Skip to main content

More stringency at EFL affects Charlton takeover

The takeover of South-East London club Charlton Athletic appears to be on track after concerns were raised by the EFL about the Abu Dhabi consortium's links to Manchester City. Assurances have been given that the takeover is being funded from private funds and it is not a backdoor takeover by global football business City Football Group: Addicks takeover

The collapse of Bury has put increasing pressure on the EFL to ensure that its tests are stringent. The EFL's conduct was criticised by a House of Commons committee. Fans have called for tougher tests, but the downside is that some much needed takeovers may fail as a result.

The role of the Gulf States in football is a very interesting topic as we enter the 3rd decade of the century. It is in large part an exercise of 'soft' power. China has also seen its potential, as recent events involving Arsenal have shown, and Chinese interests have taken a stake in City Football Group which is the first really global football business.

Charlton will be thus be potentially joining the movers and shakers of global football, something that not every fan will like but probably unavoidable if the club is to succeed. Charlton fans think that the club has been weakened by controversial Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet, even if his policies have become less eccentric over time.

Duchatelet believed that financial fair play (FFP) would bring about a level playing field that would enable clubs to break even. In fact Championship clubs are spending and losing more than ever. Some of the mechanisms they have used to evade FFP, such as buying back stadiums, are the subject of action by the EFL.

Agenda Publishing will be bringing out Kieran Maguire's book on these topics next month and my own book is due for submission in July.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spurs CEO attacks luxury training base

The Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has issued a withering assessment of the way the club was run under Daniel Levy, likening the state-of-the-art training centre to a five-star hotel rather than a centre of high performance.  Venkatesham was appointed to his role in April 2025, having stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal the previous summer. However, he has said that some aspects of the club were “in a significantly worse state” than he expected.  “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world,” Venkatesham told BBC Sport. “But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. I think there are many areas where the club hasn’t got the right level of expertise.”  He explained that the football side of operations was the club’s main downfall when he arrived last year. [One Spurs fan wryly observed that it was like a water company sayi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more