The Political Economy of Football V2

The Club World Cup has generated little excitement in the UK and although I watched some of the games on 5, others do not appear to have been broadcast (ok, one can go to DAZN.com).  Financially, it's case of to those that hath shall be given in large part. A look at the prize money leaders throws up some familiar (some might say obvious) names. Sitting at the top are Manchester City, the only club to exceed $50m so far. Behind them are some of the wealthiest clubs in world football: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and on it goes. Regardless of the order, it’s fairly clear European sides will be taking home most of the spoils. The top eight prize money spots are occupied by European clubs and of the $741m allocated, $424.5m (57 per cent) has gone to UEFA clubs. On average, the 12 competing clubs from football’s richest continent have earned $35.4m apiece this summer.   The distribution of participation fees ensured Europe’s clubs would always get the bigge...

After six years David Beckham saw his Inter Miami team play their first game, a friendly, at the weekend. Their first MLS fixture is on March 1st. Their first match was at the Al Lang stadium, an antiquated baseball stadium in Fort Lauderdale with a 7,500 capacity. It is a 40 minute drive north of Miami. A 20,000 seater stadium in Fort Lauderdale will be ready for their first MLS match and will be their home for at least two seasons, perhaps for good. The longer term plan is to build the Miami Freedom Park stadium with a 25,000 seat capacity near Miami International Airport. However, many politicians oppose building on the site at the Melreese Country Club in a city lacking in green open spaces. Beckham has local partners in Jorge and José Mas, Miami-based Cuban-American construction magnates who have the ability to navigate South Florida political waters. Other investors include Masayoshi Son, the Japanese billionaire owner of multinational conglomerate SoftBank, and Marcelo C...