The Political Economy of Football V2

The death of globalisation as an economic principle has been widely proclaimed given the reintroduction of tariffs as a political and economic weapon.   However, it is alive and well in footall as is illustrated by the extensive involvement of US-based private equity firms in European football clubs.   Europe may be finished in some American eyes, but its ‘soccer ball’ clubs remain world class. The ultimate test of globalisation in football would be the staging of a regular league match in another country, but so far all attempts have failed in the face of exist ing rules.   Court challenges have been only partially successful. Plans to stage a Serie A game between Milan and Como in Perth, Australia have been abandoned, the league’s president and the government of Western Australia said in a joint statement on Monday.   Many fans will no doubt be pleased, but those pushing this concept are not going to give up - and they have plenty of money to spe...

Reading FC have been served with a winding up order by a former owner:  https://rdg.today/its-an-extreme-step-football-finance-expert-analyses-nigel-howes-winding-up-petition-against-reading-fc/ However, football finance guru Kieran Maguire  has said that fans should not worry too much, although these matters can be tiresome and drag on for months.  It looks like a clash of egos.

Everton might well  feel  hard done by over yesterday’s 0-1 defeat at the Hill Dickinson by Arsenal with solid penalty calls for the hosts denied.  But prospects for the club are better than they have been for many years.   Yet when the  Premier League was set up Everton were seen as one of the top clubs that needed to be involved. For four years every department at Everton had a relegation plan and one for promotion back to the Premier League.   The financial turmoil that engulfed Moshiri’s reign resulted in instability over who exactly was going to own the club and a period of perennial due diligence from interested parties that raised expectations but actually prevented progress. As one potential owner after another studied the club accounts, the Kaminski Group, MSP Sports Capital and 777/A-Cap were previous suitors, Moshiri did not want to sink any more money into Everton, aware that he already faced losses of about £750million. A tortuous, t...

Chelsea still believe there is a chance of them building a new stadium at Earls Court, even though an alternative plan for the land has been approved by both councils involved. The Earls Court Development Company (ECDC) is now close to receiving full planning permission for a mixed-use development on the same land that had been mooted as a potential site for a new stadium for Chelsea. However, club sources, on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly, have indicated to the   New York Times that they are still considering all options for the future of their stadium — including a new ground at Earls Court. The future of Chelsea’s stadium is not a new debate. Under previous owner Roman Abramovich, the club submitted an offer for the Battersea Power Station site in 2012, in which they proposed to build a 60,000-capacity ground, but a Malaysian consortium purchased the site instead. In 2017, Chelsea secured planning permission for a 60,000-seat stad...

Barca’s presidential elections are coming up next year, but the race has already started. Joan Laporta’s potential opponents are already making moves. Last month, the 2021 runner-up to Laporta, Victor Font, launched his candidacy at an event attended by over 1,000 people. These figures might not seem too significant in the context of such a massive brand, but in the particular world of FC Barcelona, every bit of support counts. Barca’s elections will take place before the end of the season. According to the club’s statutes, they need to be held on a day between March and June, but there is still no confirmation on when the exact day will be. Candidates must have been club members for a minimum of 10 years, and they also need to reach a certain number of supporting signatures: at least half the total votes cast in the most recent annual general assembly. For the purposes of this election, they will need around 2,300. According to the latest numbers released by Barca in October, ...

The House of Lords Library has produced a report on the state of non-league and grassroots football:  https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/non-league-and-grassroots-football-what-is-the-state-of-play/ In my experience of appearing before Commons and Lords committees, the latter are often more knowledgeable and produce better reports. One of the key arguments in this report is that the new football regulator arrangements apply just to the top five leagues with most of the money going to the top 26 cluba.