The Political Economy of Football V2

Scottish football has been given a big boost by World Cup qualification, but like all clubs outside the Big Five leagues, Rangers are still faced with a major challenge when trying to compete with the European elite. If Rangers were ever to compete in the Premier League, they should be able to acquit themselves pretty well, as they would benefit from the same TV deal, but be ahead of most clubs in the other revenue streams. The American consortium at Rangers has said that it “will chart a new strategic vision for the club’s future prioritising on-pitch performance and long-term financial sustainability”.   The authoritative Swiss Ramble surveys the position. Ranger’s pre-tax loss in 2024/25narrowed by £2.4m (14%) from £17.3m, but it still came in at a hefty £14.9m. Revenue rose £5.8m (7%) from £88.3m to a club record £94.1m, but this was more than offset by a worse result in player sales, which swung from a £5.6m profit to a £0.6m loss. Rangers’ revenue growth was largely d...

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez will this weekend push ahead with plans to bring in outside shareholders for the first time in the member-owned club’s 123-year history, as the Spanish team tries to reinforce its status against the growing financial might of Premier League clubs. At Sunday’s annual meeting of members, Pérez is to outline the next steps of a plan to bring fresh capital into the club. That would allow an outside investor to take a 5 to 10 per cent stake in Real Madrid, in a test of the club’s valuation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. While the meeting is a standard event, where members will vote to approve the annual accounts, Pérez’s speech will be closely watched for updates on potential changes to the club’s corporate structure, the way capital will be raised and the effect on members. Changes to the bylaws will require members to meet and vote, potentially as soon as next year. The stakes are high following US investment firm Apollo’s d...

The steep bowl design lof Birmingham City’s new stadium features 12 chimney-form towers, designed to echo the brickworks that once sat on the site and point towards how the hard-working people of Birmingham changed the world during the Industrial Revolution. The chimneys — undoubtedly the biggest talking point — will provide structural support for the roof while accommodating lifts and staircases and helping with ventilation. One tower will even include a lift to what is claimed will be Birmingham’s highest bar, offering city-wide views. Once completed, they will be viewed from 40 miles away. Early reaction to the £1.2billion ($1.57bn) project from locals has been largely positive, but considerably more mixed across the country. Long-serving supporters of football clubs are sensitive to changes around history and tradition, with a stadium move the most delicate issue, yet the initial signs are that many Birmingham fans are on board. The design includes seating as close to pitch...

The Swiss Ramble looks at club funding in the Premier League.  Almost two-thirds came from the Big Six, led by Manchester United £5.6 bln, Manchester City £5.4 bln and Liverpool £4.7 bln. The Premier League made a hefty £7.1 bln operating loss in the last decade with four clubs losing more than half a billion: Chelsea were far worse than anyone else with a massive £1.4 bln deficit, followed by Everton £895m, Aston Villa £871m and Fulham £507m. Four clubs had more than £2 bln cash to spend in the last ten years, namely Chelsea £2.7 bln, Tottenham £2.6 bln, Manchester City £2.3 bln and Manchester United £2.2 bln. There were another four clubs above the £1 bln mark: Arsenal £1.8 bln, Everton £1.8 bln, Liverpool £1.6 bln and Aston Villa £1.0 bln. However, the sources of these funds were quite different. At its simplest, the larger clubs could use money they had generated themselves, either through operating activities or player sales, while the aspirational challengers had to rel...

Spurs’ state-of-the-art stadium is the envy of the Premier League and has been widely considered one of the best venues in Europe since it opened in April 2019 — after a three-year build — at a cost of £1.2billion ($1.6bn). The Emirates, now nearly 20 years old, remains a spectacular ground in its own right, and one of the best in England, but it has aged quickly over the past six years due to the competition it faces from the blue-and-white part of north London. Whether it is hosting the biggest music artists, annual NFL matches, boxing events or housing the F1 Drive — an electric go-karting track — under the South Stand, Spurs’ stadium is light years ahead of Arsenal’s home. As part of their agreement with Islington Council, Arsenal can host six non-football events attended by more than 10,000 people per calendar year. Only three of these are allowed to be music concerts. Spurs, on the other hand, can host up to 30 non-football events. That is an increase on the 16 Haringey C...

Majority control at Norwich City passed to Attanasio’s Norfolk Holdings group from Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones after 28 years. Attanasio, the owner of American baseball team Milwaukee Brewers, first purchased a minority 22% stake from former director Michael Foulger in September 2022, before increasing his shareholder to 40.4% in April 2024.   In March 2025 Attanasio converted his loans into equity, giving him 85% of the football club. Smith and her husband have retained 10%, while the remaining 5% is owned by independent shareholders, including the supporters’ group, Under the former owners, the club had been promoted to the top flight on no fewer than five occasions, but they had become the classic “yo-yo” club, most notably in the four seasons between 2018/19 and 2021/22, when they were twice finished top of the Championship, only to twice come last in the Premier League. Norwich City’s pre-tax loss in 2024/25 widened from £14.4m to £20.7m, mainly due to a steep red...