Club versus school structures

The contrasts between the dominant configurations in Europe and the United States are all the more intriguing if one realizes that in its early stages，modern sports were organized in clubs in both Europe and the United States.In linewith the quickly spreading voluntary associations in the Englishspeaking world in other fields of social activity，like politics，religion，art，music and trade，the club became the basic organizational unit ofmodern sport on both sides of the Atlantic.

The associative model was more or less adopted from the English，who dictated the development ofmodern sports in its earliest decades both on the European Continent and in the United States.However，between themid-19th and mid-20th century the American sport formation and culture developed along an entirely different path than it did in Europe.Thiswasmade possible because the United States underwent a fairly autonomousmodernization process，surpassing the European countries in several respects by the end of the 19th century.Most of the inhabitants were European immigrants or their descendants，but especially after the CivilWar4，they emphasized their independence and cultivated their national traits.As the United States became a key player on the world stage，its citizens' early admiration of English culture was replaced by selfconfidence in the country's own achievements.In line with this，they took the liberty of reinterpreting the English sports culture.The products were new sports，like baseball，football and basketball，which they were proud to call American.

5-7　National Football League

The initial process of club formation in the field of sport by youngmen was stimulated unintentionally in Europe and the United States by the rise of secondary and higher education in the second half of the 19th century.Initially，in both the United States andmost European countries，this process of club formation by young students took place independent of the school programs.In the second half of the 19th century，however，the club-based sport competitions increasingly met opposition from school authorities.Nonetheless，the school authorities in Europe did not try to gain control of the clubbased sport participation of their students.Conversely，in the United States，educators across the country tried to increase their authority over the students's port activities，the organization of sport became included in the extra-curricular programs of the educational institutions，whereas clubs and schools remained separated in most European countries.