The Political Economy of Football V2

Three words dominate the mind of Abdullah Ashraf: English Football League.   To be more specific, it is the EFL’s League Two, the fourth tier of English football, that preoccupies the daily thoughts of this 24-year-old American businessman. Currently, 20 of the EFL’s 72 clubs, from the second tier through to the fourth tier, either have Americans as owners or prominent investors. Oklahoma real estate investor Ashraf plans to add to that number after taking over at Tamworth FC, a club in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football pyramid. Ashraf, the founder and chief executive of Dawn Group International (DGI) and owner of Oklahoma United FC in his home city, made some bold pledges after being unveiled as Tamworth’s new owner earlier this summer. He vowed to turn the club fully professional, buy and redevelop the Lamb Ground, Tamworth’s home since their foundation in 1933, and build a new training facility once the premises were purchased from the l...

Ebbsfleet United have been suspended by the National League over financial concerns:  https://www.footballtradedirectory.com/ebbsfleet-united-suspended-by-national-league-over?cat=3077 Football finance guru Kieran Maguire commented: 'When it was suggested that perhaps something was not right at Ebbsfleet a few months ago the club and some (a minority TBF) fans started getting stroppy. Red flags are red flags. Winding up orders and non publication of accounts can be dismissed with airy comments on the club website, but can also be indicative of bigger issues.' Ebbsfleet United were originally known as Gravesend and Northfleet.

The new owner of Tamworth is an Oklahoma-based real estate entrepreneur Abdullah Ashraf.   He aims to buy the club's ground from the council and obtain promotion to the EFL. He previously held an eight per cent stake in Truro City.  But dos he realise how competitive non-league football is in England and how hard it is to get out of the National League even with a full-time squad.

Southend United boosted their revenue last year through the play off final but still ended up with a £1m+ loss.  Finances are forecast to deteriorate this year with the Shrimpers failing in the difficult task of escaping the National League while overheads will increase (as the case at almost all football clubs, ndeed utilities may cost even more because of the conflict in the Middle East:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gvzm9vqyro

National League system clubs paid over £1.2m to football agents in 2025/26. The largest sums were paid by former EFL clubs with Carlisle United, relegated last year, top of the list at just under £188k.   Promotion hopefuls York City spent £169k.  Forest Green Rovers forked out £164k and Southend United £80k.  National League leaders Rochdale paid £43k. Torquay United in National League South spent £15k as did Chelmsford City.   At Step 5 Bury managed to pay out £2,000.

A bitter legal battle between the former owner of York City Jason McGill and the current owners could threaten the chances of the Minstermen returning to the EFL after a decade's absence. It is a complex dispute and one that has attracted the attention of the independent football regulator. McGill was credited with saving the club from oblivion with his loans, but he was a divisive figure and his relationship with the supporters' trust became strained. Julie-Anne Uggla is a 62-year-old British-Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist who lives in north London. The purchase of a football club — she also looked at Yeovil Town — was prompted by a passion for the game she shares with her son, the two of them forming 394 Sports Ltd. At York, they have become popular owners, investing more than £6 million in the past two years in pursuit of promotion. Should the Ugglas be unsuccessful in challenging McGill’s demand, it could be ruinous for the club. As detailed in the High Court clai...

The owners of York City, promotion contenders from the National League, are being sued by the former owner for an estimated £4.2m. The dispute dates back to former owner James McGill selling his majority stake in 2022, as well as loans he made to the club. Club employees issued a statement backing the current owners Matt and Julie-Ann Uggla.

The new independent football regulator could launch its first significant action after the troubled Lancashire club Morecambe appointed a senior executive who has been banned by Guernsey’s financial authorities for involvement in a fraudulent investment fund. Steve Dewsnip, 59, was appointed by Morecambe as their chief operating officer on February 19. The announcement came only days before the club were handed a transfer embargo by the National League for failing to comply with its financial rules. Dewsnip was director of a company which collapsed in 2016 leaving investors £37m out of pocket.  It was subsequently found guilty of conducting a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.   In August 2024 the Guernsey Financial Services Commission banned Dewsnip from involvement in a regulated entity. Morecambe had hoped that last August's takeover by Punjab Warriors would end a difficult time for the Shrimpers who are fighting relegation from the National League.   They had been pre...

The board of the Shrimps Trust at Morecambe have written to the club’s owners, Panjab Warriors, and the club’s chairman Kuljit Singh Momi, expressing their concern at the direction of the Lancashire club. The open letter details a number of concerns relating to both on-pitch and off-pitch matters, with the trust claiming that promises made have not seen results delivered or communication with fans. The new ownership group took over at the start of the season following a long campaign by fans to oust previous owner Jason Whittingham, who presided over their relegation from the EFL. Supporters hoped that after this period of turmoil which saw club wages going unpaid, a gutting of the club’s playing staff, and their early fixtures in the National League suspended, that new ownership would steady the ship. Now the club find themselves in the relegation places of the National League. The trust, however, are concerned that promised recruitment, strengthened board governance and a l...

Morecambe face expulsion from English football’s league pyramid after the fifth-tier National League suspended the Lancashire-based club with immediate effect because of their dire financial position. In a short statement, the league said its Compliance and Licensing Committee had met on Monday afternoon to debate Morecambe’s ability to start the season. The club have been in football’s Emergency Room for years but the crisis has deepened in recent weeks after a protracted takeover by London-based sports investment company Panjab Warriors stalled and a new potential buyer emerged. With Morecambe already under a transfer embargo, the National League announced on Friday that it was effectively giving current owner Bond Group Investments until noon to sell the club. But that deadline came and went, giving the league no option but to suspend the club until August 20, which means their first three fixtures of the new season — away at Boston United, home to Brackley Town and away at ...

The end of May will mark 1,000 days since Morecambe were put up for sale by Bond Street Investments, a company set up by Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham. The pair previously owned Worecster Warriors, a rugby union Premiership side who were wound up in 2022 over an unpaid tax bill. Whittingham, now in sole charge of the Shrimps, told the BBC in January that he can't wait to get out of Morecambe. The problem is that no one wants to get in, notes Chris Dunlavy in The Non-League Paper.    Fizzy drink entrepreneur Sarbjot Gorbal had plenty of bling (Givemchy track suits) but was set packing by the EFL when he could not show proof of funds. Punjab Warriors are the latest hopefuls and have been interested for ten months.  Frontman Kuljeet Singh Momi claims to have provided interest free loans to the club since October 2023.   A so-called 'positive' meeting with the EFL in March seems to have led to no progress. The underlying point is that the financial landscape ...

As the financial year comes to an end, there is a fast and furious race by clubs to submit their 2023/24 accounts and they all show losses.   Information courtesy of football finance guru Kieran Maguire. Ayr United lost £187k in 23/24 taking total losses to over£1.7m. Club is dependent upon director loans of £585k to continue.    Scottish clubs are generally quite prudent so this is quite a big loss by their standards.   Gillingham losses almost doubled to £4.3 million in 23/24. The losses were underwritten by a £1.3m donation and £2.2m of loans Salford City lost over £5.3m in 23/24 taking total losses to over £28m since being acquired by new owners Promotion chasing York City lost £235k in 23/24. Scunthorpe United lost £499k in 23/24 despite losing two thirds of their employees. Club had over £4 million of liabilities at 30 June 2024.    Included in the Scunthorpe United accounts for 23/24 is a £250,000 bad debt write off. I wonder who is re...

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire reports that the successful FA Cup run by Maidstone United to the fifth round in 23/24 meant that club made revenues of £2.7 million and a profit of£400k, allowing the club to invest in a 3G pitch Briefly a Premier League club, Oldham Athletic lost almost £3.2 million in 23/24. Losses were effectively covered by borrowing, with liabilities increasing to £10 million and owner Frank Rothwell lending over £7.1 million. Oldham bought players for £110k in the season.

Solihull is one of the most prosperous and sought after boroughs in England, although it also contains areas of social deprivation. More than a decade and a half since Moor Green merged with their fierce West Midlands rivals Solihull Borough, most of those affected have put the acrimony behind them. Those who set aside historic rivalries to back the merger are now long-standing Solihull Moors supporters and looking forward to a scarcely believable two trips to Wembley in six days, with tomorrow’s huge play-off final against Bromley, based in south-east London, followed next Saturday by the final of the FA Trophy, non-League football’s showpiece knockout competition, against Gateshead. From its controversial birth in 2007, a merger that followed two seasons of Moor Green playing home games at Borough’s ground, Solihull Moors has become one of non-League’s success stories. Promotion to the National League in 2016 was followed by a switch from the semi-professional roots of Moor G...

The vast majority of National League clubs have published accounts now for 22/23, reports football finance guru Kieran Maguire. Few clubs have published full details, but of those that have, there is a big difference. Over the years, the companies that own NL clubs have lost over £140 million between them. Only two clubs have made a profit in the National League and overall the losses for the season were over £21 million (Southend figures from 2021 and nothing for York ) Only five clubs signed players for fees.    At end of season only five clubs had squads that cost transfer fees. Yeovil Town lost £1.5m in 22/23 when the club was relegated from the National League.    Yeovil are funded by loans from owners and Sports Council.  

With attendances that dipped below 1,500, Sutton United did not expect to become a EFL club.  Promotion meant new floodlights, seats in the away end, new turnstiles and WiFi.   Players demanded full-time contracts.   (As an indication, Salford City paid £750 a week for two-thirds contracts in non-league and £1,250 a week in the EFL). They also had to rip up an artificial pitch that was fundamental to the way they operated and was hired out to the public when not in use for the academy etc.   It cost £500,000 to replace the synthetic turf and £200,000 in revenue was lost as well as a link to the local community. If Sutton get relegated, as looks increasingly likely, it will cost £300,000 to restore the artificial pitch.  Should they then go back to three quarter time contracts? Revenue per season will fall back from £1.2m to £200,000 and even further after two years of parachute payments.   No wonder teams often struggle after going down ...

Whether new Rochdale MP 'Gorgeous George' does anything for the town's sporting clubs (as the independent who came second pledged to do) remains to be seen.   Meanwhile, it looks as if the football club may be saved from liquidation:  https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/29/rochdale-football-club-set-to-be-saved-from-liquidation-threat-by-us-investor?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The owner of King's Lynn muses on the financial challenges of competing in the National League, bearing in mind the recent collapse of Torquay Unitted and the roubles at Rochdale:  https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/24139819.kings-lynn-owner-finances-fans-sports-minister/ The problem is that it's not really the job of government, i.e., the taxpayer, to bail out failing football clubs nor will the regulator be able to do that.

Rochdale is having a pantomime by-election while its football club faces going out of business. Liquidation s the fate Rochdale face, according to their board, if the club’s 650 small shareholders do not vote the club out of fan ownership by agreeing to issue nine million new shares at an extraordinary general meeting on March 7. These new shares, 90 per cent of the club, will be available to purchase by a new owner for 22p each, which would immediately put £2m into the club. The club’s current directors took over in June 2021, picking up the pieces after Rochdale were relegated from League One. With their finances already stretched by the pandemic, the board was immediately forced to defend Rochdale from a hostile takeover. They won that war but were relegated from League Two last season, ending a 102-year stay in the EFL. But Rochdale are not a basket case. Their debts total about £1m and most of that is to the chairman. They also own their stadium, which is w...

Dagenham & Redbridge’s American owners, a group which includes former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard, are putting their shares in the National League club up for sale. Led by New York Yankees minority shareholder Peter B. Freund, the seven-strong consortium effectively rescued the east London-based side in 2018 after their previous majority owner pulled his financial support. Freund, who also co-owns United Soccer League outfit Memphis 901 and several minor league baseball teams, had previously been linked with a move for Aston Villa, then in the Championship. While that story was incorrect, it was true that the U.S. businessman was looking for an affordable English football team in the Greater London area. The group, named Victoria Road Football LLC after the club’s stadium, will exit Dagenham & Redbridge having failed to achieve their goal of returning the club to the English Football League but they did deliver on their promise to upgrade Victoria Road. They also brought ...