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Football Finance

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Up for the Cup

Submitted by WG on Sun, 21/04/2013 - 18:19

The 5.15 timing for this year's FA Cup final has provoked controversy.   Wigan Athletic fans are particularly aggrieved.  By the time the game has finished it will be too late for them to get to Euston and catch a train home.   The FA's response has been to recommend using a coach, provided by one of their sponsors, National Express.  But this could mean a return home well after midnight, not fun if you have small children with you.

Restructuring row rumbles on in Scotland

Submitted by WG on Sat, 20/04/2013 - 10:50

The row over restructuring the Scottish leagues is rumbling on with no sign of a resolution in sight. The Scottish Football League (SFL) has rejected the Scottish FA's offer of help in the row. The SFL wants to discuss all the possible options internally, which could include a breakway to join the top flight.

The Scottish Premier League's (SPL) 12-12-18 proposals were rejected on Monday after they failed to secure the necessary 11-1 majority, St. Mirren and Ross County voting against.

Most of Premiership money still goes to players

Submitted by WG on Sat, 20/04/2013 - 10:27

The annual review of Premier League finances published by The Guardian shows why the majority of clubs were prepared to back rules to rein back spending.   £1.6bn, two thirds of total income, was spent on wages in 2011-12, most of that on players.

Real Madrid overtakes Manchester United in rich list

Submitted by WG on Fri, 19/04/2013 - 06:16

Business magazine Forbes has been compiling its football rich list since 2004 and for the first time Real Madrid have knocked Manchester United off their perch at the top of the list. It is not that United have stopped growing, simply that Real have grown even faster.

Forbes value the Spanish giant at $3.3bn with Manchester United just behind on $3.17bn. Barcelona are in third place. It is evident that the two leading Spanish clubs are impervious to the troubles of the country's economy.

US Premiership deal seen as breakthrough

Submitted by WG on Thu, 18/04/2013 - 08:18

In discussion of new markets for Premiership television rights, the emphasis has been on emerging countries in Asia alongside an increasing interest in Africa where GDP per capita is growing rapidly in some countries.    Rights are now sold to more than 200 markets.

Coping with relegation

Submitted by WG on Wed, 17/04/2013 - 09:04

Despite enhanced parachute payments relegation from the Premier League is a big financial challenge for clubs, particularly if they have spent heavily in a bid to stay up.   Relegation clauses in player contracts have become more common and can benefit players as well as clubs, but they are not a sufficient answer.

Cardiff's long road back

Submitted by WG on Wed, 17/04/2013 - 08:41

When I started watching football in the early 1950s, Cardiff City seemed to be an established top flight side. In fact, when I checked back, they spent just 15 years in the top flight, finally leaving in 1962, although they are the only team outside England to have won the FA Cup.

The price of relegation from the Premiership

Submitted by WG on Tue, 16/04/2013 - 09:27

Today's Times publishes an informative survey of the finances of each club in the Barclays Premier League. Net debt figures at many clubs are high in relation to turnover. But one has to remember that many businesses operate on the basis of a platform of debt. Of course, if insecure debts are divided up, re-packaged and sold on, that is when you get the kind of problems that led to the global financial crisis.

Premier League votes for new financial rules

Submitted by WG on Fri, 12/04/2013 - 12:18

The Barclays Premier League has voted to implement new financial rules from next season. The vote was only secured after chief executive Richard Scudamore wrote to all clubs and Swansea defected from the 'Gang of Six', allowing the supporters of the move to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.

How Premier League boosts Manchester's economy

Submitted by WG on Thu, 11/04/2013 - 12:13

A new report, the first of its kind, shows that Manchester's economy is boosted by £330m a year by the presence of two Premiership clubs in the city.   It's the equivalent of hosting the Olympic Games once every four years and eight times the similar effect from football in Glasgow.