The Political Economy of Football V2

Politicians and football are a bit of a two-way street.   Clubs are keen to host them at games in the hope of securing influence.   Politicians use football as a means of demonstrating authenticity. Andy Burnham’s passion for football has built him a following across the north of England, according to new data that suggests the Greater Manchester mayor has cultivated a public brand despite trailing media-savvy rivals on TikTok and Instagram. Financial Times analysis of X found 17 per cent of Burnham’s posts so far this year have been about football, more than almost any other topic, helping him build a social media following that extends far beyond his own team, Premier League side Everton. About 15 per cent of Burnham’s followers in the north of England are Liverpool fans and a further 27 per cent support Manchester United or Manchester City, according to audience intelligence platform Pulsar.  Burnham has been a leading advocate of a 'Hillsborough' law. ...

Commiserations to West Ham fans where the club's relegation is largely the result of poor decision-making by the owners.  My father went to the famous first FA Cup final at Wembley to support the Hamers. The club must stand an excellent chance of returning to the Premier League next season, but it needs to be decided who is in charge and what is to be done. Wages have risen as revenues have declined, as a result of the lack of European football. West Ham finished in 14th position in 2024-25, but had the tenth-largest wage bill that campaign, and their underperformance has been even worse this season.  The club’s debt was only £20.8million in May last season, and they owed a net £178.6million on transfer fees. Since then, the debt has increased through a loan facility to more than £110million. It is possible that the main shareholders will put money into the club. West Ham have to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, which li...

Former player Brad Piercewright has launched a bid for non-league third tier Kettering Town, but the current owner says they are not for sale. Having seen success in IT, Piercewright claims that he is now worth £58m and is prepared to pay £450k cash for the Poppies.  However, he says that its real value is £1 because of alleged debts. The club does not play in the Rose of the Shires but at nearby Burton Latimer having lost their Rockingham Road stadium. Piercewright says his objective is the EFL, but we have heard that before from investors in non -league clubs.  Think AFC Fylde just for starters. Current owner George Akhtar is adamant that the club is not for sale, although it has been suggested that he would accept outside investment.

Looking at today's relegation battle between West Ham and Spurs, Alyson Rudd writing in The Times  states: ' Both clubs have a grumbling fan base, but more West Ham supporters have been able to place their concerns to one side while matches are in full flow. Spurs fans, by comparison, have practically engineered the present crisis by making sure their cavernous stadium bridles and sneers and jeers, thereby undermining the efforts of the players and leading to the unenviable statistic that Tottenham have won only twice at home in this league campaign.' I would hasten to add that most fans enjoy moaning and complaining about their own team.  I should know that as a Charlton fan whose supporters are among the leading negativists and pessimists in the EFL.  Win a game and social media is quiet.  Lose it and the armchair managers pile in explaining how they would have won and demanding that the manager be sacked. West Ham fans have never really settled in at the London St...

Congratulations to Hull City on their play off victory.  The Championship final is the most valuable one-off fixture in world football. For Hull, their 1-0 victory at Wembley today will see them bank at least £205million ($275m) in additional revenue across the next three seasons, . Deloitte said this could jump to more than £365million ($490m) if the Yorkshire side manage to stay in the Premier League beyond their first season back at that level. The findings were based on factors that took into account the projected rises in matchday, broadcast and commercial incomes. With neither of these teams in the final benefiting from parachute payments which are given to recently-relegated Premier League sides in the EFL, to help them adjust to the drop in revenues after losing their top-flight status — the uplift in revenue from sealing promotion is greater than when teams receiving those payments have bounced back quickly to return to the domestic elite e.g., yo-yo club B...

The Financial Times sports team reports: ‘Our inbox has been bombarded with notes from law firms, who think the EFL has opened the floodgates to further litigation. Southampton players may look to sue the club for depriving them of potential promotion bonuses. Clubs that finished just outside the play-offs or who were relegated after losing to Southampton could also claim their league position was affected by cheating. Even Hull might well argue they should be promoted by default.’ The bizarre case also raises some more philosophical issues. It comes a few weeks after the Confederation of African Football decided to award the African Cup of Nations to Morocco, despite the team losing the final in extra time to Senegal. CAF judged that Senegal had forfeited the match by leaving the field of play for about 15 minutes in protest at a refereeing decision. In other sports, changing the outcome of a competition after the fact is not unheard of. Doping cases have led to several Olympic ch...