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Good PR for the top flight

Time for a bit of boosterism for the Premier League at a time when commercial influences on football are under challenge.  Many fans are concerned about its dominance of the game and whether enough money trickles down to the EFL and grassroots football, although the Premier League would argue that it makes generous provision.  

An agreement has finally been reached with the EFL on funding with the independent regulator hovering in the background with a figure of £1.5 bn being reported: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx2r015jjl0o

The Premier League will add £33 billion to the UK economy and generate close to £15 billion in tax revenue over the next three seasons, according to analysis from EY.

The economic value of England’s highest domestic football competition has grown 14-fold since the 1998-99 season, with record international viewing numbers and lucrative broadcasting rights creating one of the richest leagues in Europe. The economic contributions are on course to rise to an average of £11 billion a season over the next three seasons, up from £9.8 billion recorded in 2023-24.

Just under two thirds of the economic value of English football is generated outside London. The game added £5.9 billion to the economy outside the capital, with £3.1 billion in the northwest alone in the 2023-24 season — the region where Andy Burnham, an Everton fan, hails from. Two-thirds of the 108,000 jobs supported by the Premier League were outside of London, EY said, making football one of the most lucrative sources of growth and tax revenue for the government.

Broadcasting rights have rocketed in the past two decades, with international rights outstripping domestic TV revenues at £5.3 billion. The Premier League is broadcast in 189 countries, with nearly two billion viewers, generating export revenue of £1.8 billion. This is close to the export revenues of the entire UK television sector combined, according to data from Pact.

More than a million overseas football fans visited the UK in 2023-24, adding more than £1 billion to the economy. Football fans accounted for 2.6 per cent of all tourism to the country in that 12 months.

The game’s record revenues have led to significant infrastructure spending on stadiums, training facilities and academies. Clubs have added 290,000 seats to their capacity stadiums since the Premier League’s first season in 1992-93, a rise of more than half. Attendance reached a new record of 15.9 million last season. E

ngland’s top clubs invested just under £5 billion in infrastructure in the decade to 2024, led by Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium and Everton.  Of the 51 teams to have played in the Premier League, 22 have built or moved to a new stadium since 1992.

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