The Political Economy of Football V2

The authoritative Swiss Ramble provides an overview of Premier League finances.  Much more Information and analysis is available on his Substack page. The Premier League has now lost money seven years in a row. Obviously, this was adversely impacted by the pandemic, which led to the huge losses reported during the COVID seasons with £992m in 2019/20 and £689m in 2020/2.   However, it has not been much better since then, losing a hefty £2.3 bln in the last four seasons, leading to an annual average loss of £564m.   That represents a dramatic worsening compared to the performance before the pandemic, e.g. it generated £786m profit in the four seasons up to 2018/19. ‘ Creative accounting; The Premier League’s losses in recent years would have been even higher without the inclusion of exceptional gains from selling assets to other group companies.   This amounted to a record £293m in 2024/25, including Newcastle United £133m, largely from the sale of St James’ Park...

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 ...

Fulham announced that season ticket prices would be going up at Craven Cottage yet again – a move which Fulham Supporters Trust (FST) says places an “undue burden on loyal fans”. The Premier League club will impose an above inflation 3.5% hike on season ticket prices for the 2026-2027 campaign, the fourth consecutive season of price increases at Fulham.  [Inflation is now likely to be above 3.5 per cent given events in the Middle East]. “The claim that the increase in season ticket prices is required for the club’s sustainability or compliance with new financial regulation simply does not stand up to scrutiny,” FST said.    Matchday receipts account for less than 10% of total revenue and that share is falling. A price hike will have no material impact on the Club’s bottom line, which makes raising ticket prices a choice, not a necessity.” “Today’s decision to apply a uniform price increase affecting these stands will regrettably contribute to the sense of di...

Premier League football teams could be banned from accepting sponsorship from gambling companies without a UK licence, as ministers look to crack down on black-market betting. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy on Monday said it was “not right that unlicensed gambling operators can sponsor some of our biggest football clubs, raising their profile and potentially drawing fans towards sites that don’t meet our regulatory standards”. The plans, which will be put out to consultation in the spring, are intended to reduce harm from gambling and “eliminate unfair competition” for companies regulated by the Gambling Commission, according to the government. Several teams in the English football leagues, including the top division, have sponsorship arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators. These partnerships are not prohibited at present, so long as UK customers cannot access the illicit platforms. But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said ministers were “deeply concerned” that...

The weekend Financial Times has a fascinating review of a new exhibition on football stadiums at Tate Liverpool + RIBA North, Home Ground, sited perfectly in a football-mad city where the architect designed both Liverpool’s Anfield and Everton’s Goodison Park, and where the latter club’s huge new 53,000-seat ground sits by the waterside, on Bramley-Moore Dock.   It is on until January 25th. The article is written by an architect but one who clearly has a great knowledge of stadiums and a love of the game.   Indeed, he reveals himself as a Fulham supporter. 'In May this year I went to see Fulham, my team, in west London, walking through the red-brick facade designed by Leitch in 1905 (with its now almost laughably slender turnstile doors — early attempts at crowd control). Instead of standing on the terraces like I used to in the 1980s, I was taken to a new stand, an almost nautical construction now known as Fulham Pier, which sits on the riverside surmounted by a dra...

The replacement of PSR by SCR by the Premier League from 2026/27 may seem to be a highly technical matter: indeed it is.   It needs someone with the forensic skills of the Swiss Ramble to unravel what it all means for the competition and individual clubs.   I recommend subscribing to his Substack page to get the full analysis by the Zurich-based football finance guru.  Even so, I had difficulty in getting my head round some of the complexities, but here are some highlights. First and foremost, PSR and SCR differ in what they measure. PSR evaluates a club’s overall profit by including all revenues and costs, while SCR focuses specifically on on-pitch spending. Under PSR, clubs were assessed based on their financial performance over a rolling 3-year period, whereas the SCR sets clear spending limits for each season Compliance is monitored in-season as well as at the end of the season, allowing for earlier intervention if a club is breaching the rules. This s...

The owner of Fulham FC is betting a £350mn investment in its stadium that includes adding a private members’ club will provide the Premier League club with the financial firepower to compete with its richer rivals. “I think it’s going to go a long way towards making Fulham competitive and compliant with [financial] fair play rules,” Shahid Khan told the Financial Times on a tour of the west London development, which features a grand piano, marble bar and a riverside walkway.   The multibillionaire said the additions to Craven Cottage, the club’s home since 1896, were made viable by its Thameside location, which was a “key asset” — adding Fulham has the “most educated, richest fan base in English football”. Khan is seeking to build new revenue streams to help reduce his financial support and fund player signings after Premier League clubs spent a record £3bn-plus in the summer transfer window.   The league’s financial regulations mean clubs cannot lose more than £105mn over...

Prices for season tickets have increased markedly since the resumption of matches after the Covid-19 pandemic. This season, there has been a change in attitude, with seven clubs freezing prices for attending their 19 home league matches. However, all but one club — Crystal Palace — raised prices last term. Still, attending football remains an expensive hobby, with nine clubs charging more than £1,000 for their most expensive offerings and several others coming close to that mark. Clubs had previously expressed sympathy with fans and referenced the cost-of-living crisis while simultaneously increasing prices. This year, those reasons are less prominent, with the latest argument being that the increased cost of national insurance employer contributions has necessitated an increase in prices. Ten Premier League clubs have some form of minimum usage policy. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sunder...

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...

Fulham lost almost £1.4m a week in 23/24 reports football finance guru Kieran Maguire. Losses mitigated by player sale profits and a £4m Research and Development tax credit.  These reduced losses to a before tax figure of 'just' £32m Revenue £182m was up 0.4%. Wages £155m up 11%.   Underlying loss £69m up 98%.   Player sale profits £33m 275%.   Pre-tax loss £32m 24%.   Player signings £88m up 3%.   Player sales £44m. Borrowings in year were £123m. Total invested by Shahid Khan £863m Almost 3/4 of Fulham's revenue comes from TV. Club is mid table in terms of PL revenue but still nine clubs to report for 23/24.

Rising high above a stretch of the River Thames familiar to millions around the world thanks to the annual Boat Race, Fulham’s new Riverside Stand is already a worthy addition to the London skyline. Who says so? Simon Inglis, the UK’s foremost stadium expert and author of the seminal book on the subject, The Football Grounds of England and Wales, the first edition of which was published in 1983. “I personally think it’s the best football stand of the 21st century,” he says. “You immediately think, ‘Wow, an architect has been involved in this’. I love the way the roof cantilevers over, almost like a giant wing. And how it’s beautifully articulated round the back, near the river. “It is somewhere with the potential to be a real iconic London landmark. At the same time, I’d say it has a bold and quite American approach to it. Very shiny black cladding, which you  could  say makes it rather resemble a funeral parlour. “But it fits in with Fulham, playing in black and ...

After a relatively calm season, Fulham can look forward to a third consecutive year in the Premier League, which will go a long way to losing their tag as a “yo-yo” club. On the previous two occasions that they had been promoted to the top flight, they had immediately dropped back to the Championship, so there have clearly been signs of progress under Marco Silva. Things also look a little better off the pitch, considering the club’s most recent accounts from the 2022/23 season, when they finished in a very creditable 10th place in their first season back in the Premier League. In 2022/23 Fulham’s pre-tax loss more than halved from £57m to £26m, as revenue shot up £110m from £72m to a club record £182m following promotion to the Premier League, though profit from player sales dropped from £12m to £9m. Much of the revenue increase was eaten up by operating expenses rising £76m (54%) from £141m to £217m, as the club increased its budget in order to compete in the top flight. The ...

Fulham have submitted their 2022/23accounts reports Kieran Maguire. Revenue was £182m up 156%. Wages £139m up 54%.  Football costs (wages + amortisation) 101% of revenue.   Underlying loss was £35m up 50%.  pPayer purchases £85m. Player sales £9m. There has been controversy about the high ticket prices Fulham charge, particularly for their premium Riverside Stand.. With its “Sky Deck” terrace, facing away from the pitch and out towards the River Thames, complete with a cocktail bar and swimming pool to take in the sweeping London views, it is no surprise that the Fulham chairman, Shahid Khan, described his new Riverside Stand as “the ultimate match-day hospitality experience in the world”. Yet the loungers and Long Island iced teas come at a cost — and not only for the club, who have sunk more than £120 million into the Premier League’s latest glitz and glamour project since 2019. Ordinary Fulham fans who have spent years, some of them decades, as loyal ...

Fulham fans are calling on supporters to demonstrate outside Craven Cottage before next month’s home game against Manchester United over the club’s “completely misguided” ticket pricing. That home game against Manchester United features some truly eye-watering matchday ticket prices, including £160 in the new Riverside Stand with cheapest ticket in the Hammersmith End still a staggering £67. A huge jump on the same fixture from last season. Supporter groups are now calling for action - Fulham Supporters' Trust and Fulham Lillies said this week that the club's ticket pricing was "alienating a large part of our core fan base to the extent that increasing numbers just can’t afford to come to a game." It seems to me that the club are disregarding long-term fans in favour of those who live in their affluent locality. Read more here:  https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fulham-fans-call-for-protest-over-ticket-prices/

Fulham’s pre-tax loss reduced from £94m to £57m in 2021/22, despite revenue dropping £44m (38%) from £116m to £72m following relegation, partly offset by profit from player sales increasing from just £146k to £12.5m.   The main driver of Fulham’s £44m revenue decrease was broadcasting, which more than halved in the Championship from £105m to £51m. Fulham compensated for lower revenue with steep reductions in staff costs. The wage bill was cut by £24m (21%) from £114m to £90m.     Fulham’s good performance on the pitch came at a cost, as their £57m loss was the worst in the Championship, even higher than Bournemouth £56m and Nottingham Forest £46m. Fulham’s £57m loss last season was the fifth highest ever in the Championship, albeit a long way short of the division’s record loss, which was the £88m posted by Stoke City in 2019/20.   The Cottagers’ losses on their previous two occasions in the Championship (£48m in 2019/20 and £45m in 2017/18) also featur...

Kieran Maguire reports on Fulham's 2021/22 accounts. Income was down 39% to £71m.   Wages   down 21% to £90m. Championship record average weekly wage £42k. Losses pre player sales £69m. Total losses over years £563m. Player purchases £24m. Player sales £24m. Borrowings from owner in year £116m. Total owner investment £677m. Revenue down following relegation. Losses down from £93m made in Premier League* previous season to £69m Player sale profits reduced losses by £12m. Owner Shahid Khan lent £116.5m in year which was converted to shares. Broadcasting money more than halved from £105m to £51m. Ticket sales up  following end of lockdown.   Fulham spent £24m on players and over £30m on the stadium redevelopment in 21/22.   Fulham have bought players for £78.8m since promotion and had sale profits of £7.4m. Wages down following relegation but still a record for Championship.    Higher than a couple of Premier League clubs.

The Australian financial services regulator is looking into licensing concerns relating to Fulham’s new sponsor, Titan Capital Markets, and the firm’s website has been blocked to view from the UK and US. Fulham’s Supporters’ Trust has called for greater due diligence around the signing of future deals in light of the Titan partnership but has seen its request to be represented on an ethics committee rejected. In September, Fulham announced they had made an agreement with the Australian-based company Titan Capital Markets to become their Contracts for Difference (CFD) trading partner for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. A CFD trading firm speculates on the underlying price of an asset — such as shares, commodities or foreign exchange markets. The Fulham Supporters’ Trust met with club representatives on Thursday.   The Trust’s chair, Tom Greatrex, said: “It is not at all surprising that Fulham supporters are concerned about how our club found themselves in this posi...

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire discusses why yo-yo clubs between the Premier League and the Championship are stuck in a kind of purgatory.   Maguire argues that we have a Premier League 1.0 and a 1.5:  https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/norwich-fulham-football-purgatory-premier-league-finances-1615476 One way to change things would be to phase out parachute payments or at least substantially reduce them.  One could make low interest loans available for clubs in genuine financial difficulty after relegation.

Fulham celebrated promotion and the championship with an emphatic 7-0 win over promotion hopefuls Luton,.  They have played some great football this season, but this is the third time Fulham have been promoted in the last five seasons and on the previous two occasions, they dropped straight back through the trapdoor. Owner Tony Khan has made his reputation in football as a forward-thinking analyst whose Boston-based company, TruMedia Networks, has established itself as one of the big-hitters in the world of sports data. This is Khan’s expertise. His use of analytics underpins everything at Fulham, particularly when it comes to determining transfer targets. Khan is also the co-owner and vice-president of the Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as being the co-owner, founder, president and chief executive of All Elite Wrestling and being involved in various other work ventures.    It’s a lot of commitments. Khan’s firmly held belief is that the clubs with the most sophistic...

Why are American sports franchises so keen on buying English football clubs, not least the Todd Boehly-led consortium which is the preferred bidder for Chelsea? The takeover of Chelsea by the Boehly Group would mean that US investors have stakes in half the clubs in the Premier League.   Counting in Chelsea, six would be outright or majority owned, the others being Arsenal, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Manchester United.   Four other clubs have US shareholders: Aston Villa; Leeds United; Manchester City; and West Ham United. The short explanation is that these consortia have the readies, they have done well with sports franchises in the United States and they see upside in the UK both through capital appreciation and extracting more money from the fans by direct marketing.   Given those considerations, many would argue that Chelsea is a bargain at $4 billion. Indeed, the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge is seen as an opportunity to attract more we...