The Political Economy of Football V2

The government's gambling review has not called for a ban on betting firms advertising on football shirts. Nine of the 20 Premier League clubs in England and three in Scotland's top flight have shirts sponsored by gambling firms. Gambling on football is worth £1.4bn a year to bookmakers. Two of the firms concerned are based in China, another two in the Philippines and two more in Malta. Only one is UK based. The most lucrative contract is the £10m held by West Ham United with Malta-based Betway, followed by £9.6m at Everton for SportsPensa, based in Kenya. The FA terminated its £4m a year sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes in June one year into the four year contract. The FA admitted that there was a conflict in imposing a ban on betting on football by players and others in the game at the same time as accepting large sums of sponsorship money from a betting firm. If the Labour Party gains office, it will ban gambling adverts on all football shirts.

The following statement has been issued by the owners of Coventry City on the club's website: 'SISU Capital can confirm that it has had neither written nor verbal communication from Mr. Evans; hence,  he has not made an offer to purchase Coventry City FC. We would expect any potential purchaser to follow a professional and confidential process.  Misleading public statements are a distraction to both the Club and fans.' Dale Evans is a self-proclaimed multi-millionaire. Mr Evans claims to have made a fortune playing poker and betting. He previously told the BBC his wealth came thanks to a £10million “big win”, quickly followed by another one. Dale Evans has told the Coventry Evening Telegraph that he is a local man and an avid Sky Blues fan. He said: 'I was born in Nuneaton. I stayed eight years and then moved away with my parents. I have lived in Norwich for 20-odd years now, but I’m a lifelong Coventry City fan.'. Gary Hoffman confirmed that Dale Evans has ...

Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST) intend to vote against the reappointment as directors of John Kroenke, the son of majority shareholder Stan, and chairman Sir Chips Keswick at tomorrow's annual general meeting: Vote against directors. Given that they hold only three per cent of the shares, the vote is largely symbolic, but is a means of showing dissatisfaction with the current ownership and governance arrangements. A recent AST survey found that 90 per cent of its members were dissatisfied with 'Silent Stan's' ownership. A similar ratio want 30 per cent shareholder Alisher Usmanov to have a seat on the board. Nearly three-quarters of the fans also backed the appointment of a director of football, which Arsene Wenger has opposed while he is manager.

It's been one of the longest wrangles in contemporary football, but the efforts of Queens Park Rangers to avoid paying a £41m financial fair play (FFP) fine have reached a new stage after the club lost their latest legal challenge. However, the saga is by no means over. An arbitration panel of three QC's has dismissed the club's claim that the Football League's 2012 financial fair play rules were illegal under competition law and that the fine was disproportionate. QPR were relegated in 2015 after one season in the top flight. In 2012, the Football League's FFP rules restricted clubs to losses of £8m per year. New rules were implemented last season that allow losses of £39m over three seasons. The former rules were thought to be too draconian and the new rules harmonised them with those of the Premier League. The club announced losses of £9.8m for the 2013-14 season when they won promotion via the play offs. However, they wrote off £60m in loans as exceptional...

The 'big six' Premier League clubs have failed in their bid to get a bigger share of TV cash. Plans to hold a meeting of all 20 clubs today have been scrapped after a majority of clubs made it clear they were not going to accept any of the compromises on the table. Leading clubs had argued that they should have a bigger share of rapidly growing overseas TV revenues because of their greater popularity abroad. It had been suggested that 35 per cent of funds should be allocated according to where clubs finished in the table which would normally benefit the top clubs. Suggested compromises including only distributing the increase in income according to the new formula or capping the ratio of all TV money distributed to clubs at 1.6:1. West Ham United, Leicester City and Everton were prepared to line up with the big six as aspirants to join them, but the agreement of 14 clubs is needed to effect such a substantial change. Stoke, Swansea City and Crystal Palace are understood ...

Franchise relocations are part and parcel of most US sports, but Major League Soccer in the US has largely avoided them. However, the owner of Columbus Crew, one of the league's original franchises, has announced that the team is not meeting his 'revenue targets' and is exploring the possibility of moving the club 1,200 miles south to Austin, Texas. Fans are understandably furious, but the alternative would be for local government to stump up for a new stadium, something that does sometimes happen in the US either though the economic benefits are questionable. It should be noted that clubs joining the MLS have to pay a 'franchise fee'. Minnesota United had to stump up £114m when they joined last year. It would cheaper to move a club to Austin than setting up a new one. There is even some debate about abandoning the closed 'franchise system' and introducing promotion and relegation. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will soon rule on whether the US So...

Expectations for the upcoming auction of television rights are helping to drive interest in buying top flight football clubs. Forecasts of how much the current £5.1bn fee could rise vary from £200m to £1bn. A lot depends on whether Amazon and Facebook throw their hats in the ring and if they do so on their own behalf or in conjunction with conventional broadcasters. One club where there is uncertainty is Arsenal. Alisher Usmanov could be prepared to sell his stake. He could then put the proceeds into Everton, teaming up with his long-term business partner Farhad Moshiri. Moshiri sold his 15 per cent stake in Arsenal last year to Usmanov. Liverpool could be available for sale at the right price. John Henry is keen to put the loss-making Boston Globe newspaper on a stable footing. Bids of around £800m for Liverpool have been knocked back with the club valued by Fenway at £1.5bn. It is felt that countries are the real value investors these days. However, clubs are no longer ...