Article Taxonomy: Football Finance

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

Rangers fans back season ticket boycott

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The Union of Fans, a coalition of six Rangers supporters groups, has backed a call from former Ibrox director and South African businessman Dave King to withhold season ticket money for 2014/15 until assurances are given about the club’s future. They want the club to have a sound financial structure. The money would be held in a trust fund.

Last week Rangers were forced to take out a £1.5m million loan from two major shareholders to help pay for simply existing on a daily basis. There are fears that the club could face a second spell in administration.

Uefa investigating 76 clubs under financial fair play

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UEFA is investigating 76 unidentified Champions League and Europa League clubs for potentially breaking the Financial Fair Play rules designed to curb excessive spending. Chelsea are thought not to be under investigation, but Manchester City are.

The first sanctions against clubs will be announced in April, UEFA announced today. Clubs involved in more serious cases will also be identified then, with UEFA setting a June deadline to publish verdicts ahead of the qualifying round draws for next season’s competitions.

Why buy a football club?

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With a few exceptions, notably the Glazers, one rarely buys a football club to make money.  As the old saying goes, if you want to make a small fortune, start with a large one and buy a football club.  One famous book by a footballer had a chapter headed ‘What the average owner knows about football’ and it was a blank page.  ‘The Player’ in the latest edition of Four Four Two has some interesting reflections about mistakes made by owners, arguing those who keep their distance are the best.

Uncertainty about Chairboys sale

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The identity of the prospective new owners of Wycombe Wanderers was not identified at a meeting of supporters yesterday as had been hoped. The club is currently third from bottom in League 2, although five points ahead of Torquay in the first of the relegation places.

Newcastle fan concerned about club’s direction

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A ‘concerned Newcastle fan’ has responded to our recent posting on the annual results at the football club and we are happy to post his comments which give an alternative perspective:

Threat to Financial Fair Play

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We have argued for some time that the financial fair play schemes at both Uefa and domestic competition levels are based on shaky legal foundations and were open to challenge in the courts. Sports lawyers like Daniel Geey have drawn attention to how complex the rules are and open to different interpretations which of themselves give grounds for a challenge.

Big profit at Newcastle

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Newcastle have announced a post-tax profit of £9.9m for the year ending June 2013. The figure represents an £8.5m increase in profit on the previous 12 months and, according to Newcastle, is down to “player trading, a strong commercial performance and a significant reduction in operational losses”. This is the third profitable year in a row for owner Mike Ashley.

Newcastle made a £10.6m profit on player sales, the bulk of which came from the sale of Demba Ba to Chelsea, although £28.7m was paid in transfer fees on the likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Yoan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko.

Dulwich Hamlet rescued

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Founded in 1893, London club Dulwich Hamlet were at one time a leading amateur club. They are still in the Isthmian League but the club has had financial difficulties and Hadley Property Group were officially unveiled on Saturday as the new owners of Champion Hill Stadium and Dulwich Hamlet FC Ltd.

Are Rooney wages ‘obscene’?

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‘Obscene’ is a word that has been used a great deal in the last few days to describe Wayne Rooney’s enhanced wage packet. However, although he earns in a week many times what I have earned at peak in a year, I don’t feel envious.

Footballers provide entertainment, or at least they should, which is something that I have rarely done. I would be more concerned about whether relatively mediocre players are overpaid, although admittedly there is something of a ‘cascade’ effect.

Cash flow problems as ‘tiny’ club push for league status

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Alfreton Town are currently third in the Football Conference and therefore have a chance of promotion to the Football League. The Derbyshire town has a population, counting surrounding villages, of around 25,000 and the attendance at Saturday’s game was just over 800. Table topping Luton Town can easily attract 6,000 or 7,000.