The Political Economy of Football V2

The row about Nigel Farage's visit to Ipswich Town rumbles on, although the club has said they have nothing to add to their earlier statements. On Tuesday,  The Athletic  was the first media outlet to reveal that elements of Ipswich’s account of Reform’s visit, chiefly that Reform leader Nigel Farage had not been invited to the club, had been contradicted by sources at the party. But with the controversy continuing to escalate,  The Athletic  has now revealed more details which undermine Ipswich’s account and raise further questions of the club’s handling of the affair. These include: The invitation to Farage was made by an associate of chief executive officer MarkAshton. Farage was met by a club executive and then had lunch with Ashton and Luke Werhun, the club’s COO. The club gifted the politician six ‘Farage 10’ Ipswich shirts free of charge. Members of staff, some senior, have made formal complaints to Ipswich’s human ...

I have been sceptical about the long-term viability of fan owned clubs, recent events at Exeter City seem to confirm this.   Even prosperous fans in south-west London find it difficult to provide the funds needed to compete. AFC Wimbledon are at a crossroads, squeezed by what many League One and League Two owners believe is unsustainable spending that cannot continue. The fan owners face a dilemma: invite wealthy investors with deep pockets on board, or lose pace with the spiralling costs of running an EFL club. More than 4,500 of the 7,500-plus owners turned out to vote on Monday night, opting to dilute fan ownership to 50.01 per cent — similar to the model adopted by German clubs — and freeing up shares to sell to outside investors with funds to keep the club competitive. The club have spoken to about ten potential investors, including a consortium led by their former captain Robbie Earle. Many around the club fear this vote is merely a stepping stone to relinquishing ...

The tireless Swiss Ramble has provided a forensic analysis of Bournemouth’s accounts for 2024/25 from his Zurich base.  Here are some edited highlights, but his Substack page is very good value (free trial available). Bournemouth’s results off the pitch were excellent, as they swung from a £66m pre-tax loss to a £15m profit, a significant improvement of £81m in the bottom line, mainly due to profit from player sales increasing from just £251k to £91m. Revenue rose £21m (13%) from £161m to a club record £182m, while other operating income almost doubled from £9m to £17m.   However, this was more than offset by steep growth in operating expenses, which shot up £36m (16%) from £226m to £262m. in addition, net interest payable was up from £10.6m to £13.4m. The main driver of Bournemouth’s revenue growth was broadcasting, which rose £12m (9%) from £136m to £148m. There was also a significant increase in commercial, which was up £8m (45%) from £19m to £27m, while match day was...

Football clubs are best advised to avoid identification with any one political party as their fans are likely to hold a range of views. Ipswich Town appear to have been unaware of the way in which a private tour of Portman Road by Nigel Farage might then be exploited by Reform. The club may just have been naive, but it is something of a PR disaster which has upset many Tractors fans and led to some merriment in Norwich. Of course, sport cannot be kept out of politics, but partisanship, even if inadvertent, is best avoided.

Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner has warned of the risk of financial collapse in the Championship.  Coventry, Oxford, West Brom and Charlton have all chalked up big losses.  Eisner said: ‘No club can survive for long in this system and if that continues, catastrophe will happen.’ Negotiations to secure a bigger share of Premier League revenues have made little progress with top flight clubs questioning the extent of their obligation to less successful rivals.    In most sectors of the economy stronger businesses are not expected to subsidise weaker ones.   Supermarkets do not subsidise corner shops, but the latter have their own market niche. The regulator is looking at the distorting effect of parachute payments in the Championship, but an early intervention is not anticipated. The Swiss Ramble has provided a forensic analysis of Portsmouth’s accounts for 2024/25 from his Zurich fastness and some highlights follow.   The full in depth analysis is avai...

The founder of RedBird Capital Partners, Gerry Cadinale, bought AC Milan in 2022. A year ago, when the team was trailing in the Italian league and ultimately failed to qualify for European competitions, many of the 75,000 fans at San Siro regularly chanted “Cardinale devi vendere” — Cardinale must sell. Off the pitch, plans for a new stadium kept being stalled by Italy’s notorious bureaucracy. In the media, reporters speculated that Elliott Investment Management was the real power behind the throne at the club since the US hedge fund sold AC Milan to RedBird while also lending Cardinale’s firm money to finance the purchase. He quickly notes in a lunch interview with the Financial Times that he’s already made progress. Since he took charge, AC Milan has posted three consecutive years of record profits after decades of losses — though, as in politics, fiscal responsibility rarely wins applause from fans. He thinks, everybody expects him to come in with a ton of money to buy top players...

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...