but in the game of football there has always been resistance. A heartbeat that defies the Empire.

Today that resistance is under siege, but it’s not dead.

My name is Peter Goodgame, founder of Offside Empire.

We spotlight the clubs, players, and supporters who refuse to bow to corporate greed and elitist control—those fighting to reclaim the soul of the game we love. They are the beating heart of a real movement—one that’s rebuilding football from the ground up. Not just for a better game, but for a better world!