"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
I have always thought it likely that sooner or later someone would launch a legal challenge to Uefa’s financial fair play regulations. A really big club could afford such a challenge if they thought their future was at stake, but an alternative argument is that the regulations constitute an illegal entry barrier to smaller clubs. Any rules of this kind have to be compatible with EU competition law, even though the European Commission h
Duncan McHardy has asked us to post this response to some comments on his article on the Financial Fair Play Regulations:
I thought it appropriate to elaborate on the FFP Regulations (FFPR) in light of the comments that I am grateful for.
There has been a mixed reaction in the north-east to the news that defeated Labour leadership contender David Miliband may become a non-executive vice-chairman at Sunderland FC specialising in community work. Since losing the leadership to his younger brother, Ed Miliband, he has been looking for useful roles which have included teaching politics part-time at his local school. He may also undertake television work, avoiding anything that could be s
The Football Association has advertised the post of Group Finance Controller. On offer is a six figure salary plus benefits which is no doubt the going rate for a job that requires ACA qualification and considerable management expertise in an organisation with an annual turnover of £300m.
This is a special article written for us by Duncan McHardy:
In 2010 Europe’s top clubs were vehemently warned by UEFA that failure to break-even in the near future would result in exclusion from European competitions. In England we have seen the owners of Chelsea and Manchester City swap debt for shares in order to comply with the looming financial fair play (FFP) rules.
Major changes to the structure of Scottish football look almost certain to go ahead despite opposition from almost 90 per cent of Scottish fans and most of the Scottish media. There will now be two top divisions of 10 clubs each and a regional structure is likely below that level. From 2013 the bottom club in the premier division will be relegated while those finishing ei
From The Local – an English language paper in Germany:
The European football association
UEFA has apologized to FC Bayern Munich fans for banning a humorous banner telling supporters of AS Rome to “go home” in Latin during a Champions League match in September.
The recent bad weather has given momentum to the case for a winter break in English football (the Scottish case is more compelling). Managers, players and fans who have travelled to postponed matches are all creating a massive snowball of support.
In the latest example of how well run it is, Fifa’s venture into the world of fashion has ended in disaster. The business that was given exclusive rights to create a Fifa clothing brand has collapsed.
Singapore-based Global Brands Group won a seven-year exclusive deal in 2007 and permission to operate Fifa’s stores. It has now gone bankrupt with debts estimated at not far short of £100m. It is thought that Fifa is owed tens of millions of euros.
There has been a mixed reaction to the appointment of David Bernstein as new FA chairman, ahead of the apparent favourite David Dein (who seems to have trod on a few toes). The most forthright reaction came in a tweet from Alan Sugar: ‘Perfect for the F.A. he never offends anyone and allegedly never makes a decision.’