The Political Economy of Football V2

The chair of England’s new football regulator has told Premier League clubs to view money passed down to lower divisions as an “investment” in the game, as he urged the sport’s bosses to strike an agreement on how cash is redistributed. In a stern warning to the Premier League, David Kogan, who chairs the Independent Football Regulator, said that clubs “enjoying the good times at the top must surely see that any money passed down through the leagues is an investment”. “My message today is that it can’t just be about the clubs at the top. It has to be about ensuring the whole pyramid can survive,” Kogan told the FT’s Business of Football Summit on Thursday.   He cautioned that the lack of a new deal on how money was redistributed from the top flight “creates uncertainty that is detrimental to the pyramid and to growth and investment in the English game”. Talks between the Premier League and the English Football League — encompassing the Championship, League One and League Tw...

European top-flight football clubs lost more than €1bn last year despite record revenues of more than €30bn, according to new data that highlights the challenges facing the growing list of professional investors pouring billions of euros into the game.  Figures from governing body Uefa, which was released on Thursday at the FT Business of Football Summit, showed that combined revenue of clubs playing in top leagues across Europe was set to surpass €30bn, up from €28.6bn a year earlier. The projection is based on initial filings from more than 700 teams across the continent, although the biggest 25 clubs accounted for almost half the total.  Uefa cited increased income from sponsorship, player transfers and prize money for teams playing in pan-European competitions as the key drivers of growth, offsetting weakness in domestic media rights in some countries. However, as clubs look to boost alternative revenue sources, such as stadium hospitality and hosting non-football events,...

Alex Lowe was writing in The Times about toxicity at Twickenham.   Egg chasers have an historic reputation for being good sports (well outside Wales, anyway). But what Lowe had to say about the breakdown of the social contract between fans and clubs in football is worth quoting at length. I'n the Premier League it is now de rigueur for boos to ring out at half-time if the home team are not winning. Why has it flipped? The cost of watching live sport has vastly outstripped wage inflation. Long gone are the days of paying on the turnstile at a top-flight football match. Now you often need to pay to be a club member for the right to buy tickets that can exceed £100. Fans are treated as consumers, which can lead to an estrangement from the team. There will always be a hardcore fighting against the tide, but the sense of community erodes. West Ham United fans had to launch a protest campaign to force the club to reinstate junior and OAP ticket prices. The club were prepared to ...

Premier League football teams could be banned from accepting sponsorship from gambling companies without a UK licence, as ministers look to crack down on black-market betting. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy on Monday said it was “not right that unlicensed gambling operators can sponsor some of our biggest football clubs, raising their profile and potentially drawing fans towards sites that don’t meet our regulatory standards”. The plans, which will be put out to consultation in the spring, are intended to reduce harm from gambling and “eliminate unfair competition” for companies regulated by the Gambling Commission, according to the government. Several teams in the English football leagues, including the top division, have sponsorship arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators. These partnerships are not prohibited at present, so long as UK customers cannot access the illicit platforms. But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said ministers were “deeply concerned” that...

West London is well served by top football clubs: Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford and Queens Park Rangers who would like to regain their place in the top flight.   Fulham have the most expensive tickets in the Premier League and have been trying to move up market. Looking in from the outside, QPR’s results are particularly erratic.   A good away win is often followed by a home defeat. The following comments are based on the usual forensic analysis by the Zurich-based football finance guru Swiss Ramble and much more detail and analysis is available on his Substack page. QPR have long wanted to relocate from Loftus Road but have failed to do so.    Viable options simply aren’t there.   Meanwhile, they have their share of minor celebrities: Giles Coren and Lord Young of Acton (who did wonder if he should call himself Lord Young of Loftus Road).    He is actually mentioned in the Epstein files.* Having spent three out of the four seasons between 2011...

Some years ago I gave a talk in Dundee and my host, knowing that I was a football fan, took me to see how the grounds of Dundee and Dundee United overlap on the same road. There has been talk of a joint purpose built stadium, but that fell foul of ground sharing rules.  In any case it would surely undermine the identity of each club. I was looking through the Non-League Paper yesterday at the Scottish Tier Six tables (as you do) and I noticed that the top two places in the McBookie Midlands Premier League were occupied by Dundee North End and Dundee Downfield while down the table was Dundee East Craigie No shortage of football options there then.