The Political Economy of Football V2

After 11 years of Maxim Demin, Bournemouth are on course for a new era of ownership.  American billionaire Bill Foley, the majority owner of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Vegas Golden Knights, is heading a consortium now in exclusive talks to buy the Premier League club. Foley is known to be a fiercely ambitious owner. In the NHL, the annual salary cap is $81.5million (£71.4m), which means teams are only allowed to spend money on player wages within that limit. But Foley has spent the absolute maximum amount the league permits, acquiring high-price players on big contracts in a bid to make the fledgling Golden Knights as competitive as possible immediately against teams who had already existed for decades. But there are some downsides to Foley’s aggressive methods as his patience levels do not seem very high. The Golden Knights have fired two promising head coaches, Gerard Gallant and Peter DeBoer, in their five seasons of existence. Few, though, can ...

Club accounts are now arriving at a fast and furious pace.  AFC  Bournemouth are on their second year of parachute payments, but are hopeful of a return to the Premier League. The club’s first season back in England’s second tier saw revenue streams limited due to COVID, but despite having no matchday revenue, the club recorded an operating profit of £23.6 million.   This is rather unusual for a Championship club who often make big losses as they pursue promotion.    The Cherries have cut their cloth to meet their situation, but are still enjoying a good if sometimes variable level of success on the pitch. Revenue at £77m was down 25 per cent.   Wages at £57m were down 47%.     Operating loss was £33m down 56%. Player sale profits at £56m up 143%.    (Reports Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball). Before tax, the club recorded profits of £17m, and after posting losses of £60.1m in 2020, the directors now “consider the financial ...

From his Zurich fastness the Swiss Ramble reviews the 2019/20 accounts of AFC Bournemouth. The club’s loss almost doubled from £32m to a club record £60m, largely due to revenue dropping £36m (27%) from £131m to £95m, partly offset by profit on player sales rising £20m to £23m. The revenue decrease was mainly attributable to COVID, which contributed to broadcasting falling £35m (30%) from £116m to £81m, though match day was also down £1.5m (29%) from £5.0m to £3.5m. These reductions were partly compensated by commercial rising £1m (9%) to £11m. The Cherries have now reported losses three years in a row, amounting to £103m, having made money in their first two seasons in the Premier League. Before that they posted four consecutive years of losses, including a hefty £39m deficit in the 2014/15 promotion season. Without COVID, revenue can be estimated as £25m higher at £121m (8% less than 2019), as £18m broadcasting deferred to 2020/21 and £7m foregone (TV rebate £6m, match day £1m)...