Revenue across the European football market grew by 16% to €35.3bn in the 2022/23 season (€30.4bn in 2021/22), according to the 33rd Annual Review of Football Finance published by the Deloitte Sports Business Group. The 2022/23 season played host to the winter 2022 FIFA World Cup and was also the first since 2018/19 unaffected by COVID-19 restrictions.
The ‘big five’ European leagues - the Premier League,
Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1 - saw revenue growth of 14% to total
€19.6bn, driven by an uptick in matchday revenue, new and improved sponsorship
deals, and the utilisation of stadia beyond matchdays.
Records broken across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues in 2022/23
football season
The Premier League once again dominated financially across
Europe in the 2022/23 season, with clubs in the English top-flight registering
aggregate revenue of £6.1bn – an 11% increase on the previous year (£5.5bn).
This record-breaking season sees the league surpass the £6bn revenue mark for
the first time, driven by a 14% rise in matchday revenue (£867m), as a new
record average league attendance was set, alongside a £221m year-on-year
increase in commercial revenue (to £2bn) and a 9% uptick in broadcast revenue
(to £3.2bn).
Total wage costs in the Premier League increased by 10% to
surpass £4bn for the first time. However, despite annual growth in wages
(£377m) being lower than growth in revenue (£603m), rising wage costs and
amortisation adversely impacted pre-tax losses in the Premier League, which
increased by 14% to £685m.
Operating profits fall
Overall, Premier League clubs’ operating profits (excluding
player trading) fell by 18% to £393m, as other operating expenses increased to
c.£1.6 billion, driven in part by inflation. Net debt of clubs in 2022/23 rose
from £2.7bn to £3.1bn (up £473m), largely driven by funding for infrastructure
projects.
While revenues in the Premier League hit new heights, clubs
in the Bundesliga and Serie A recorded the largest average percentage growth
over the previous season (22%), due in part to the full return of fans to
stadia in Germany and Italy.
Bundesliga clubs generated total revenue of €3.8bn in the
2022/23 season (€3.1bn in 2021/22), as matchday nearly doubled to €0.5bn, with
Bundesliga clubs reporting the highest average attendance among the ‘big five’
leagues. Meanwhile, aggregate broadcast revenue for Bundesliga clubs grew by
10% to €1.5bn, largely driven by the stronger performance of German clubs in
the UEFA Champions League.
LaLiga also broke records in 2022/23 with the clubs
achieving aggregate revenues of €3.5bn. An 8% decrease in aggregate broadcast
revenue, largely attributed to weaker performance in European competition
across the season, was more than offset by improved matchday revenue (up 32% /
€131m) and commercial revenue (up 29% / €274m).
Serie A club revenue totalled €2.9bn in the 2022/23 season,
marking a record for the league and a 22% increase on the previous season.
Matchday revenue rose by 88% (to €434m), broadcast revenue by 15% (to €1.5bn)
and commercial revenue by 14% (to €0.9bn).
Despite a small reduction in aggregate broadcast revenue
(down 3% to €0.7bn) and muted growth in matchday and commercial revenue, Ligue
1 clubs’ aggregate revenue also grew by 17% to €2.4bn.
Overall, clubs in the ‘big five’ reported an aggregate
operating profit (€0.5bn) for the first time since 2018/19, with the average
wages/revenue ratio falling across all leagues. This was due to the substantial
increase in aggregate revenue (€2.3bn) exceeding clubs’ increased wage costs
(up €0.7bn).
Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business
Group, said: “The 2022 FIFA World Cup, the lifting of final COVID-19
restrictions, and the fervour of fans engaging with football has led to strong
growth in the European football market in 2022/23.
“As plans and conversations continue across leagues in terms
of further regulation and investment, European football is sitting at an
inflection point. Football is growing into an ever more globally connected
game, and this brings new challenges to maintaining competitive balance, strong
governance and regulation. Leaders across the industry must provide a united
front in following good governance principles to build a future for European
football that fans, players, and partners across leagues can be excited for.”
EFL
Championship club revenues grow 10%, exceeding wage costs
for the first time since 2016/17
The English Football League (EFL), consisting of the
Championship, League One and League Two, registered aggregate revenue of £1.1bn
in the 2022/23 season.
Championship clubs recorded total revenue of £749m in the
2022/23 season, a 10% increase (from £678m) compared to 2021/22. This was
largely a result of the club mix, with five clubs in receipt of parachute
payments contributing an aggregate of around £200m (27%) of the league’s total
revenue.
Championship club revenues exceeded wage costs (£706m) for
the first time since 2016/17, with a wage/revenue ratio of 94%. However, the
second-tier clubs remained heavily loss making as the league registered
operating losses of £316m, with no single Championship club generating an
operating profit (before player trading).
Overall revenue growth in the Championship was supported by
a 21% uplift in commercial revenue, to £199m, and a 17% uplift in matchday
revenue to £152m. Over 10 million cumulative fans attended a Championship match
in the 2022/23 season, making it the fifth highest total attended division in
Europe behind only the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A.
Both League One and League Two reported an increase in
revenue in 2022/23. League One clubs’ average revenue rose 9% to £9.8m, partly
driven by increases in revenue among the league’s consistent clubs. Meanwhile,
League Two clubs’ saw a very marginal 1% rise in average revenue to £5.4m,
aided by increased matchday attendances.
In total, 19.8 million cumulative fans attended matches
across Championship, League One, and League Two competitions in 2022/23,
marking the largest aggregate figure in almost 70 seasons (1953/54).
Bridge concluded: “The Football League may have seen an
uptick in revenues in 2022/23, but clubs across the EFL are still battling to
manage cash requirements. Many clubs are propped up by owner funding as they
aspire to promotion, but exiting the league at the wrong end exposes a club to
instability. This makes a strategy for long-term stability critical,
underpinned by appropriate support provided by the governing bodies.”
The ‘Lionesses lift’: Women’s Super League clubs report a
50% rise in revenue in the 2022/23 season
Deloitte’s analysis highlights that Women’s Super League
(WSL) clubs generated £48m in aggregate revenue in the 2022/23 season, the
first season following the Lionesses’ EURO 2022 triumph, a rise of 50% on
2021/22 (£32m).
The findings show that WSL clubs’ revenue more than doubled
over two seasons, with aggregate WSL club revenue standing at £20m in 2020/21.
Further growth is predicted, with revenue forecast to reach £52m in the 2023/24
season and to rise to £68m in 2024/25.
Jenny Haskel, knowledge and insight lead in the Deloitte
Sports Business Group, said: “Driving a loyal fanbase, habitual viewing, and
distinct commercial partnerships was a clear priority for WSL clubs in the
2022/23 season and the soaring revenue growth achieved demonstrates the strides
that have been made. However, we’re still in the foothills of growth in the
women’s game. As NewCo concentrates on growing the popularity, standards, and
visibility of the women’s game in England, collaboration with clubs and other
stakeholders will be an important element to continuing the efforts to attract
the attention of commercial partners, investors, and crucially, fans.”
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