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"If you want some accessible but informative insight into football then I suggest you couldn't do better than the Political Economy of Football website, which is not only intelligible but comes with the added bonus of being written by Addicks fan Wyn Grant."
Ben Hayes - Charlton Athletic programme

Spanish Liga

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Marketing Barcelona

Submitted by WG on Sat, 17/12/2011 - 08:08

The former vice-president and general manager of Barcelona, Ferran Soriano, has written a book entitled Goal the title of which is clearly designed to appeal to football fans, but the sub-title reveals its real intended market Management Ideas from the World of Football.    Moreover, the book is published by Palgrave-Macmillan, the publishing house I primarily use, but we took The Transformation of European Football to Manchester University Press who are building up a list in the area.

Barca supremo wants to cut size of La Liga

Submitted by WG on Mon, 07/11/2011 - 19:52

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell wants to cut the size of La Liga from 20 to 16 clubs, although he is prepared to accept a transitional membership of 18.   This appears to be his price for accepting a more equal distribution of television money through collective selling.

Is the European super league back on the agenda?

Submitted by WG on Fri, 04/11/2011 - 06:23

A little while ago I noted that there was renewed interest in the idea of an Atlantic League for smaller European countries.   I have also heard a few whispers that the idea of a European Super League for top clubs is being revived.

Levante's remarkable success story

Submitted by WG on Wed, 02/11/2011 - 11:14

Until last weekend La Liga led Spain's Primera División.   That was a remarkable story in itself, although no doubt the Barcelona/Real duopoly will re-establish itself by the end of the season.   The negotiation of individual broadcasting contracts in Spain means that the top two enjoy a 10:1 ratio of television income over many clubs in the division.   The case of Spain is discussed by Borja Garcia and his colleagues in our forthcoming Manchester University Press book

La Liga sets up commission to monitor club finances

Submitted by WG on Wed, 22/06/2011 - 08:50

Top flight Spanish football clubs are plagued with debt problems.  Barcelona and Real Madrid account for €1.2bn of the €3.5bn debt, although they also ttake in half of the €600m annual television revenue.   After the top two, Valencia and Atletico Madrid are the the clubs with the most debt.

Television shake up in Spain?

Submitted by WG on Wed, 15/06/2011 - 17:49

In Spain football teams negotiate individually with broadcasters for the right to show matches.  If that was the case in England, Manchester United and Chelsea could strike their own deals and smaller top flight clubs would lose out.

Last week in Spain the satellite broadcaster Digital Plus concluded a series of football rights deals.   Digital Plus is part owned by Telecinco (T5) which is the leading television group in Spain and is controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset.

Foreign owners make continental moves

Submitted by WG on Sat, 11/06/2011 - 14:06

Until recently potential buyers of football club looked at the Premier League in England or possibly at the Championship if they thought a promising bargain was available.   Even Charlton went through a due diligence process with buyers from the Gulf.

Business, football and Real Madrid

Submitted by WG on Fri, 27/05/2011 - 19:04

Business and football are intimately linked.   In fact, they always have been.   However, today the stakes are higher and the opportunities more rewarding, not necessarily for profit but for networking that can facilitate business transactions.

Real go for the English model

Submitted by WG on Thu, 26/05/2011 - 12:27

On one level the sacking of Jorge Valdano as director-general at Real Madrid is the outcome of a power struggle with Jose Mourinho.   There were personal tensions between the two men, the special one wanted more autonomy and he has come out on top.

But it is interesting that when he announced the move club president Florentino Perez explicitly said that he wanted to move the club towards an English model. 

Blackburn fans may have had a lucky escape

Submitted by WG on Sun, 24/04/2011 - 07:38

Blackburn Rovers fans may have had a lucky escape when Ashan Ali Syed failed to pursue a bid for the club last year.   His interest faded quickly when he became aware of the scrutiny of financial disclosure rules.