The Political Economy of Football V2

Former player Brad Piercewright has launched a bid for non-league third tier Kettering Town, but the current owner says they are not for sale. Having seen success in IT, Piercewright claims that he is now worth £58m and is prepared to pay £450k cash for the Poppies.  However, he says that its real value is £1 because of alleged debts. The club does not play in the Rose of the Shires but at nearby Burton Latimer having lost their Rockingham Road stadium. Piercewright says his objective is the EFL, but we have heard that before from investors in non -league clubs.  Think AFC Fylde just for starters. Current owner George Akhtar is adamant that the club is not for sale, although it has been suggested that he would accept outside investment.

I was baffled by the following headline in today's  Financial Times : 'Shakespeare makes debut for Stratford FC'.  Did it mean that the Royal Shakespeare Company had signed a sponsorship deal with non-league Stratford Town and that their stadium was to be renamed the Anne Hathaway (following today's simultaneous revelation that she spent time living with the Bard of Avon in London)? I can only think of one Shakespeare actor's son who played for the Bards, and as for the Bardsmen, their language on the pitch is generally industrial rather than 'forsooth' or 'verily'. One of my favourite chants was when Leamington were leading the Bards 2-0 at their old ground and Brakes fans broke into a chant of 'Two nil, or not two nil'? It turns out the latest version of  As You Like It  has a football setting at Messina FC.  Leonato is the club owner, Don Pedro the team manager, Claudio is the man of the match and Beatrice is a football commentator, approp...

A rich individual or individuals buy a non-league club and declare their ambition to reach the EFL and then the Premier League. OK, it has worked so far with Wrexham who are likely to be in the Championship next season, but they are a former Football League team with a strong support base. Nene Park: no more Rushden & Diamonds reached the third tier, but once the benefactor withdrew his money, they effectively collapsed and their neat Nene Park stadium has since been demolished. AFC Fylde, formed from a merger of two non-league clubs, have an EFL standard stadium, but are currently in danger of relegation from the National League. So I am a little sceptical about developments in Bedford and I am not referring to the giant new theme park planned for near the town. In 2021 Peter McCormack, a bitcoin broadcaster and film maker, bought FC and changed its name to Real Bedford.  However, nerger talks with Bedford Town have broken down and they could be playing in the same league next...

The Welsh Football Association has offered Merthyr Town FC a deal worth up to £6m to join an expanded Cymru Premier in 2026 according to BBC Wales.  The Martyrs are the only remaining non-league club from Wales in the English football pyramid, along with Swansea City, Cardiff City, Wrexham and Newport County, who play in the EFL. The Welsh fan-owned club are flying this season and are nine points clear at the top of The Southern League Premier Division South which is at Step 3 and one Division below the National League North/South. There was also a crowd of 1,744 in attendance at their home game against second-place AFC Totton (who have 3 games in hand) at Tuesday night's 1-1 draw. The FAW say they would commit £2m towards improving the infrastructure of Merthyr's Penydarren Park home and would hope to double that figure to £4m by securing match funding from government bodies and local authorities. The FAW said it would also guarantee Merthyr an annual payment of £250,0...

BetVictor has ended its two year sponsorship deal with the Northern Premier League, Isthmian League and Southern League. The deal was worth £100,000 a year. The gambling company opted to exercise a break clause after one year because of the negative reception the sponsorship received and because some clubs did not meet its requirements. Negative stories in the national press bothered BetVictor and led them to believe that the risk to their brand exceeded the digital benefits which were their main focus. After the coronavirus outbreak it will be hard to find a replacement. Northern Premier League chairman Mark Harris commented: 'Would we looking for a betting partner again? I have to say it wouldn't be my first choice.' 'The lesson out of this is that betting is so heavily regulated and is so heavily ensconced in social attitudes - particularly through social media - my preference this time would be to go for a sponsor that isn't quite from such a heavily regu...