Chelsea lead WSL finances

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the finances of the Women's Super League, Overall the WSL reported a £7.2m pre-tax loss for the division, an improvement on the previous season’s £8.9m.

WSL clubs invariably operate at a loss with their parent companies covering the shortfall. Only four clubs made (small profits), led by Manchester United £101k, but eight of the 12 lost money – four above a million: Brighton £1.9m, Chelsea £1.8m, Tottenham £1.3m and Reading £1.2m.

Chelsea £3.849m had the highest reported revenue, just ahead of Arsenal £3.763m followed by Manchester City £2.8m, Manchester United £1.7m, Everton £1.7m and Liverpool £1.7m. WSL revenue partly depends on how much income is shared from the parent company in the commercial area.

Similar to revenue, Chelsea have the highest expenses in WSL with £5.7m, well ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City, both £3.8m, followed by Brighton £2.2m and Manchester United £2.0m. Relegated Liverpool lagged behind with a budget of only £1.7m

WSL broadcast rights were owned by BT Sport and the BBC, who cover their costs rather than pay for rights – in stark contrast to the men’s game. A £500k prize fund was added in 2019/20, thanks to Barclay’s sponsorship deal, with the champions receiving £100k and last place £6k.

There will be a new 3-year WSL TV deal from 2021/22 worth £8m a year with Sky showing up to 44 live games and BBC 22 (18 on BBC One or BBC Two). Revenue split between WSL 75% and Women’s Championship 25%.

Furthermore, there is a new 4-year UEFA Champions League TV deal from 2021/22 worth €24m a year, more than 4 times more than the current figure. Teams in group stage guaranteed €400k (almost 5 times current money for reaching last 16), while winner gets €1.4m maximum.

Despite the impressive growth over the previous deal, the winners of the UEFA Women’s Champions League will still only receive 1.6% of the amount the winners of the men’s competition will receive (€1.4m compared to €85.1m), albeit up from 0.5%.

Not all WSL clubs publish wages, but Manchester City is highest of those that do provide details with £2.5m, followed by Arsenal £2.2m and Brighton £1.3m. Given that Chelsea’s total expenses are much higher than City, their wages are almost certainly the highest in the league. The 56 staff at Chelsea is significantly more than the next highest, Tottenham and Reading 36.

Unsurprisingly, the budget at WSL clubs is considerably lower than their male counterparts, especially at Liverpool and Manchester United, 0.3% and 0.4% respectively, e.g. Liverpool £1.7m vs. £564m. Highest ratio is at Reading 2.9%, which is more a reflection of low men’s budget

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’...

Reports about Charlton sale exaggerated

Reports have appeared in The Guardian and elsewhere that Charlton has been put up for sale. Richard Cawley is an authoritative local journalist who runs a South London Sport substack site. He reached out to the club yesterday evening to ask for comment on The Guardian’s article. Early indications from the club have been that nothing has changed since the story about them seeking investment, except that it is now a different company doing it. Charlton have since managed to consolidate their place in the Championship, avoiding an instant return to League One, with their women’s side promoted to the WSL, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2007, although staying there is likely to be costly. It would be counter-intuitive for owners Global Football Partners not to progress the club when looking for investment, that the focus remains on driving it forward, that their spend this summer is in line with long-term planning and will see an increase in wages spent on players...

Hull City's 'strange' loan

When football finance guru Kieran Maguire seems flashing lights in a club's loan deal, I become concerned. He is the leading football finance expert in the UK. Hull City have borrowed £55m against their stadium and training ground yet they should get £30m from the Premier League before long. What is going on? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cpwel48y51do

The Political Economy of Football V2

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