The Political Economy of Football V2

To try to capitalise on the surge in interest from the World Cup, Major League Soccer has launched its largest-ever marketing campaign called “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here”, featuring MLS stars past and present, including Lionel Messi and David Beckham. It aims to convert America’s growing legion of football fans into loyal followers of the country’s top professional league as its season resumes on July 16.  MLS, which launched in 1996 as a condition of the US’s bid to host the 1994 World Cup, faces a pivotal moment. The arrival of Messi at Inter Miami in 2023 drew unprecedented attention to the league. Even before the World Cup, viewership and match attendance increased in recent seasons.  As part of efforts to build on this momentum, the league is shifting to a summer-to-spring calendar in 2027 to align with the international football schedule. Currently its season runs from late February to early December. This change, alongside roster rule tweaks, aims to inte...

Rumours abound that Newcastle United’s captain, Bruno Guimarães, will be the next big name player to leave St James’ Park. The Swiss Ramble has produced an in depth and highly informative analysis of the related financial position.    Unavoidably it requires making a series of assumptions about the club ‘s future finances.   The full analysis is available on his Substack page. It is evident that clubs like Newcastle face big challenges from financial rules despite their sincere efforts to comply with them.    Many of us believe that the rules are designed to protect existing elite clubs from insurgents.   [WG] The club’s supporters will be somewhat perplexed about losing another one of their stars, given that Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have already been sold this summer, especially after they would have thought that any financial concerns should have been addressed by the record sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool last September. It was not me...

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire expressed concern about a bridging loan taken out by Hull City.  The owner has now offered an explanation.  Stadium upgrades were necessary over the summer to meet Premier League requirements.  Moreover, interest rates in the UK are around seven per cent for a loan compared with 40 per cent in the owner's home country of Turkey:  https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/acun-ilicali-hull-city-loan-11057334 There is also a tension between the club's growth ambitions and regulatory compliance:  https://cryptobriefing.com/hull-city-premier-league-200m-budget/ The rules pose more challenges for a promoted club like Hull and some analysts seem them as a means to protect the elite status of existing top clubs.

A top football finance writer has Sunderland to sell a player at a big profit to stay the right side of domestic and European football finance rules:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c2ey8v8pekeo

Stoke City were once a solid mid-table club in the Premier League, but they have struggled to return despite considerable support from the club ownership. In many ways the club''s fate reflects the economic challenges faced by the Potteries as what remains of the historic Potteries industry succumbs to high energy prices. Time for the Swiss Ramble to review the club's finances with his usual forensic analysis.  Much more on his Substack page. Stoke have consistently under-performed since their relegation from the Premier League in 2017/18, finishing in the bottom half of the Championship eight seasons in a row, despite being backed by the wealth of bet365.    Stoke did very badly financially, but without the compensation of doing well on the pitch. Stoke have posted losses in six of the last eight seasons, the only two exceptions being the years that benefited from substantial loan write-offs. This is very different from their time in the Premier League, when the club c...

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