The Political Economy of Football V2

The Swiss Ramble investigates the 2024/25 accounts of Ipswich Town which relate to their year in the Premier League.   Much more detail and analysis is available on his Substack page. Ipswich’s transformation has been driven by the new owners, who purchased the club in April 2021 for a reported £40m. As a result, Ipswich Town are now majority owned by the appropriately named Gamechanger 20 Limited, though the ultimate owner was the Arizona state pension fund, the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), via its investment firm, ORG. The new ownership group has certainly put its money where its mouth is to date, investing a lot in the squad and the club’s infrastructure.   They were helped by the previous owner, Marcus Evans, writing-off the vast majority of the club’s debt as part of the takeover, but it’s fair to say that the new owners provided the catalyst for Ipswich’s renaissance. There have been a few changes since the initial investment, as Bright P...

The Lewis family have injected another £100 million ($132m) into Tottenham Hotspur.  The injection, via the purchase of new shares in ENIC Group Ltd., will provide fresh working capital for the club, rather than being specifically for the summer transfer market.  The investment is the fourth such equity injection in recent years, and is a similar mechanism to the investment of £100m last year. Since May 2022, £332.5m in owner funding has flowed into the club.   That is a stark departure from the two decades prior. Then, net funding from ENIC totalled just £24.6m, with Spurs being run, to all intents and purposes, off its own back. Huge debt was taken on board to build the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the club was — and still is — required to service the payments. Alongside the October injection, Spurs also pulled forward a reported £90m of its Premier League distributions in a factoring arrangement, whereby they received cash upfront from a lender in exchange for ta...

Something potentially big happened on the fringes of the World Cup this week.  European Football Clubs, the (unhelpfully) renamed entity previously called the European Club Association, agreed to set up a joint venture with Fifa to run the Club World Cup. EFC has a similar arrangement in place with Uefa to market media rights for the three pan-European club competitions, a partnership that has already yielded significant increases in TV revenue. The deal is likely to accelerate plans to expand the tournament from 32 teams to 48, perhaps as soon as 2029. Europe already sent 12 teams to last year’s Club World Cup, but with a cap of two teams per country. Assuming the increase is split on a pro-rata basis, Europeans would take up 18 spots in a bigger competition, and the per-country cap will surely be raised. Last year’s CWC suffered from not having several of the biggest clubs in the world involved — Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester United and Liverpool. Raising the number of Europe...

The growing phenomenon of diaspora teams is discussed by Simon Kuper in the Financial Times. . In eight squads at the tournament, the majority of players were born outside the country they are representing, comprising Curaçao (25 of whose 26 players were born in the mainland Netherlands), DR Congo, Morocco, Bosnia, Algeria, Haiti, Tunisia and Cape Verde. These countries have mostly recruited from their western European diasporas. Overall, 23.6 per cent of players in this year’s tournament were born outside the country they are representing — up from 9.6 per cent in 2006, according to an Oxford university study. That is the case because western Europe excels at producing footballers. Its social democracies make amateur football widely available and affordable, enlarging the region’s talent base. And since the average player does not have the ball for about 89 minutes a game, the most basic question in football is, “Where should I be now?” Western Europeans learn to answer that fro...

Hull’s owner Acun Ilicali, the Turkish businessman, has accepted that promotion came on the back of an overspend last season to raise questions over their compliance with Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). He told a fans’ forum this month there is a need to raise £6million before the financial year is out. That leaves Hull with seven days to raise the necessary funds or run the risk of being handed a points deduction in their first season back in England’s top flight. In a word, Hull’s situation is precarious. This coming season ushers in a new era of financial controls in the Premier League through Squad Cost Rules (SCR) but all 20 clubs are first assessed for the final time through the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Hull are permitted to lose £39 million after allowable deductions over the three-year monitoring period as an EFL club and without action over the next week, there is forecast to be a breach.The numbers that are currently available, coverin...

Manchester United have secured the majority of the land required to build a new 100,000-seater stadium to replace Old Trafford.   The club announced on Monday it has acquired a 25-acre site north west of the current stadium from Indurent, an industrial warehousing company. The land is located around 350 metres away from Old Trafford’s existing site — between Wharfside Way, Europa Way and John Gilbert Way.    The acquisition means that United no longer require land owned by Freightliner, a rail logistics company, located directly to the west of Old Trafford.Freightliner were demanding around $400million (£301.8m) for the land, substantially higher than United’s projected price of around £50m. The acquisition marks a change from initial designs unveiled by United and architects Foster + Partners last year, which located the new stadium adjacent to the existing site. United said they do not anticipate issues acquiring the remainder of the land required by the new st...

The new owner of Tamworth is an Oklahoma-based real estate entrepreneur Abdullah Ashraf.   He aims to buy the club's ground from the council and obtain promotion to the EFL. He previously held an eight per cent stake in Truro City.  But dos he realise how competitive non-league football is in England and how hard it is to get out of the National League even with a full-time squad.

Zurich and Burnley are very different places, but the Swiss Ramble is able to run the rule over the Clarets.  He has to rely on last year’s accounts, but as Burnley are heading back to the Championship they are relevant. Burnley’s revenue will have been significantly higher last season after promotion, mainly due to the far more lucrative TV money in the Premier League.    Whenever Burnley are in the Premier League, they face a huge revenue challenge, so it’s very much a case of role reversal compared to the Championship. The magnitude of the financial disparity was clearly illustrated in 2023/24, when their £134m revenue was the second lowest in the Premier League, only ahead of Luton Town.   This was miles below the elite, e.g. the “Big Six” clubs all earned more than three times as much as Burnley, led by Manchester City £715m. Looking at the previous time they went up, their revenue more than doubled from £65m to £134m, mainly due to the much higher TV righ...

The brutal facts of lower league football finance revealed as Kieran Maguire runs the rule over the finances of Bristol Rovers.  The club has done well to increase revenues, but has not kept pace with rising costs:  https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-rovers-finances-show-brutal-11019084

Leeds United are considering taking legal action against Leicester City in the wake of Burnley’s landmark compensation victory over Everton. Everton were ordered to pay £40m after Burnley argued they would have avoided relegation from the Premier League in 2022 had the Merseyside club’s six-point punishment for breaking Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) been applied during the season of the breach and not in 2023-24.  Last week’s decision, which was handed down by an independent disciplinary commission and is the subject of an appeal by Everton, was deemed to be a watershed moment that could open the door to further action between rival clubs. Leeds are now exploring how Leicester’s PSR issues affected two of their own seasons. The first is 2022-23, when both Leeds and Leicester were relegated, and then 2023-24, when Leicester gained automatic promotion back to the top flight and Leeds lost in the play-offs.  In September 2024, Leicester won an app...

The US billionaire owners of Crystal Palace are exploring a sale of the south London football club, in what would make it the latest Premier League side to change hands in English football’s top flight. According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, speaking to the Financial Times, the club is working with bankers at Raine Group to handle the process and is open to a variety of options including a full sale. T The people added that other options for securing new capital were also on the table. The club’s current ownership group includes Apollo co-founder Josh Harris, former Blackstone executive David Blitzer and Woody Johnson, a member of the family behind the Johnson & Johnson healthcare empire. The trio are designated as “significant shareholders” alongside British businessman Steve Parish, who has been executive chair of the club since 2010 and is a life-long Palace fan. Harris and Blitzer together control 30 per cent, while Parish has 10 per cent. Johnson, who o...

Newcastle United have struck a three-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with KNOX Hydration worth around £60million ($80.6m).   The South African sports drinks company are already paying £6m a season for three years from July 1 to rename the training ground ‘The Knox’, and have now committed to succeeding Sela as the main kit partner. Unlike Sela, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Newcastle’s majority stakeholders, KNOX is not affiliated with the sovereign wealth fund. For 2026-27, KNOX will pay up to £10m, given Newcastle’s new — and controversial — home kit went on sale last week without a sponsor. But for the following two seasons, that will increase to up to £25m annually, depending on bonuses being met, with the £6m training-ground naming rights fee on top in each of those three years. Newcastle will also work with KNOX to launch a unique club-linked drinks brand, which they hope will bring in additional revenue to aid their ...

Things have changed a lot at Craven Cottage since Tommy Cooper was chairman.  Fulham are arguably London’s poshest club.  As their chief executive has said, Fulham supporters turn left on the plane.   I remember going there some years ago and was placed next to home supporters who were wearing suits.   The club also experimented for a while with having a section for ‘neutral’ fans. The following analysis draws on the latest report from the Swiss Ramble.   The accounts are now a year old, but as the forensic analyst observes from his Zurich lair, the business model remains much the same. i.e, the amount the owner has to shell put would consume all my non-property assets in five days. Under Silva, Fulham have established themselves as a solid Premier League club, losing their tag as a “yo-yo” club. Before the arrival of the Portuguese coach, on the previous two occasions that they were promoted to the top flight they had failed to avoid an immediate ...

Manchester United have taken out a further $125million in long-term debt following a refinancing of borrowings related to the Glazer family’s 2005 takeover. A filing to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed on Friday that United have restructured their $425m senior secured notes, which were due for repayment next year. The refinanced debt now amounts to $550m, at a higher interest rate of 5.36 per cent. The previous rate, secured in 2015, was 3.79 per cent. At that higher rate, United’s annual interest payments will rise by approximately £10m at the current exchange rate. During the 2024-25 season, United paid out £37m in interest costs. Having previously been due for repayment in June 2027, United’s terms have now been extended until 2031. United’s senior secured notes are one of the club’s two tranches of long-term debt, alongside a secured term loan facility worth $225m. Both are a legacy of American businessman Malcolm Glazer’s controversial leveraged...

The multi-billion-pound regeneration project that includes a new stadium for Manchester United could be plunged into a “period of uncertainty” if Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election and vacates his present role, The Times can reveal. While the Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation received UK government approval in January, success for the ‘King of the North’ on June 18 means he would vacate the office of mayor immediately. A by-election would then need to take place by August 6.  But there is concern among senior figures linked to the project that such a change could hinder progress on the building of 15,000 homes as well as a state-of-the-art 100,000-seat stadium on the 370-acre site, with a new mayor potentially able to withhold approval for some funding arrangements, direct the board to shift its focus to the residential development or deny the compulsory purchase of land should it be required.  A spokesman for Reform UK said they would c...

Daniel Kretinsky is poised to become the largest shareholder at West Ham United amid the continuing uncertainty around David Sullivan’s future with the club.  As The Times reported last weekend, club insiders believe the Czech billionaire will respond to Sullivan’s resignation as co-chairman — a decision he took in advance of the publication of a joint investigation by The Times and the BBC into allegations of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour when he was making his fortune in the adult industry — by increasing his control of the club, who were relegated from the Premier League last month. At present Kretinsky has a 27 per cent share, with Sullivan’s 38.8 per cent now under the scrutiny of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) in the wake of the allegations.  Sullivan, 77, denies any wrongdoing but the IFR could yet force the British businessman to divest his shares if it now follows its preliminary inquiries by launching an investigation that concludes he...

Just when you think Wolverhampton Wanderers are going to be a normal football club, back come Gestifute and Jorge Mendes to remind everyone what they signed up for. The reaction of thousands of Wolves supporters to Rob Edwards suddenly being sacked — or indeed neutrals seeing the surprising news break late on Wednesday night or early on Thursday morning — will have been a collective: “What? Huh?” That will have been immediately followed by a click on Google to search “Cesar Peixoto”. He is considered one of the most promising coaches in Portuguese football. And he has inspired Gil Vicente to be able to compete with clubs boasting significantly larger budgets. However, his career history is checkered to say the least. He was sacked after short-term stints at Pacos de Ferreira and Moreirense, and his 15 months in charge at Gil Vicente is the longest he has lasted at any club. While guiding them to sixth in the Primeira Liga is a notable achievement, it’s not exactly unhea...

An independent commission ruled on Wednesday that Everton must pay Burnley £35.1m after their breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in 2021-22 was found to have given them a crucial sporting advantage. Everton stayed up and Burnley went down in that season but, four years, on there is now a big bill to settle. Everton, who said in a statement they were “surprised and angered” by the verdict, intend to fight on but the case is likely to have long-term implications. This all dates back to the 2021-22 season, when Everton were found to have breached PSR with an overspend of £19.5m. Everton finished that campaign in 16th position but, importantly in this case, Burnley ended up relegated in 18th. The final gap between the two clubs was four points. Burnley have always felt wronged, believing that Everton’s breach resulted in them enjoying an unfair sporting advantage. The claim has consistently been made, all the way back to May 2023 with the ...

Boyle Sports, a principal partner of West Ham and whose logo appeared on the front of their men’s and women’s team shirts last season, is the first of the club’s commercial partners to comment on the claims made about Sullivan in a joint investigation by the BBC and The Times. In a statement to  The Athletic , a Boyle Sports spokesperson said: “BOYLE Sports is extremely concerned at the serious nature of the allegations levelled against David Sullivan. “It is our understanding that the Independent Football Regulator is reviewing this matter urgently and we wholeheartedly support their efforts in doing so.” The BBC/Times investigation accused Sullivan, 77, of abusing his power while he was owner of the adult-themed Daily and Sunday Sport newspaper. The accusations, which date back to the 1980s, were by seven different women in their late teens or early twenties, who claim Sullivan preyed on them for sex in return for advancing their modelling careers. Sullivan has said that ...

David Sullivan could be forced to sell his stake in West Ham United by the football regulator, following allegations that he abused his power to prey on women for sex. The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) said it was in contact with the club after The Times and BBC  Panorama  revealed claims about Sullivan’s behaviour from seven women.   It said it was seeking “urgent information” from Sullivan after the 77-year-old was accused of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour dating back to the 1980s. Sullivan categorically denies the claims. England’s new football regulator could make Sullivan sell his stake in West Ham, where he remains the largest shareholder with 38.8 per cent of the club, despite resigning as co-chair on Saturday. The IFR, introduced under last year’s Football Governance Act, is an independent watchdog and oversees its owners, directors and senior executives regime for clubs across the Premier League and English Football League. It h...

Florentino Pérez’s re-election on Sunday as president of football club Real Madrid revives what sounds like one of the world’s least enticing investment opportunities. Pérez aims to sell 5 per cent of the world’s richest club, through a new subsidiary, subject to a referendum of its 100,000 or so owner-members, or socios. His defeated challenger Enrique Riquelme had attacked that plan as a “privatisation”, as though Real Madrid is a public good as vital as, say, fresh water. But Pérez explained to the FT last week that the investment would be more like a sponsorship: “In other words, there are people who associate themselves with Real Madrid without expecting anything.” The 79-year-old, who first took the presidency in 2000 when the club was under financial strain, is a shrewd interpreter of what supporters want. Steven Mandis, an adviser to football governing body Fifa and author of two books on Real Madrid, told the Financial Times he has “never seen a management team so relentle...

Nearly seven years ago, Silver Lake, a technology-focused investor, committed primary equity amounting to an approximate 10 per cent interest in City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City and other clubs worldwide. This involved partnering as a minority investor with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi as the majority owner, investing in growth and backing a world-class manager and executive team. Over time, Silver Lake increased its stake to approximately 18 per cent. Substantial investment in top players has been central to the strategy. But cash alone is not sufficient to win prestigious trophies every year, let alone build an enduring culture or clear team identity. Manager Pep Guardiola, who left City in May after 10 successful years at the helm, repeatedly praised the stability, expertise and trust of the ownership as vital elements of the magic formula. A Financial Times contributor argues that we should consider the private equity investment in Chelsea in...

Over the past decade American financing has reshaped global football in its image, with billions of dollars of investment, a fast-growing domestic audience and a generation of new players. While US owners of European football teams have faced protests from fans for years, friction is rising. Some fear the sport is losing its way in pursuit of profit and that outside money is distorting the game’s balance of power. And yet the arrival of professional investors has so far done little to fix the game’s parlous finances. Americans now own 117 European clubs, according to data from CIES Sports Intelligence, including more than half the teams in the English Premier League, more than a third of Italy’s Serie A and over a quarter of Ligue 1 in France.  The effects are being felt both on and off the pitch. Clubs are increasingly run with commercial success front of mind, aping the US sports model, where team ownership has proved lucrative. This has led to a push to tighten football’s fi...

Florentino Perez has been re-elected Real Madrid president, winning 65 per cent of the votes in an electoral victory over challenger Enrique Riquelme. It was the first time Madrid’s members had voted for the club president in 20 years, with the incumbent Perez elected unopposed in each of Madrid’s previous five electoral cycles, held in 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025. Perez did not need to call this election. He had an active mandate until 2029, but announced the vote in a remarkable press conference on May 12, calling on his rivals to “come out of the shadows” and face him.   This snap decision was aimed at strengthening his power at the Bernabeu, after a second successive season without a trophy, and a string of difficult off-pitch setbacks. Although the 79-year-old has now won a new four-year mandate, it is arguable that his standing inside and outside the club has not improved. Few Madrid members even knew who Riquelme was before Perez’s rambling media event last month...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble applies his forensic financial skills to the case of Blackburn Rovers.  Few football fans have suffered as much as those in Blackburn from owners who have no clear strategy.   Coventry City suffered in the same way until a local businessman took control, but Blackburn have a huge debt pile. Venky's are the largest poultry integrator in Asia.   T hey handle everything from breeding, hatcheries, and feed to processed chicken and animal health products.    This is a smart market to be in as chicken is often the first meat consumed in middle income countries as they become more prosperous. Presumably when they bought Blackburn they saw it as adding to their profile and prestige, hope for a return to the Premier League.  However, this would require much more investment than they have been willing to provide. It will take a lot for the bad vibes around the club to go away, given the many issues faced by Rovers. Indeed, l...

Freshly relegated from the Premier League, West Ham United are entering the most crucial summer in their recent history. They will do so with a potentially damaging power vacuum at the top of the club: they have no permanent chief executive, no director of football; in April, Baroness Brady departed as vice-chairwoman; and on Saturday David Sullivan, the co-chairman, resigned too. Sullivan, 77 — who jointly bought a 50 per cent share in West Ham with the late David Gold in 2010 for £50million — is still the biggest shareholder at the club, with 38.8 per cent. He resigned claiming that “serious historic allegations” about him, allegations he “categorically denies”, were about to be made public.    He has said that he may sue the BBC, who propose to broadcast the allegations, for defamation. The Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has a 27 per cent stake in the club and could increase his influence and shareholding in the coming months, but for more than 15 years, Sulliv...