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Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.
China is a major emerging power economically and politically, perhaps destined to be the leading power in the world according to some analysts, although its per capita income is well below that of developed countries. Many people still live in relative poverty, despite the growth of the urban middle class.
Kettering Town’s debts have led them to resign from the Blue Square Bet North where they had been relegated. They will play in the Southern League Premier next season.
The club’s debts total £1.2m. Former chairman Imraan Ladak and other directors owed money have agreed to write off their loans and to leave £402,000 outstanding. Creditors will get about 10p in the pound as part of a three year company voluntary arrangement.
Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov hopes that the improving financial health of the club will increase the chances of it being sold to a new investor. Debts at the Scottish FA Cup winner are substantially down and the club has made a profit for the last two years.
A rare interview with the co-owner of Blackburn has done little to reassure fans of the club, indeed rather the contrary. Venkatesh Rao admitted that there was a ‘state of confusion’ at the club and the owners were in a state of shock.
They need to get their act together pretty quickly in preparation for the new season otherwise there is a real danger of Blackburn falling through the leagues like Bradford City as former striker Simon Garner has warned.
One of the fundamental problems with running a football club is that the stadium is an expensive capital asset which is under utilised. You can try and hire out the suites for conferences and some continental clubs have built in space for shops and businesses underneath the stand, e.g., Real Madrid, Utrecht. However, with the number of out of town stadiums growing that becomes a less feasible option. Meanwhile, the pitch stands silent and empty, being nurtured by the ground staff for the next game.
Fears that Coventry City may have to go into administration have grown after an investigation by the Coventry Evening Telegraph revealed that the first call on the club’s assets are now held by a company registered in the Cayman Islands called Arvo Master Fund Ltd.
Chelsea’s Champions League victory will mean that the three other English qualifiers for next season’s competition will earn million of pounds less. The split of Uefa television money will reflect the fact that Chelsea start in the group stages.
Manchester City will get about £9m rather than £12m, Manchester United £7.5m instead of £9 and Arsenal £4.5m not £6m.
The administrators of Rangers, Duff & Phelps, have emphatically repudiated a series of allegations about conflict of interest relating to the handling of the Ticketus deal made in a BBC documentary. They regard the allegations as defamatory and are consulting their solicitors with a view to taking legal proceedings.
York City languished in the Conference for eight years, showing what a difficult league it is to get out of. But now they have escaped in some style, winning the FA Trophy and promotion through the play offs from the Blue Square Bet Premiership.
Any survey of whether fans will renew their season tickets undertaken at this time of the year needs to come with a health warning. Many fans declare at this stage that they will not be renewing and then eventually do when the deadline approaches such is the emotional pull of the tie to their club. They are then set up for another year moaning about their team which serves as a distraction from other frustrations in their lives.