"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
ITV is splitting World Cup coverage with the BBC and is hoping for a big boost to its advertising revenue. It expects advertising in June to be 15 to 20 per cent up on last year, although there is a general upward trend anyway. However, government advertising could fall after the general election so an offset from football is particularly welcome.
The Northern Premier League have signed a three-year deal with adhesive manufacturers Evo-Stik. For 16 years the competition was known as the Unibond League, a long time for one competition sponsor to stay in place. Now Unibond have been replaced by their business rivals. The deal is worth six figures per season and clubs can expect a generous increase on their existing payments. Evo-Stik are also going to invest money into facilities and community initiatives.
A football tax expert thinks that clubs have not come to terms with the full impact of the economic crisis, in particular the determination of Revenue and Customs to recoup taxation. This explains the background to the recent moves against Rangers which the club is contesting. Clubs have not taken account of the extent to which earlier payments made offshore may attract tax which will have to be paid out of current revenues. Agents in particular do not appear to have woken up to the extent
Football in India has to struggle against the popularity of cricket as a mass sport. It has been delivered a further blow with the news that one of the oldest clubs in the country, 48-year old Munbai-based Mahindra United is to close. Commercial sponsorship is being withdrawn and the club cannot survive without it.
Official Club Site: http://www.mahindraunited.com/
An out-of-court interim settlement has been reached in a dispute between BSkyB and other content providers about whether the satellite broadcaster should be required to sell on Premier League matches wholesale to other platforms. The agreement is seen as a ‘score draw’ by analysts. BSkyB agreed to stop efforts to block an Ofcom ruling on April 1 that it must sell football content, but it will continue to pursue its main legal challenge to the ruling. This could take nine months to sort out.
The Football League failed to reach a decision yesterday on a new parachute payments package offered by the Premier League and has asked for more time to consider the proposal. The Premier League is taking the line that it is a take it or leave it offer. Under the proposal, made possible by increased revenues particularly from overseas broadcasting rights, parachute payments would be extended from two to four years with relegated clubs receiving £16m in each of the first two years and £8m a year for the last two.
Yahoo! has concluded a multi-million pound deal to screen highlights of Premier League matches online from 2010 to 2013. The rights were formerly held by Virgin and Yahoo won the rights in an auction. Virgin had won the online rights from Sky and before that they were held by Vodafone.
I would have to admit that my knowledge of football in the north of Ireland is relatively limited. Attendances tend to be relatively low and many football fans follow clubs in Scotland or England or even actively support them. Clubs there have presumably never been in a position to splash out on players. It is therefore interesting that a warning has been issued to clubs there to watch their finances.
We have written quite a lot over the last few weeks about the financial dilemmas facing Scottish football clubs. This article by a Scottish football fan makes an interesting comparison between Kilmarnock and Plymouth Argyle. It also points out that Scottish players are usually available on free transfers and can double or treble their wages by moving south of the border.
Rangers FC may be unsellable after a tax probe into the payment of players through offshore accounts could nearly double the club’s debt. They could face a bill of £24m plus legal costs.