"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
Anyone who follows football is familiar with the agenda of Fifa president Sepp Blatter. He, like Michel Platini, resents the success of English clubs in the Champions League (even though both of them may deny it). He also does not like the involvement of big business in football. It is therefore no surprise that he should welcome the global financial crisis as an opportunity to return football to what he sees as its roots, although some of us are sceptical about whether the era of rule by local small businessmen who invested nothing in the team or the stadium was such a golden age.
In women’s international football (soccer) there are three important tournaments: the World Cup (current holders: Germany), the Olympics (current holders: USA) and the annual ‘Algarve Cup’ (holders: USA). This last tournament may be invitation only and carry less media coverage than the other two genuinely world events, but it has been held since 1994 and it’s final takes place in the Estádio Algarve – a 30,000 capacity ground built for the 2004 European Football Championships.
Recessions, even prolonged and deep ones, do not hit all businesses equally. Domino’s Pizza is an example of a business that has been boosted by the recession as cautious consumers substitute a takeaway for a meal out. Cinemas have also been doing good business, although attendances may have boosted by the success of particular films. The supermarkets that compete on price rather than quality or service have also been doing well. On the other hand, the motor vehicle industry has been hit hard. And estate agents, never the most popular businesses, have also taken a pounding.
Following significant falls in revenue and profits, ITV is seeking to renegotiate its contract with the Football Association. Both ITV and the cable channel Setanta, which between them have a £425m deal for live FA Cup and England internationals, are seeking to ‘share the pain’ of worsening advertising revenues. Setanta lost half of its Premiership portfolio in last month’s renewal auction and is looking to renegotiate all sorts of rights deals.
West Ham United’s Icelandic owners are hoping for a three months’ breathing space to complete the sale of the club. Talks have been held with five potential bidders, including an Asian consortium, but no firm offer has yet been made. A creditor, who is owed about £4m, has been seeking to freeze some of the assets of Bjorgolfur Gudmansson, the club’s owner. A court in Reyjkavik adjourned its decision after a hearing last Friday. The takeover process, which it is hoped can be completed by the summer, is being led by banks owed money by the club.
Non-league clubs are particularly vulnerable in the economic downturn and there has been mixed news recently for those in difficulty. Businessmen Stephen Beer has taken a 48 per cent stake in struggling Conference side Weymouth in return for the £300,000 they need to keep them going until the end of the season. Beer owns a cleaning business, a haulage company and a hotel. He criticised past ‘get rich quick’ schemes at Weymouth and made it clear that he would not provide a pot of money.
The seven figure bid by a Middle Eastern consortium for relegation threatened AFC Bournemouth is far from a done deal. Chief executive and co-ower Alastair Savenmutto has admitted that talks have slowed down. However, he commented, ‘Where they have slowed down, they slowed down as a result of legalities in concluding a deal of this magnitude. But I remain confident we can get to the finishing line.’ The situation at the club is serious with a number of the club’s staff failing to receive their wages while a number of the players’ salary cheques were not honoured by the banks.
Football is well placed to weather the recession according to Deloitte’s annual Football Money League, although clubs below Premiership level may take a bigger hit. Attendances are holding up well across European leagues, although several clubs are changing prices to ensure that their stadiums are full while others (such as Manchester City) have announced a freeze or cuts to season ticket and other prices. Lower down the leagues, clubs will suffer falling attendances, a more difficult corporate market and problems in dealing with falling revenues.
Rangers have insisted that they won’t lose out even though sponsors JJB Sports have been hit with financial problems. The club signed a £48m 10-year licensing agreement with the sportswear retailer three years ago. Rangers received £18m up front with £3m in royalties guaranteed each year, but yesterday the sportswear retailer called in KPMG to its loss-making fashion chain, Qube and Original Shoe Company.
1860 Munich, one of the Bundesliga’s founding teams, faces immediate financial problems after the club said that investors brought in to turn it around had provisionally pulled out. 1860 Munich, now playing in the second division, said its plan submitted to the German Fooball League (DFL) and which would have brought in a group of investors to bail the club out, was not approved by the DFL. The DFL said so far it had not rejected the plan but wanted to talk the club about its proposal.
One of the series as Cheap Rolex Replica Watches Daytonas popular, not only with precision timing structure, style and add more legendary race of the series popularity index. The Rolex watch with all the self-developed 4130 self-winding chronograph movement, chronograph accurate to 1/8 second. wdfreplica If you think the price is over budget, you can also purchase steel section Daytona, the shop also available from stock.
