The Political Economy of Football V2

A U.S. consortium fronted by real estate investor Al Tylis and Club Necaxa executive Sam Porter has completed a takeover of Colombian soccer team La Equidad — backed by investors including actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Eva Longoria. La Equidad is based in the Colombian capital of Bogota, where the club’s home stadium Estadio Metropolitano de Techo has a capacity of 10,000. The team finished 13th out of 20 teams in the top flight of the 2024 league phase of the season in Colombia. The club was founded in 1982 by an insurance company (also called La Equidad). The consortium, which also includes MLB pitcher Justin Verlander and his model wife Kate Upton, has acquired over 99 per cent of the club at a valuation in excess of $30m, according to sources familiar with the deal who asked to remain anonymous when disclosing confidential information. Talks over the acquisition had been ongoing during the second half of 2024, before completing on Wednesday. It represent...

Stockport County’s ground is the only one I have visited with both my EFL club (Charlton) and my non-league club (Leamington), the latter in the National League North. Simon Wilson was City Football Group’s (CFG) strategy and performance manager in a former life but, after moving into consultancy work for clubs around Europe, he was introduced to local property magnate Mark Stott. A City season ticket holder, Stott wanted to invest in a football club and commissioned Wilson with the task of assessing the market. Despite Stockport only just picking themselves up from their lowest ebb — finally earning promotion from the National League North in 2019 — Wilson recommended them. It had that nice combination of being almost like a start-up, but with loads of history and loads of potential,” Wilson says. “There weren't massive skeletons in the closet, no big costs that you couldn't deal with.” The years of underachievement, which had seen the end of the club’s professional st...

When I was at Strathclyde University taking a MSc in 1968/9 we were discussing the rise of Scottish Nationalism and the sources of Scottish identity.   The tutor was expecting us to come up with the conventional answers: education system; legal system; Church of Scotland.   I knew that the Celtic Supporters Club was the largest student organisation at Strathclyde (reflecting the then composition of the student body).  I suggested that the national team -  together with the separate national competition - reinforced a distinct identity in a nation that was fitba’ crazy. The tutor, who was from Missouri, asked what hypothesis I would advance to test the relevant importance of football compared with other sources of identity, a methodologically impossible task.   However, I did know that his American colleagues were sneaking into Old Firm matches when they could.    They simply had nothing like it back home.     (English expats tende...

Clearly, every club in England’s second tier is desperate to secure promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, but Middlesbrough have a more realistic chance than most, given the backing of owner Steve Gibson. In the last ten years, they have actually been promoted once, though only lasted one season in the top flight, while qualifying for the play-offs no fewer than three times. In addition, they have finished just outside the top six on three other occasions. Middlesbrough’s pre-tax loss almost doubled last season from £6.4m to £12.4m mainly because profit from player sales dropped by £5.2m from £22.3m to £17.1m.   Revenue rose £3.6m (13%) from £28.6m to £32.2m, though this was largely offset by other operating income falling £2.7m (69%) from £3.9m to £1.2m. Middlesbrough’s £32m revenue is obviously much lower than the £121m they earned in the Premier League in 2016/17, but it is worth noting that it has also virtually halved since their first season after relega...

Chelsea are in negotiations with the Premier League to agree a financial settlement for secret payments related to transfers made during Roman Abramovich’s ownership. The club are understood to be in talks over a financial settlement rather than a sporting sanction such as a points deduction, on the basis that the new owners discovered the payments during the May 2022 takeover process and reported them to the Premier League and Uefa. The outcome of the negotiations is expected before the end of March, with the club confident there can be an agreement similar to the £8.6million financial settlement made with Uefa in July 2023. The Times revealed in 2023 that the Premier League was investigating alleged irregular payments related to Willian and Samuel Eto’o being signed by Chelsea in 2013. Payments connected to the signing of Eden Hazard in 2012 have also been under investigation. Normally secret payments related to transfers would lead to tough sanctions such as points ...

Manchester City has reached a settlement with Superdry over the fashion retailer’s claims that a sponsorship deal the football club reached with Japanese brewer Asahi’s Super Dry beer brand infringed its trademark rights.   A trial at the High Court in London had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but the case was discontinued after the parties reached a deal to drop the proceedings, according to Superdry and Asahi. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Superdry filed its legal claim just over a year ago calling for Manchester City, the reigning English champions and one of the world’s richest clubs, to stop showing the beer brand on its sportswear. Lawyers for the retailer argued that the use of the logo was “liable to deceive” members of the public into believing that the training kit was designed or sold by Superdry.   City announced Asahi’s Super Dry 0.0%, a non-alcoholic beer, as its official training kit partner in 2023, and the brand featured on the front o...