The practice of sports has proven to be a great solution to several social problems. It is undeniable, among all sports, the strength of football s influence in Brazilian life-context. However, its importance as an economical activity e and its capability to social improvements has not yet been recognized. Football has promoted more changes in society in the past century than it has suffered on the pitch itself. It has been used as entertainment by the people, as a manipulation mechanism by the government, as a power tool by its directors. It has, finally, stumbled into the pressures of professionalizing its traditionally amateur management practices. Based on the Institutional Theory and, more specifically, on the neo-institutionalism line of study (DIMAGGIO e POWEL, 1991), this research seeks to identify the aspects related to the organizational facet of football, which create obstacles or facilitating elements of the professionalization process of this sport s category within the clubs. The Institutional Theory helps to understand the relationships amongst the various actors within the organizational field of football. Study methodology was based upon secondary research and indepth interviews with key representatives of the analyzed organizational field main entities. The main conclusions suggest that the perception of a need for football management professionalization in Brazilian clubs is already recognized by the different actors and its implementation could result in positive social, economic and financial impacts on society. However, the means to reach this objective still face several obstacles, all of which are rooted on the amateurism, conservationism and oligarchism that have been dominating the football management field.