Article Taxonomy: Football Finance

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

Conference Clubs In Tax Trouble

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At least nine Conference clubs have tax bills threatening their existence. A higher number of clubs than expected from the Blue Square Premier, North and South have fallen foul of the stringent quarterly checks after the summer launch of the Financial Reporting initiative. This was set up by the Conference and the FA to monitor the returns of clubs to HM Revenue and Customs. Conference chairman Brian Lee said, ‘Part of the problem is that football is an incomparable industry.

Real Madrid Tops Money League

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Deloitte’s annual Football Money League, which analyses revenues in the 2007-8 season, shows Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona retaining their top three positions. Manchester United saw revenue increase by 21 per cent and only the depreciation of sterling against the euro prevented it from coming top. Overall attendances for the top 20 clubs are slightly up in the first four months of the season compared with the same period last year. Seven of the clubs in the top 20 are English, four are from Italy and the same number are from Germany with two each from Spain and France.

Bigger Hit For Scottish Football From Credit Crunch

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Many of those involved in Scottish football think that it will take a bigger hit from the credit crunch than the game south of the border. Charles Barnett, the author of PFK’s annual report on football club finances, thinks that with the exception of Celtic and Rangers, crowds will suffer. ‘The Old Firm have sold out their stadia through season ticket sales,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t affect them so much. It will impact more on the clubs who rely on ticket sales.’ St.

Credit Crunch Starts To Hit Matchday Revenues

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The standard assumption in the sports economics literature is that demand for tickets at top flight clubs in any sport is relatively inelastic, i.e., relatively unaffected by changes in (real) prices. That may apply in normal economic conditions, but we are now in what is probably the worst economic downturn since the 1930s and football cannot escape unscathed – although that does not mean that the most doom-laden predictions will be fulfilled. Some of the effects have been masked by the fact that season tickets were bought last summer before the economic crisis hit home.

Liverpool Could Be Forced To Sell Players

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Keith Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, and a key intermediary in football takeovers, believes that the American owners of Liverpool could be forced to sell leading players if they are unable to pay off the club’s £350m debt. Although George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks have an option to extend the 25 January deadline for repaying the loan by six months, it is far from certain that an extension will be granted.

Promoted Teams Need Careful Business Strategies

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Getting promoted to the Premiership can seem like a bonanza, but getting relegated can bring a cold dose of reality. Once the parachute payments run out, life becomes very difficult, as clubs like Leicester and Southampton have found. Recently we reported in depth on the prudent strategy being followed by Hull City. But what of the other two newly promoted teams? For Stoke City it’s a long awaited return to the top flight, but West Bromwich Albion have the reputation of being a yo-yo team.

Intermediary Says There Will Be More Gulf Sales

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Amanda Staveley has emerged as a key figure in major deals with Britain and the Gulf States, recently facilitating the purchase of a 16 per cent stake in Barclays Bank for Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. That deal follows the sheikh’s £210m purchase in September of Manchester City by means of Abu Dhabi United Group. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, still harbours hopes she can purchase Liverpool for him.

Figures Don’t Add Up At Liverpool FC

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Liverpool FC fans will be celebrating today’s victory at Chelsea. The club has had its best start to its Premiership campaign for many years. The red half of Merseyside can realistically talk about securing the Premiership title. Off the pitch, things are less rosy. Of course, what with a holding company in Delaware (the state with a reputation for business friendly rules) and a Cayman Islands tax haven link, the corporate arrangements of the current owners would not win a prize for transparency.

Chelsea Aim To Reduce Reliance On Benefactor

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Chelsea’s chief executive believes that the club will be less dependent on Roman Abramovich next year. The plan is to gradually let go of the lifeline provided by their Russian owner, although how these good intentions work out remains to be seen. However, no money will be made available in the January transfer window for big new signings unless there is a real emergency on the pitch. Plans to move away from the cramped ground at Stamford Bridge have also been put on hold, even though a larger stadium would generate more gate money on the Old Trafford model.

The Financial ‘Meltdown’ and Football

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has talked this weekend of a ‘meltdown’ in the world’s financial system which could lead to a further 20 per cent being wiped off stock exchange values. We don’t claim to be economic forecasters on this page, but one of the difficulties with statements of this kind is the so-called ‘Oedipus effect’: making the prediction increases the chances of it occurring. Some of the commentary in recent days has come from people whose agenda is the failure of the Premiership.