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Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.
Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s vice-chairman and the man who engineered their listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has sprung to the defence of the Glazers as the club’s shares continue to fall. No surprise there, but it is the content of the defence that is interesting.
Rangers FC has partially disclosed information about the backers who rescued the club. As is not unusual in modern football, they include trusts located in offshore financial havens.
The largest shareholder is Dubai businessman Arif Naqvi. The chief executive of private equity firm Abraaj Capital, he owns 4 million of the 25.5 million shares through a vehicle called Blue Pitch Holdings.
Many non-league clubs are finding the recession challenging. At my own non-league club, a spell without home games has impaired cash flow, although we do have reserves and have had some success in renting out the clubhouse.
Hinckley United, who carry the historic nickname of the Knitters, have faced financial troubles for the last two years and the preceding four months have been particularly challenging. They still need £80,000 to pay off their creditors as well as £6,000 to lift their transfer embargo.
Kidderminster Harriers have defended their £4 pies against criticism that they are the most expensive football grub in the country. However, the club argues that the ‘home baked’ cottage pies are a meal in themselves.
Leeds have the highest season ticket prices in the Championship, ranging from £462 to £752. What particularly annoys fans is that they consider that the money has not been reinvested in the team.
The recent financial troubles of Hereford United raise questions about just how much it does cost to run a club in the lower divisions, interpreted here to mean League 2 and the Conference.
Consider wages first. I have been told not that a not untypical wage in the Conference is £500 a week. Interestingly that is equivalent to the median gross (before tax) wage in the UK which was £501 a week in 2011 (and probably hasn’t changed much since then).
Football rivalry between Guernsey and Jersey is intense. This is reflected in the interest that surrounds the annual Muratti Cup competition which has not seen the island of Alderney in the final for a long time. The less populated island of Guernsey has stolen a march over its neighbour by an entering a highly successful team in the English non-league system.
Another obstacle has appeared in the protracted takeover of Leeds United by Gulf Finance House (GFH). It appears that the takeover may not be compliant with Sharia law. This could complicate delay obtaining the fatwa that is necessary for the Islamic finance house to complete the long drawn out takeover.
Norwich City have faced grave financial problems twice over the last twenty years, but their latest accounts show how their fortunes have been transformed since they have been in the Premier League. They now have every prospect of becoming debt free.
I have rarely seen as many twists and turns in the saga of a football club in trouble, but Truro City have been saved from expulsion from the Conference at the last minute. An initial 12 noon deadline was extended to 17.00 BST.