Article Taxonomy: Football Finance

Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.

Darlo fans block return of former owner

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Darlington fans have blocked the return to the club of controversial former owner Raj Singh.  He was in charge when the club went into administration in 2012.

Darlington have made operating losses of £80,000 this season and Singh announced that he was prepared to invest £40,000 in the club.    Supporters took to social media to protest and, as a result, Singh decided to withdraw,

As a consequence of his withdrawal, and the reasons for it, a second potential investor also decided not to continue discussions.

Tranmere’s financial challenges

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Tranmere Rovers hope to win promotion to the Football League in today’s play off final at Wembley, but the club has required some investment since Mark Palios bought the club in August 2014.

Average attendances of 5,000 bring in £1 million a year in gate receipts but the playing budget is £2 million, running Prenton Park costs £1 million and their academy £400,000.   Victory today would be worth £1.5m.

The club has developed a link up with China that will mean Tranmere recruiting coaches to work with the Little London School in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.

London Stadium naming rights deal in doubt

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The proposed naming rights deal between Vodafone and the London Stadium has yet to be signed, leading to fears that HMRC’s raid on the stadium last month has led the telecoms giant to reconsider.  A draft contract of a £20m six year deal has been with the Vodafone board since the start of the month, but has not been signed off.

United do well out of Europa League

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The Europa League is seen as very much a ‘B’ list competition in both financial and prestige terms, but Manchester United have done better out of it financially this season than they did from the Champions League last season.

Profit into loss at Gillingham

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A profit of £180k at Gillingham in 2015 turned into a loss of £800,000 in the year ended May 2016.   Turnover was flat at £5.68m.

The wage bill was up 10 per cent in 2016, but is less than Ibrahimovic earns in ten weeks, illustrating the gap between the Premier League and League One.  The whole squad cost £80k and no player was signed for a fee in 2016.

A dispute with caterers Centerplate is to go to court in November 2017.   Out of court settlements have been rejected.

Juventus look good in Serie A

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Accounts for Serie A clubs for the 2015-16 season are now complete and Juventus come out on top on a number of criteria.   Data from the author of the Swiss Ramble blog.

Juventus had the highest revenues at €351m. more than €100m ahead of Roma on €234m.   The importance of Champions League success in television revenues is readily apparent.  Juventus and Roma reached the group stages and they received a total of €195m and €154m respectively.  Juventus had the highest wage bill at €221m, followed by Milan on €204m.

Financial challenges for Swansea

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Swansea City AFC may yet retain their place in the Premier League, but they face considerable financial challenges in doing so. Data provided by the author of the Swiss Ramble blog demonstrates that the main factor is a constrained revenue base with a huge reliance on broadcasting income.