Football's Magic Money Tree

This Forum is the main messageboard to discuss all things Claret and Blue and beyond
Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:36 am

This is an interesting blog piece (from a football agent) on the illegal recruiting of underage footballers to agencies - something we have been seeing a few articles in the media about in the last few weeks

https://footballagentblog.chironsportsa ... scretions/

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:40 pm

Manchester United will have a new shirt sponsor next season, replacing the £64m a year Chevrolet deal. Significantly the value of the deal is considerably less, as the post Covid economy begins to bite, however much they try and talk it up (I make it £47m a season on current exchange rates) - from the Guardian

Manchester United sign £235m shirt sponsorship deal with TeamViewer
Five-year contract starts next season
Club believe deal is sport’s most lucrative during pandemic

Jamie Jackson
Fri 19 Mar 2021 13.27 GMT

Manchester United have announced a five-year €275m (£235m) shirt sponsorship deal with TeamViewer, which starts from next season.

The club believe the contract is the most lucrative struck during the pandemic by any sports team and a sign of their commercial resilience.

TeamViewer, a software company, will replace Chevrolet on the front of United’s shirts but the club intend to introduce a separate automobile sponsor, which will bring a new line of finance.

Discussions are under way regarding a fresh deal for United’s training kit and Carrington base, with AON the current sponsor.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:47 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:21 pm
It is not that long ago that Middlesbrough saw us as great rivals, but things have moved on some what since then as football fortune once again conspired against them. They are a very different club to us, specifically as they have an owner that appears continually willing to pour money into the club to fund losses - he has been doing that for over 30 years now. Here we see there 2019/20 financial results

Statement of Accounts
https://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/sites/ ... 019-20.pdf

Summary of Accounts
https://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/sites/ ... 019-20.pdf

@KieranMaguire has had a look to

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4585459715

It is noticeable that this is another club that is working to reduce it's transfer liabilities - while understandable in the division, this is part of a welcome trend across the game, as is the fact that the analysts are paying greater heed to that debt.
@SwissRamble looks at those Middlesbrough 2019/20financial results

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 2770132993

he has done the usual summary sheets too

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 1359023104

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:53 pm

Leicester City announce their 2019/20 Financial results - another club with huge losses (£67m)

https://www.lcfc.com/news/2071687/lcfc- ... lts-201920

full accounts can be found here

https://resources.lcfc.com/leicesterfc/ ... imited.pdf

@KieranMaguire has been having a look

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 2863780865

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:56 pm

Wolverhampton Wanders have also announce their headline 2019/20 financial results - a more contained loss of £44m

https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/club/2021 ... or-201920/

full accounts here

https://www.wolves.co.uk/media/16897/ap ... d35c85dfa7

@KieranMaguire has been looking at these too

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1208040455

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:06 pm

It is interesting to see what West Ham Managed to secure their £120m loan from MSD Holdings on

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1587267585

full details here dated 17th March 2021

West Ham United Football Club Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

WH Holding Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

West Ham Sportswear Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

West Ham United Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:18 pm

I must say I thought this had already happened - UEFA to form a business with the clubs that shares ownership of Champions League and opens up joint marketing and media rights opportunities - just so wrong as it further cements the current elite in position in perpetuity

https://twitter.com/muradahmed/status/1 ... 6974827530

this week Outline stopped being able to access articles at the Financial Times, New York Times and The Telegraph amongst others - so I can no longer share them with you - we can still access the general news elsewhere on the web but the depth and quality of the writing is no longer accessible for those that cannot afford - I am starting to think that this thread has a finite life

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:26 pm

An Interesting piece in the Guardian looking at the success of CFG's club's in Asia and the Far East and how it the group has a number of hurdles looming as those clubs grow in strength

Mumbai triumph enhances City Football Group brand but clashes loom
John Duerden
Powered by Abu Dhabi’s wealth, the Guardiola blueprint works in India and across Asia – though conflicts of interest await

Fri 19 Mar 2021 08.00 GMT

A decade ago, I sat in a high-rise Bangkok office decorated by Oasis gold discs on the wall. As well as being a massive entertainment company in Thailand, BEC Tero also owned a leading local football club and in 2005, they entered a strategic partnership with Arsenal and declared big plans, even changing the club logo to resemble that of the English team. BEC wanted to be genuine football partners but felt that Arsenal, over time, saw the relationship primarily in commercial terms. It was, they said, the way of big European clubs in Asia.

Whether those attitudes have changed or not, the approach certainly has. Mumbai City’s first Indian Super League title win last Saturday was forged partly in Manchester. While the triumph was not quite as dramatic as that Sergio Agüero moment, a 90th-minute winner that seals a come-from-behind victory and the championship title would go down well everywhere – well, across the branches of City Football Group at least.

All around Asia league officials talk of which country CFG may turn up in next – South Korea? Indonesia? Vietnam? – and fans speculate as to which club might be chosen to join a global network that started in Abu Dhabi and has Manchester at its head.

“We are a big family,” says Mumbai’s star striker Adam Le Fondre, formerly of Reading, Bolton Wanderers and Sydney FC. “We had lots of well-wishes from people within the group and a message from Pep [Guardiola]. City are the main club but the point is that everyone else does well. They are happy with our success and proud that we are flying the flag for CFG in India. We want to be as successful as Man City.”

In November 2019, the City Football Group bought a 65% stake in Mumbai City, adding it to a stable containing clubs in Manchester, New York, Melbourne, Yokohama, Montevideo, Girona, Sichuan and, subsequently, Lommel and Troyes.

Unlike in Manchester, where it took City four years under the Abu Dhabi owners to win the title, the investment in Mumbai delivered fast results. It seems CFG are getting better at running their Asian network.

Soon after buying a 20% stake in Yokohama F Marinos in 2014, staff in England realised that they had underestimated just how different Japanese football culture was. They took time to get to grips with it all. Hiring the Australian coach Ange Postecoglou in 2017 was a big step and two years later, he led Yokohama to the J-League title playing a style of football that Guardiola has called “incredible”. The approach with Mumbai – where the owners hired 17 new coaching and playing staff before the season started – has been hands-on from the get-go.

“We had weekly calls with our football support unit in Manchester and biweekly calls with Brian Marwood, who runs our global football operations,” CFG’s India CEO, Damian Willoughby, told the Indian Express. “Our colleagues in Manchester were intimately familiar with what was going on in our world. So Sergio and his staff were comfortable asking for advice and discussing football-related issues.”

“Sergio” is Sergio Lobera, the head coach who was an assistant to Tito Vilanova at Barcelona. Le Fondre says the hiring of a Guardiola disciple was no accident. “The coach emphasises that we want to play the way City play, 100%. He would say that he was heavily influenced by Pep. A lot of people here were influenced by Barcelona.”

Just like global fast food franchises can offer familiar and comfortable food for travellers, CFG’s presence can be pivotal for players contemplating a change. “It was prominent in my thinking,” says Le Fondre. “Especially as I was going to a foreign country where the level is not seen as very high. I felt that if I went to the City Group they would be more professional, have the best coach, the best facilities and everything I needed as a footballer. They have also said that when I finish playing football that they will help me in whatever pathway I choose, coaching or something else.”

Will CFG’s involvement in Mumbai help Indian football? It has been largely welcomed so far, though with fans absent from stadiums this season it can be hard to tell. There has not been much outside investment in the sport and being part of a global network is seen as exciting. Football is growing in popularity, especially among the urban middle classes – though Mumbai has never been one of the country’s football hotspots. If CFG can help to change that, it would be another step forward for Indian football.

The test for CFG will be when interests clash. There is a realistic chance that Melbourne, Mumbai and Yokohama, as well as Sheikh Mansour’s original Abu Dhabi team, Al-Jazira, could all meet in the 2022 AFC Champions League. Fans can be sensitive if other clubs are perceived to be more important. In 2014, Melbourne City supporters didn’t like it when the Spanish striker David Villa left for New York City after just four games in Australia. Another complaint in Asia is that big European clubs are happy to send famous old names to run a few coaching sessions but don’t trust their Asian counterparts enough to send their young prospects for a season or two.

If Manchester City did so it would be well received – but what would really make headlines is a player going the other way. “The dream is to have Indian players go to Manchester,” said Le Fondre. “In Indian football, the next 5-10 years will be crucial. There will be a young player who comes out of India who will be a star. That will be a big deal.”

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:47 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Thu Mar 18, 2021 11:02 pm
You seen the new NFL TV deal set to start from 2023?
Over $100 billion for 10yrs :shock:
More on that NFL deal - Amazon get Thursday nights taking the total to $113m and overall 80% uplift for the NFL that sees all parties able to plan for the coming decade - that is the significant element, certainty.

this article from the Associated Press makes a big deal of the NFL's ability to pick it's moment with technology shifts, though it should be noted that this series of deals allows viewers of all media platforms to see games. Will the Premier League take note - I suspect in the next cycle there could be a limited package of say 10 games in the season for terrestrial broadcast on a Sunday night even with last pick of the weekend fixtures. This would be as a result of the audience numbers that the BBC has generated

https://apnews.com/article/amazon-gets- ... 5560c91da4

Amazon gets Thursday night games, NFL nearly doubles TV deal
By JOE REEDY
yesterday

Much like they did with cable in the 1980s and satellite television in the 1990s, the NFL on Thursday made another significant transition in the way its games are viewed.

The league’s new rights agreements, worth $113 billion over the 11 seasons of the new deals that begin in 2023, include a streaming service receiving an exclusive full season package for the first time when Amazon Prime Video will be the home of 15 “Thursday Night Football” games.

“This is a seminal moment for the distribution of our content,” commissioner Roger Goodell said. “These deals remind me of back in the ’60s, how NFL content and games were a big part of the broadcast TV growth, and then going into the ’80s, with our first commitment to cable television, and then the ’90s with our commitment to satellite television and our Sunday Ticket package. I’m sure we’re going to look back on these deals the same way that we did back in the 1980s.

“This provides our fans with greater access. We want to provide our games on more platforms than ever before.”

The new contracts also mean the NFL will nearly double its media revenue to more than $10 billion a season. The league took in $5.9 billion a year in its current contracts.

The total of $113 billion is an increase of 80% over the previous such period, a person with direct knowledge of the contracts told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the money figures were not made public.

Amazon has partnered with the league to stream 11 Thursday night games since 2017, but it will take over the entire package from Fox, which has had it since 2018. Amazon streamed a Week 16 Saturday game between the 49ers and Cardinals last year that was seen by an estimated 11.2 million total viewers and had an average minute audience of 4.8 million. That was the largest audience to stream an NFL game.

“Over the last five years we have started the migration to streaming. This is another large step in this direction,” said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, chairman of the league’s media committee. “Our fans want this option and understand streaming is the future. We have created a unique hybrid of viewing options and streaming. This should provide a smooth transition to the future of content distribution.”

Marie Donoghue, Amazon’s vice president of global sports video, said the next couple seasons will be used to test certain things.

“Our relationship with the NFL has been a process. It is incredible trust the league has put in us which is largely based on our track record with them,” she said. “It is a game changer for us. We are really excited for the innovative technologies and ways to serve fans.”

Games on Amazon will also be carried on over-the-air broadcast stations in the cities of the participating teams, also the case with games aired on ESPN and NFL Network.

ABC gets back in the Super Bowl rotation with two games over the 11 seasons. ESPN gets some flexibility in its schedule on Monday nights, with the NFL agreeing to potentially move as many as five games from Sunday, and will have three doubleheaders, up from one.

The contract also expands digital rights for the other networks as well. ESPN+ will air one of the London games and NBC’s “Peacock” platform will also have one exclusive game per season for six years beginning in 2023.

Games will continue to air on CBS, Fox, NBC as well as ESPN/ABC. ESPN’s deal was scheduled to end after 2021, while the others expired a year later, but ESPN will have a bridge deal for 2022.

Full Coverage: NFL
The new deals kick in with the 2023 season and expire after the 2033 schedule. The league was able to get a sizable increase despite ratings for regular-season games decreasing by 7% after two years of growth. The declines have been largely attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and a presidential election.

Even with declines, regular-season games last year averaged 15.6 million television and digital viewers, according to the league and Nielsen.

Here are other key points of the new contract:

INCREASED REVENUE: With the hefty new contracts the 32 NFL teams and their players can look forward to increased salary caps throughout the decade. The cap decreased by nearly $16 million this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The broadcast partners also figure to get an extra game per season, likely beginning this year. NFL owners are getting ready to implement a 17-game regular season. Goodell said discussions about the new schedule will be conducted during the owners meetings later this month with an announcement expected within the next three weeks.

The media deals have wrapped up a hectic 12 months for the league, which included completing a new labor agreement and having no games canceled in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

BIG WINNER: Without a doubt it is ESPN and ABC. Not only does ABC return to the Super Bowl rotation for the first time since the 2005 season, but it finally gets those flex scheduling options for “Monday Night Football”. That was a right only previously given to NBC when flex scheduling was introduced in 2006. ESPN’s flex option will start in Week 12 and can be done on 12 days notice.

There will also be three weeks of multiple games, including two on Saturday in the final week of the regular season with playoff implications for the first time, and a divisional round playoff game to go with their wild-card weekend contest. The two Saturday games will begin this year as part of the bridge agreement.

While the other networks saw their rights fees double, Disney’s increase came to 35%. It will still pay the most though as its contract averages $2.7 billion per season.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON STABILITY: Fox will remain the primary network for the NFC while CBS will have the AFC. Eric Shanks and Sean McManus, chairmen of the respective networks, said it was important to retain those unique identities.

Fox will average $2.25 billion a year and CBS’ rights fees come to $2.1 billion. Both networks also have provisions for their streaming services: Tubi for Fox and CBS’ Paramount+.

QUITE A COMBINATION: NBC’s next four Super Bowls, beginning with next year’s game in Los Angeles, will also come during the Winter Olympics, which was important to the network. “Sunday Night Football” has been the top-rated prime-time program since 2011.

NBC also retains the opening Thursday night NFL Kickoff game as well as a Thanksgiving night game and flex scheduling beginning in Week 5.

MORE ALTERNATE BROADCASTS: After the success of CBS doing a kids-friendly broadcast on Nickelodeon, and ESPN’s MegaCast during the NFL playoffs, there will be an increase in alternate presentations. The networks will also have greater flexibility to use stats and integrated social feeds on their digital presentations. Amazon experimented with on-demand highlights and increased use of Next Gen stats during Thursday night games last season.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:58 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:18 pm
I must say I thought this had already happened - UEFA to form a business with the clubs that shares ownership of Champions League and opens up joint marketing and media rights opportunities - just so wrong as it further cements the current elite in position in perpetuity

https://twitter.com/muradahmed/status/1 ... 6974827530

this week Outline stopped being able to access articles at the Financial Times, New York Times and The Telegraph amongst others - so I can no longer share them with you - we can still access the general news elsewhere on the web but the depth and quality of the writing is no longer accessible for those that cannot afford - I am starting to think that this thread has a finite life
I said the story would be available elsewhere - SportsProMedia and that tale of a joint venture between Europe's biggest club's and UEFA

Report: Uefa and ECA in ‘advanced talks’ over Champions League joint venture
European soccer bodies could create new vehicle for commercial rights sales, reports the FT.

Posted: March 19 2021 By: Michael Long

- Joint entity would manage media and sponsorship rights for Uefa’s top club competitions
- Proposal would give ECA clubs greater say in commercial decisions and more freedom with rights
- FT reports that a potential new streaming service and private equity investment are also being discussed

Uefa is reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ to create a joint venture with the European Club Association (ECA) that would see the continent’s elite soccer sides given greater control over the media and sponsorship rights related to the governing body’s top club competitions.

According to a report by the Financial Times (FT), the move would coincide with a mooted revamp of the Uefa Champions League that will see the creation of more matches between Europe’s top teams from 2024.

Last month, Uefa and other soccer bodies in Europe discussed proposals for a new-look Champions League that could see the competition expand to 36 clubs, with the number of matches per season rising from 125 to 225.

The revamped format is part of an effort to head off the threat of a breakaway European super league, which is said to have the support of some clubs, including Spanish giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

Citing ‘people briefed on the talks’, the FT reports that the joint venture would manage and market rights to the second-tier Europa League as well as the Champions League, which is Uefa’s biggest money-spinner.

Uefa currently has the final say over the commercial rights to all of its club competitions, although the ECA advises the body through a company called UCC SA, which was formed in 2017.

According to the FT, that company could be restructured as part of the new proposals, or an entirely new entity could be created in which the ECA, whose chairman is Juventus boss Andrea Agnelli, would have an equal say.

Rights packages could also be reworked to give clubs greater control over content distribution and the ability to display their own sponsors within stadiums more prominently during continental matches.

The FT adds that ‘even more radical changes’ could also be introduced, such as the development of a dedicated streaming service or allowing private equity funds to invest in the competitions.

The ECA, a 246-member body that represents Europe’s elite clubs, has been pushing for a greater say in the governance of the continental game for some time. Currently, Uefa distributes €3.25 billion to participating clubs each year in the form of prize money and revenue from commercial rights deals.

Speaking to SportsPro earlier this year, ECA chief executive Charlie Marshall said: “The one thing that Covid has clearly done is reinforced the message that the clubs are the key economic actors in the industry and, therefore, they should be in more of a position to make the decisions on the basis of which the industry operates.

“The ECA’s view is that there needs to be balance. There are many stakeholders in the industry, and they all make up what is a very, very vibrant industry, the world’s number one sport. What Covid has definitely shown is that clubs need and can be delivered - if we continue to do our work - more of a say in how those decisions are made.”

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:14 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:54 pm
Belgian giants, Club Brugge have announced that they are to take a stock market listing - and hope to develop a 40k stadium - The surprising (and useful) thing about this thread is the number of European clubs that already have a stock market listing, a few may surprise you

https://twitter.com/Football_BM/status/ ... 0076283905
Club Brugge's IPO is likely to value them at 230m Euro or something around that of Burnley, this is a club with regular European football, the recent news of the BeNeLiga could boost interest - from SportsProMedia

Club Brugge’s IPO values Belgian champions at €229m
Pro League club set to debut on Euronext Brussels later this month.

Posted: March 18 2021 By: Ed Dixon

- Club Brugge plan to sell at least 30% of shares
- Move to help fund new €100m stadium

Belgian soccer champions Club Brugge are set to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in a deal that could value the club at €229 million (US$273 million).

Reports first emerged in February that Club Brugge planned to go public, a move that would make them the first Belgian soccer team to be listed on a public stock exchange.

Now, the club’s IPO on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange is set to go ahead on or around 26th March. According to a prospectus, Club Brugge president and majority shareholder Bart Verhaeghe will sell at least 30 per cent of the Belgian Pro League outfit. Verhaeghe is looking to sell shares at between €17.50 (US$20.90) and €22.50 (US$26.87 ) each.

Verhaeghe will continue as Club Brugge’s largest shareholder and president, a role he has held since 2011.

Club Brugge will join European soccer heavyweights such as Manchester United, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, as well as Dutch champions Ajax, in having shares listed in public markets.

The IPO will partly help fund Club Brugge’s new 40,000-seater stadium, plans for which were announced in January 2020. The new venue, which will replace the Jan Breydel Stadium, is set to cost €100 million (US$119 million).

For the 2019/20 financial year, Club Brugge posted a record turnover of €137 million (US$163 million) and a net profit of €24.5 million (US$29.2 million).

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:37 pm

there is actual a lot of sound content in this but it can read like propaganda - there have been a few such pieces coming out in the last week or so about the state of Chinese football - this from SportsProMedia

Opinion | Why Chinese soccer has to die before it can really learn to live
Shenzhen-based sports and entertainment entrepreneur Greg Turner explains why the appearance of trouble at the top of Chinese soccer should not be mistaken for deep-rooted issues in the foundations.

By Greg Turner Posted: March 18 2021

At first look, recent news regarding China’s soccer industry doesn’t bode well for the sport in the Middle Kingdom and its well publicised soccer reform effort.

Suning.com, the last big investor in the international game, recently shut down its Chinese Super League (CSL) team. This is in spite of the team claiming the league championship last year. PP Sports, also owned by Suning, has run into issues with its various media rights deals from football leagues around the world, and most notably is still dealing with the legal fallout of the collapse of its deal with English soccer's Premier League. Finally, word is out that Suning-owned Inter Milan may be up for sale, or at least on the look out for additional investors to help Suning reduce its liability.

This news, combined with similar stories since the reform effort began and together with what can only be summarised as a checkered history for the sport in China, has led some to suggest that once again the state just cannot get out of its own way in reforming the sport.

However, a deeper look at how policy has developed since the start of the reform and where progress has been made in developing the sport shows that in spite of the misplaced initial euphoria that drove the massive Chinese investment into the elite levels of the game, the actual reform work has focused in large part on the grassroots and school levels to a degree never seen before in the country.

Kicked off with great fanfare by Xi Jinping back in 2014, the reform was meant to be the mechanism that will raise Chinese soccer up to the level of the world’s leading nations. It was also the route to finally realise Xi’s own dream of China hosting a Fifa World Cup.

But reforming something with as many entrenched interests as soccer in China isn’t going to be done overnight. Xi himself acknowledged the challenge the state's soccer push faced in a speech back in 2015, saying: “The success [with soccer] does not have to be during my time. It takes a long time to work, so continue to work hard, start from the basics, from the grassroots, and from the mass participation.”

That message seems to have made an impression.

Leading the reform, the State Council released a number of guiding policy documents in 2015 and 2016. The documents set a variety of different directives including reforming the Chinese Foootball Association (CFA) and the professional leagues, improving campus and community soccer and increasing the number of facilities available to players, teams and clubs at all levels of the sport.

And there has been notable reforms accomplished since 2014:

- The CFA has achieved its greatest degree of independence from the government ever and has a new leadership group with the political heft and professional experience to drive real change
- The CSL now has financial control systems to ensure it runs in a more responsible and sustainable way
- There are now more than 70,000 soccer pitches in China, raising the ratio of fields to people from 0.08 fields to 0.5 fields for every 10,000 people
- More than 24,000 designated ‘soccer schools’ have been established across the country

In fact, if you look at the short-term goals laid out by the policy documents there’s been substantial progress made on all of them. Now, as the reform enters its next phase, the foundations supporting grassroots and campus soccer are stronger than ever.

This is not to say there has not been missteps or that we should not expect more growing pains.

Anyone familiar with getting things done in China knows that every step can be a challenge. Issues that seem settled today can flair up tomorrow without warning. Dealing with nationwide reform is especially daunting. Local leaders and politically connected interest groups can quickly derail the best laid plans.

However, policy continues to evolve and build on the successes achieved so far. Importantly, the reform is opening more doors for private industry to get involved. Just recently, the General Administration of Sport released the 'Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Opening and Operation and Management of Social Football Venues'. This document essentially requires those 70,000 fields remain available for community use and encourages local governments to employ private operators for long term stability and growth.

While the current issues facing Suning.com with its soccer investments may seem unsettling for the future of the sport in China, in actuality it may reflect a final last gasp of the traditional 'business as usual'.

Instead, the smart money will increasingly be following the government reform efforts. While it may lack the headline appeal of the world’s top professional leagues and players, China’s real soccer future will be found on those 70,000 pitches - with a target for that to grow to 140,000 by 2030 - and the players, teams and clubs who cultivate their love of the sport there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Turner has successfully led increasingly complex organisations in building, financing and presenting live experiences. Based in China since 2000, he has previously held senior leadership positions in both the live event and venue management industries. He has dealt extensively with various level of Chinese government and has vast experience working in first to fourth tier Chinese cities.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:43 pm

Not sure how this will go down in French Football - a company related to Mediapro Cheif Exec Jaume Roures has provided a slice of the finance that helped Joan Laporta take charge of Barcelona on Wednesday - remember there were challenges in raising the necessary financial liability guarantees - from SportsBusiness.com

Mediapro chief Roures says Laporta guarantee ‘neither loan nor donation’
Ben Cronin, Europe Editor, March 19, 2021

Mediapro chief executive Jaume Roures has issued a statement distancing himself from a financial guarantee provided to Joan Laporta following his recent election as FC Barcelona president.

Spanish publication Expansión reported on Wednesday the media mogul had provided €30m ($36m) of the €125m figure, equivalent to 15 per cent of the club’s budget, that new presidents are required to present within 10 days of being elected. This must also be ratified by LaLiga, or the club would have to hold a new election process.

Although this was not against any rules, the revelation led to accusations of a conflict of interest, given Mediapro holds the international media distribution rights to the Spanish league and handles its VAR reviews.

However, in the statement, Roures said today (Friday): “I have not provided any personal endorsement, nor have I paid anyone any amounts.

“A company I have personal ties with, Orpheus Media, SL, and which is completely separate from Mediapro, guaranteed a credit facility Banco de Sabadell SA established with the members of the Board of Directors of FCB. This guarantee is only valid for some months. It is therefore, neither a loan, nor a donation of any kind.

“Orpheus Media, SL has neither sought, nor requested consideration whatsoever from the members of the Board of Directors of FCB, other than the reimbursement of costs associated with the guarantee at the end of its period of validity. As such, it is not a question of a commercial transaction or gaining control over the club, or involvement in the Board.”

Roures added that his primary motive was to ensure avoidance of elections having to take place for the club presidency again.

“This collaboration was made to supplement the amount of the guarantee required by the LFP and with the sole purpose of averting the repetition of elections at FCB, an eventuality which would have been particularly damaging to FCB and ultimately, for club members as a whole, as it would have plunged the club into a crisis, the proportions of which are difficult to gauge,” he added.

“Presenting the guarantee ensures the election results are honoured, as the highest expression of FCB members in democratically choosing their president and Board of Directors.”

Earlier in the week it was revealed the Mediapro agency is looking to restructure its debt and has applied for state aid as it seeks to secure its future in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The firm has turned to the Rothschild & Co financial advisory group and ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm KPMG to lead the restructure and has also reached out to shareholders and venture capital groups to inject resources, according to a report by Spanish publication Palco23.

Additionally, the agency is negotiating with Spain’s state-owned industrial holding company the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (Sepi) for solvency support.

The agency has had a number of high-profile disappointments in the last 12 months in its media-rights arm, including the collapse of its media-rights deal with the French Professional Football League and the recent default of Brazilian basic-tier broadcaster TV Walter Abrahão for rights to a handful of South American nations’ 2022 World Cup qualifying matches.
Last edited by Chester Perry on Fri Mar 19, 2021 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:58 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:36 pm
We know that Newcastle are to go to arbitration with the Premier League (at the invitation of the Premier League) over the failed Saudi bid, this is a n interesting twist to it - Newcastle United have failed in a High Court bid to change the chair of that Arbitration panel

https://twitter.com/tariqpanja/status/1 ... 0480525312

with Teeside not Newcastle/Gateshead winning one of the 8 freeports just announced you wonder whether the Saudi's would still be interested anyhow
This is an interesting article on that Newcastle judgement re the chair of the Arbitration panel - bit os a legal rarity it seems from Littleton Chambers

https://littletonchambers.com/articles- ... rbitrator/

Rare public judgment on s.24 application for removal of arbitrator
16.03.21

Commentary by Charlotte Davies

The Commercial Court (HHJ Pelling QC) recently handed down judgment in the case of Newcastle United Football Company Limited v (1) The Football Association Premier League Limited (2) Michael Beloff QC (3) Lord Neuberger (4) Lord Dyson [2021] EWHC 349 (Comm).

In rejecting Newcastle United’s attempt to remove an arbitrator on grounds of apparent bias under s.24 Arbitration Act 1996, this rare public judgment provides helpful guidance on the legal principles and approach to be applied in such cases.

The background

The underlying arbitration arose in relation to Newcastle’s plan to sell their shares in The Football Association Premier League Limited (the “PLL”) to a company ultimately owned by a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. There was a dispute between Newcastle and the PLL as to whether that fund is controlled by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. If so, there may be an issue as to whether the PLL was required to refuse to agree a change of control or appointment of a director under the relevant section of PLL’s Rules.

On 12 June 2020 PLL issued a decision letter concluding that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would become a director of Newcastle pursuant to the PLL Rules because of the control it would exercise over the company owned by the sovereign wealth fund. No decision was made on whether the Kingdom would be disqualified from being a director or whether PLL would refuse to agree the proposed change of control.

Newcastle disputed PLL’s conclusion, and the lawfulness of the process by which it was arrived at by PLL, and referred the matter for arbitration as a ‘Board Dispute’ in accordance with PLL’s Rules.

Following the appointment by each party of their nominated arbitrators, they each agreed to the appointment of Mr Beloff QC as the chair of the tribunal. Mr Beloff QC certified that there were no circumstances which existed to give rise to justifiable doubts as to his impartiality in the role of chair.

Newcastle was subsequently informed by PLL’s solicitors that in the past three years it had been involved in 12 arbitral proceedings in which Mr Beloff QC had been an arbitrator, although he had only been appointed by PLL’s solicitors in three of those, two of which appointments were made after Mr Beloff QC had been appointed in the present arbitration between Newcastle and the PLL. PLL’s solicitors also informed Newcastle that Mr Beloff QC had advised PLL on four separate occasions all in excess of two years before his appointment in the present arbitration, including in March 2017 when he provide advice in respect of a particular section of PLL’s Rules.

Newcastle said it would not have agreed to Mr Beloff’s appointment had it known of these matters and asked him to recuse himself, which he declined to do. It stated it would make an application for his removal under s.24 AA 1996. Mr Beloff QC then entered an exchange of emails with PLL’s solicitors, in which Newcastle was not copied, regarding the request for his recusal and issues of privilege in respect of the March 2017 advice he had provided to PLL. This email exchange was disclosed to Newcastle the following day, and Newcastle relied on it as another ground in its s.24 application.

Legal principles and approach

HHJ Pelling QC starts his judgment by confirming that the test applicable to an allegation of apparent bias under s.24 AA 1996 is the same as that which applies at common law to judges sitting in courts and tribunals: see Halliburton Co v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48. The applicable test is the familiar one identified in Porter v Magill [2002] 2 AC 357 of whether the fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal was biased. This is an objective test.

In terms of an arbitrator’s duty to disclose matters to a party, he held this applied to anything that could arguably lead a fair minded and informed observer to conclude there was a real possibility of bias. This applies to a potentially wider group of circumstances that might ultimately justify recusal, because parties need such disclosure to decide whether or not to challenge an appointment.

He agreed with Newcastle that, in deciding the s.24 application, he should consider the cumulative effect of the four separate factors relied upon, those being: (1) Mr Beloff QC had given PLL advice in 2017 in respect of PLL’s Rules; (2) Mr Beloff QC’s other appointments as an arbitrator by PLL’s solicitors; (3) his failure to disclose these matters to Newcastle; and (4) the private email exchange between him and PLL’s solicitors.

Decision

HHJ Pelling QC comprehensively rejected Newcastle’s arguments for removal of Mr Beloff QC. In respect of the points relied upon by Newcastle he held that:
  • The March 2017 advice Mr Beloff QC had provided to PLL did not relate to the issue in dispute in the current proceedings, and it was fanciful to suggest there would be overlap. Both Mr Beloff QC and PLL’s solicitor had confirmed that he had not, when providing that advice, considered the particular rules relevant to the current proceedings. Unless it was found they were lying, this was an end to any suggestion of apparent bias arising due to the March 2017 advice.
  • Mr Beloff QC’s other appointments as an arbitrator in proceedings involving PLL’s solicitors would not lead a fair-minded and informed observer to conclude there was a real possibility of bias either due to the appointments or his failure to disclose them. None of those appointments had been by PLL, nor did they concern matters related to the current proceedings. The non-disclosure was consistent with the International Bar Association Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration. There was no dispute that Mr Beloff QC was not financially dependent on work from PLL or its solicitors.
  • With regard to disclosure of these matters, it was important that Mr Beloff QC had not been appointed by PLL but by the parties’ chosen arbitrators. This appointment was more than three years after the March 2017 advice, and there was no continuing relationship between Mr Beloff QC and PLL (with his last instruction by PLL being on an unrelated issue and completed in July 2018). In the circumstances of this case the non-disclosure did not give rise to an inference of that there was a real possibility of bias.
  • The majority of the private email exchange between Mr Beloff QC and PLL’s solicitors was uncontroversial and concerned with permission for Mr Beloff QC to explain what was covered in the March 2017 advice. These did not need to be copied to Newcastle and doing so might have resulted in a breach of confidence. However, HHJ Pelling QC described the private email from Mr Beloff QC asking PLL’s solicitors about their client’s position on whether he should recuse himself as “an error of judgment [which] ought not have occurred”. He should not have been communicating with one party alone in relation to this issue and there was a risk it would appear as though Mr Beloff QC was willing to be guided on the recusal question by PLL. However, ultimately HHJ Pelling QC decided that, despite the error of judgment, the Porter v Magill test was not met because, bearing in mind Mr Beloff QC’s reputation (which was a relevant factor), there was no evidence of a real risk of bias.
Considering the cumulative effect, HHJ Pelling QC concluded that in this case “the weight of the whole does not exceed the sum of its parts” and even viewed cumulatively there would be no real risk of bias in the eyes of a fair minded and informed observer.

As a result, Newcastle’s s.24 application was dismissed.

Private hearing?

HHJ Pelling QC also considered whether the s.24 application should be heard in public or private. He held that although CPR r.62.10 confers a discretion to hear an arbitration claim in public, the default position is that such hearings will be in private. If necessary, the judgment can be published in an anonymised or redacted form (see his separate judgment on this at [2021] EWHC 450 (Comm)).

Conclusion

This judgment serves as a reminder of the legal principles that apply, and of the fact it can be a difficult task to show apparent bias on a s.24 application under the relevant Porter v Magill test.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:11 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:40 pm
Manchester United will have a new shirt sponsor next season, replacing the £64m a year Chevrolet deal. Significantly the value of the deal is considerably less, as the post Covid economy begins to bite, however much they try and talk it up (I make it £47m a season on current exchange rates) - from the Guardian

Manchester United sign £235m shirt sponsorship deal with TeamViewer
Five-year contract starts next season
Club believe deal is sport’s most lucrative during pandemic

Jamie Jackson
Fri 19 Mar 2021 13.27 GMT

Manchester United have announced a five-year €275m (£235m) shirt sponsorship deal with TeamViewer, which starts from next season.

The club believe the contract is the most lucrative struck during the pandemic by any sports team and a sign of their commercial resilience.

TeamViewer, a software company, will replace Chevrolet on the front of United’s shirts but the club intend to introduce a separate automobile sponsor, which will bring a new line of finance.

Discussions are under way regarding a fresh deal for United’s training kit and Carrington base, with AON the current sponsor.
This is an interesting take on that new United shirt deal - particular the new market reach of the advertiser and the opening of an Automotive partner deal created by the exit of Chevrolet - as ever there is always much much more to consider than the face value of the like for like swap

https://twitter.com/DrRob_Wilson/status ... 7409165314

EDIT
Then we also have this from Simon Chadwick on some of the areas that Manchester United and TeamViewer may link up, no surprise about the China link, even though it is a German business. There are a fair few German fans not happy that this money is going to united rather than a German club, that in itself suggests the market place and planned tie-ups

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 6895393798

EDIT not everyone is convinced by Manchester United's new sponsor though, or that a new automotive partner will cover the the total lost revenue

https://twitter.com/tariqpanja/status/1 ... 4869535744
Last edited by Chester Perry on Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:17 am, edited 2 times in total.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:49 pm

Episode 10 of the Bundle Pdcast from Unofficial Partner looking at sports media rights and in this episode that bumper new set of domestic deals for the NFL

https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podca ... -bundle-10

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Fri Mar 19, 2021 7:49 pm

It would seem that the Premier League is going to be subject to the block chain fan token nonsense again following an announcement from Manchester City today - The FSA are not quite rightly not happy

https://twitter.com/WeAreTheFSA/status/ ... 7088124929

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:09 am

This is a pretty bleak if realistic outlook of football post Covid, particularly the warning that the new Europa Conference League is likely to be fertile ground for match-fixers - from WorldSoccer.com

Special Report: Life after COVID
March 19, 2021

- Steve Menary examines how European football’s financial landscape may look after the pandemic
- As European football looks to emerge from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, a growing financial gap is accelerating the game’s financial powerhouse with worrying consequences.

At the top, big clubs are suffering but remain in relatively reasonable health. Revenues at the champions of Spain, Germany, England, France, Italy and Portugal have all shrunk. Porto’s revenue collapsed by 50 per cent according to the 2021 version of The European Champions Report by KPMG, but the fall was only eight per cent at Real Madrid.

Real brought in income of €681.2m in the 2019-20 season, and even made a profit after winning La Liga for a 34th time, as did Champions League winners Bayern Munich.

Supported by major television deals, the continent’s elite are relatively safe and attractive to investors – investors such as ALK Capital, who recently bought out English Premier League side Burnley – but take away that income and the consequences can be devastating.

When an unprecedented TV rights deal for Ligue 1 clubs in France worth more than €1.15bn per year collapsed at the end of last year, Rennes predicted annual losses of €40m as a consequence.

Outside of these main leagues, TV revenue is less valuable. What matters, and what is hurting clubs the most, is keeping fans outside of stadia. Matchday income comprised just 13 per cent of total Premier League revenue in 2018-19, but in neighbouring Scotland it was worth 47 per cent, according to research by Deloitte.

Even further down the European football ladder, the gap is almost incredible. In 2018, total TV revenue at the 400 clubs outside the top 20 leagues was less than a quarter of an average Premier League club according to UEFA. The value of TV rights for small clubs in small leagues is unlikely to have gone up.

Player trading has joined gate money and broadcast income as a vital source of income recently. Clubs that not so long ago challenged and won European titles are now part of a supply chain for mega-clubs with transnational followings like Real and Bayern.

Over the last five years, Benfica, Ajax, Porto, RB Salzburg and Sporting – winners of eight European Cups between them – made a profit of £1.4bn in developing and selling on major players such as Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech, according to research by The Daily Mail.

In mid-sized European leagues, club-trained players are now three times more likely to make their debut, according to a study by the CIES Football Observatory. Players making their debut in Slovakia’s Super Liga, for example, are the youngest in Europe’s main leagues at an average age of 23.58 years.

MSK Zilina has more players in Slovak youth teams than any other Slovak club and after developing these players, sells them on – such as Robert Bozenik to Dutch side Feyenoord for €4.6m.

Dr. Raffaele Poli from the CIES Football Observatory sees the crisis posed by the pandemic as an opportunity for well-run smaller clubs but warns: “Some clubs will need to go part-time.”

Part-time clubs will be less able to develop players, and to sustain the player-trading model clubs need buyers. But spending on players is shrinking.

In the summer of 2020, the English Premier League was the biggest spender with £1.26bn spent on players such as Kai Havertz, a £72m signing for Chelsea, but this total was £350m lower than the previous year according to data from website transfermarkt.

Barcelona acquired Miralem Pjanic from Juventus for £54m, although pulled off some creative accounting by sending Arthur the other way, while rivals Real did not spend for the first time in 40 years. Even in the Belgian Jupiler League, spending was down around £100m on the summer of 2019 to £54.5m. That figure made Belgian clubs the ninth biggest spenders in Europe, while spending at the tenth-placed Turkish Super Lig shrank 56 per cent to just £29.2m.

This threatens one of the few post-pandemic sources of hope for smaller clubs, who need money to invest in facilities and coaching. Benfica and Ajax spend up to £10m a year on academies, coaches and scouts and, for now, are easily recouping that investment.

Zilina’s rivals FC DAC 1904 spent €14m on a new training centre after getting €7.4m from Hungary’s government, which supports Hungarian speaking areas outside its national borders, such as Dunajska Streda. Other clubs are not so fortunate.

At the top end, more than 20 mainly American private equity firms expressed interest in a German Bundesliga plan to raise €300m to roll out an international online subscription service. Nine out of 20 clubs in France’s Ligue 2 are foreign-owned – with Nancy acquired by a US/Chinese group – but the wave of Asian investment has mostly abated, says Simon Chadwick, Professor & Director of Eurasian Sport at EMLyon.

“What I find more interesting is the resurgence of US interest in football investments, the acquisition of a stake in Italy’s Serie A, ALK’s purchase of Burnley and the formation of Red Ball’s SPAC being three notable examples,” says professor Chadwick. “This serves to demonstrate that there remains some considerable commercial potential in football, especially as it convergences with the worlds of digital and entertainment.”

Simon Hall, director of corporate finance at accountants BDO, who produces an annual survey of football finance, says: “US private equity in the European football space is huge. The way they generate fan engagement is streets ahead.”

US interest is mainly at the higher end where fan engagement can prove lucrative. Further down, multi-club ownership is growing, such as the recent acquisition of Bulgarian club Botev Plovdiv by Anton Zingarevich, the Russian owner of Danish club Fremad Amager.

In eastern Europe, a hangover from Soviet times means that local authorities or government departments still fund part or all of some clubs, but greater strains on public funds due to the pandemic will make using taxpayers’ money to fund professional football increasingly unsustainable.

With sources of money vanishing, UEFA remains the bulwark that smaller clubs will rely on. But with the next round of TV rights due to be decided this year, plans for a European Super League have again been revived, led by US bankers JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“Football’s reform cannot wait,” said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez at the end of 2020, but UEFA’s Champions League is virtually a closed competition already.

There are now only six Champions League places available each year to qualifiers. These are often the same clubs, who use UEFA’s prize money to cement their domestic domination.

Since changes in the 1994-95 season that heralded in the modern Champions League, just four Greek clubs have shared 52 places and only three Croatian clubs have appeared.

The smaller the European league, the greater the impact of UEFA money. In 16 of the 35 smaller national leagues, UEFA payments accounted for a third or more of all revenue and the combined domestic.

In San Marino, average club revenue in 2018 was €170,000, but champions Tre Penne earned €490,000 from losing their sole Champions League preliminary round qualifier to Andorran side FC Santa Coloma.

In San Marino, all money earned by sides from UEFA competition is pooled and shared between the country’s 15 clubs, but such solidarity is anathema elsewhere in Europe, where clubs are increasingly reliant on benefactors.

Buying success can be cheap for brave investors. In 2018, average revenue in the Latvian Higher League was €626,000. In 2019-20, Ventspils earned €780,000 in UEFA money after reaching the third qualifying round of the Europa League, while champions FC Riga pocketed just over €1.3m after reaching the competition’s play-off round.

This is a delicate balancing act and UEFA’s research shows that many smaller clubs spend at least €6 for every €5 they make. “There are a number of countries where profitability remains the exception, rather than the rule,” noted UEFA in its 2020 financial report, which covered the period before the pandemic. Since then, money available from benefactors is likely to have been affected.

This bleak scenario increases the pressure on UEFA ahead of a decision likely this summer on the structure of the Champions League from 2024 and solidarity payments to smaller clubs.

At the start of the 2019-20 season, UEFA estimated it would make €3.25bn from European competition including the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup, with €2.73bn (84 per cent) going to participating clubs. Just €227.5m (seven per cent) would be distributed in solidarity payments, with the remaining balance kept for administration. For the smaller clubs that emerge from the pandemic, those ratios need to change.

UEFA is planning a third European competition for smaller clubs, but details are scarce. Dubbed the Europa Conference, the tournament is unlikely to attract much interest from broadcasters, which would mean UEFA funds prize money itself to head off a potential Super League.

Ambitious smaller clubs with benefactors still in place, like Luxembourg’s FC Dudelange, will however want to be in the Europa League, which the club achieved twice in a row from 2018, not a new version of UEFA’s little lamented summer tournament, the Intertoto Cup.

The Europa Conference’s main appeal will be to match fixers, who will relish the opportunity to manipulate UEFA matches that barely merit a mention in Europe but would attract plenty of interest on the amorphous Asian markets that are so keen on European football.

Despite the pandemic, 2020 saw a record number of alerts for suspicious betting in European football and last year huge and separate match-fixing schemes were uncovered in Armenia and Moldova.

Figures linked to match-fixing are already circling clubs in other smaller countries and as European football emerges from the pandemic, a new compact needs to be formed. If not,
the consequences could be dire for large swathes of European clubs.

Article by Steve Menary

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:27 am

Manchester United Managing Director Richard Arnold claims that TeamViewer were not the highest bidder for the Shirt sponsorship rights but won the deal as a result of what they can bring to the table in regards to fan engagement - this is a really interesting snipet from a conversation with the Associated press, I just wish there was more to flesh out the point

Man U worries soothed by new sponsor, certainty in Solskjaer
By ROB HARRIS
yesterday

After grappling with the devastation and uncertainties caused by the pandemic, Manchester United is trying to look to the future with a new main sponsor and renewed certainty in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position as manager.

Chevrolet announced just before the coronavirus outbreak that it wouldn’t be renewing as United’s jersey sponsor after seven years, but the club’s new backer is a reflection of the remote working enforced by the pandemic — including by the club’s commercial team. The brand of remote-access computer software TeamViewer will be emblazoned on the shirts of the 20-time English champion from next season.

“It’s the biggest economic recession since economic records began,” United manager director Richard Arnold told The Associated Press on Friday. “It’s just an incredible year of challenge, uncertainty, and difficulty. ”

The five-year TeamViewer deal is expected to earn United more than $60 million a year. While the value is around a fifth less than the Chevrolet deal, Arnold said the club still had more than 10 potential sponsor options on the table.

“They weren’t the highest bidder,” Arnold said. “What they bring to us is way beyond money.”

He sees TeamViewer as helping to engage with fans who have been unable to attend matches over the last year while United briefly mounted its first credible title bid since last winning the Premier League in 2013.

A recent slump has allowed rival Manchester City to surge 14 points clear at the summit, but United is well placed to ensure securing Champions League qualification won’t go down to the final day like last season.

When United was eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League in December, it raised new doubts about Solskjaer’s future. But the Norwegian has eased those concerns by keeping United second in the Premier League — despite the worst home start in 48 years — and seeing off AC Milan on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League.

The fourth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 has the backing of the club’s leadership, more than two years after replacing Jose Mourinho.

“Ole is the ultimate exemplar of ... someone in Manchester United who has tremendous character, is incredibly well connected with the culture and history of the club,” Arnold said. “No one in the world is happier than me with the phenomenal success he is bringing.

“When you’re inside (the club) and you are seeing the work of the man and the character, it just makes you so happy. He deserves to succeed, and he is, and that makes me very happy.”

Not only is there still the prospect of Europa League glory, but United remains in the FA Cup with a quarterfinal against Leicester on Sunday.

United will also hope some fans can return to Old Trafford before the end of the season in May for the first time since March 2020. A full return of matchday revenue is expected from the start of next season in August thanks to the vaccine rollout in the U.K. going better and faster than expected.

The closure of stadiums to supporters contributed to United’s revenue dropping 7% year-on-year to 281.8 million pounds in the six months to Dec. 31.

But as bad as the financial difficulties are, they haven’t been as deep as the personal grief caused by the pandemic. The tragic consequences have hit Arnold closely.

“One of the uncles in our family who actually was a former Spurs player passed away from this disease,” Arnold said of Ian Fusedale, who died in April at the age of 75 after being diagnosed with the coronavirus. “It’s been a horrific, horrific time. So concentrating on the money side of things in the context of that is relatively minor.”

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:32 am

Meanwhile Roman Abramovich has given a very rare interview to Forbes.com about his time at the club and his future hopes for the club, there are no challenges about Russia or VISA issues for the UK they just make it nice and easy for him

Mar 19, 2021,01:27pm EST|12,672 views
Chelsea Owner And Billionaire Roman Abramovich On The Past, Present And Future Of The Club
Lee Igel

In early 2002, Roman Abramovich noticed that his new interest kept leading to the same thought.

Whenever work meetings took him to cities across Europe, the Russian-Israeli businessman found himself attending football matches. It didn't take more than a few games to realize what was running through his mind. “There was so much emotion, so much excitement. I remember thinking, 'I want to be a part of this,'” Abramovich says.

Something else about the sport was also grabbing the billionaire entrepreneur's attention. “The fact that there is no set formula for winning football matches. A coach and his or her squad have to consider many factors when approaching each match. It’s like every few days is a new exam and the work you have put in gets evaluated. I enjoyed, and still enjoy, the unpredictability and seeing how each game plays out.”

Abramovich was soon sharing his excitement during conversations with business associates. That quickly grew into the idea of owning a football club.

On the first day of July 2003, news out of London reported Abramovich as the new owner of Chelsea Football Club. It was a surprising development for three reasons. First, Chelsea was a historic English club that didn't change ownership hands often. Second, the purchase price of £140-million, including £75-million of debt, was more than anyone had ever paid for a club in the English Premier League. And, third, the buyer was bringing major foreign investment to the British game.

“In hindsight, especially with the public profile it would bring me, maybe I would have thought differently about owning a club,” Abramovich says with a gentle smile and chuckle. “But, at the time, I just saw this incredible game and that I wanted to be a part of that in one way or another.”

The road leading Abramovich to become owner of Chelsea was the starting point for this conversation, which took place via Zoom. Examples and concepts of the work being done by the club have appeared in my teaching and writing about decision-making in sports business. An interest in gaining further insights led to the opportunity to talk with Abramovich about his involvement with the club.

The substantial sum of money invested in growing the club since the beginning of his ownership has followed two ambitions: “to create world-class teams on the pitch; and to ensure the club plays a positive role in all of its communities.”

Abramovich says those were not just polished words then and aren't now. The reason why “first of all, is when you say something, you have to always follow through. And, I guess, that is especially if you're a person who doesn't say much. So, what you do say is very important,” he says. “Second, football is society. Football is part of society and society is part of football. So, it's the natural state of things for football to be in be involved, to support the community, and to be present in the community.”

“The ambitions,” he continues, “are as true now as they were when I first became owner and I hope that can be seen through the work we have been doing on and off the pitch over the last 17 years.”

Those ambitions are ingrained in a strategy that has enabled Chelsea to recruit some of the world's top talent on, around, and off the pitch. It men's, women's, and academy teams have collected to a total of 36 major trophies from competitions in England and around the world. “I think the trophies speak for themselves and show what we as a club have been able to achieve over these years,” Abramovich says, “and it’s my goal for us to keep winning trophies going forward and build for the future.”

“Chelsea has a very rich history, and I feel extremely fortunate to a play a part in that,” he adds. “The club was here before me, and will be here after me, but my job is to ensure we are as successful as we can be today, as well as build for the future. That’s why the success of our academy at Cobham [the club's 140-acre training facility] is so important to me.”

Today, hundreds of millions of fans, more than 500 official supporters clubs, and more than 100-million followers across major social media platforms cheer on Chelsea from locations around the globe. The club is presently valued at more than £2-billion. But, to Abramovich, “football is not just a business opportunity. Football is a community sport. Chelsea is a community. We need to embrace all of that community in the work that we do, the investments that we do, and the work that we focus on.”

It is here that the full effect of why Abramovich bought Chelsea comes into sharper view.

“Chelsea is not just the men's first team. Chelsea is a community. It's the women's team, it's the youth teams, it's the academy, it's support to former players of the club. It's something that we started to do since day one. The reason is that we approached Chelsea as a community. And people within the community—there are children, there are women, there are men, there are former players, there are current players, there are future players—all of them need to be welcomed and part of how we conduct the business.”

For example, Abramovich recalls,“when we bought the club, it was clear that former players were not really involved. They were not even invited to see games. So, that was something else—support for former players, people who had helped the club along the way, and to give them an opportunity to continue being a part of the club and the story going forward.”

Another example is the women's team, which has been a part of the club since the second year of Abramovich's ownership. Leadership's support for the squad—a base at Cobham, a dedicated stadium, and travel to international friendlies—has been ahead of the curve of most clubs. But Abramovich isn't much interested in such a competitive comparison, mostly because it misses the larger point.

The women’s team, Abramovich says, is “a critical part of Chelsea and shapes who we are as a club. I see no reason why clubs wouldn’t want to support women’s football and provide the best possible opportunity for them to succeed. For me, this is both about the principle, but, also, women’s football has huge potential. If women’s football received the same level as support as men’s football, the sport would obviously be equally successful on the business side.”

“And I think investment pays off,” he adds. “I think their success demonstrates what can be achieved when you dedicate resources and the right leadership. [Manager] Emma Hayes has been remarkable in her work with the team.” In the past year alone, the team was crowned champion of the Women's Super League, broke the longest unbeaten streak in WSL history (32 games), and won a Continental Cup for the second consecutive season.

Doing things off the pitch is an important part of teamwork at Chelsea, particularly in community activities that flow through the Chelsea Foundation. Each year, more than 1-million participants in 20 countries are engaged through 500 programs that use football and sport to improve a range of social, humanitarian, educational, and professional issues. “With sport at this level also comes opportunity and we are proud that the club’s foundation is the largest in UK football,” Abramovich says. “I hope that our fans and the wider community can see the same level of commitment in our support for them as we have for the team.”

That commitment was sustained when outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic sent London into lockdown and English football to shutdown. Chelsea responded by continuing to pay all employees as if matches were being played, offering hotel accommodations and meals to National Health Service staff, and running a campaign to raise awareness and funds for the domestic violence charity Refuge. The Chelsea Foundation provided online sport, education, and social programs for youth to the elderly.

At such a turbulent and uncertain time, Abramovich says, “it was quite clear from the start that we wanted to help. … Chelsea is a part of the community and should of course play a role in contributing and helping, in the ways we can. I hope the projects we supported as a club played a role in helping and I am grateful to all the fans who also lent their support to the various club-led initiatives during the pandemic.”

At the same time resources were being directed to pandemic response, Chelsea was also maintaining its social responsibility programs. High up on that list are initiatives aimed at combatting antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hatred cropping up in society, including on and around football pitches.

“Racism, antisemitism, this is all the same type of evil and should have no place on our world at this day and age,” Abramovich says. “Every time I get sent examples of racist abuse that our players face, I am shocked. It’s disgraceful that this is the reality for not just our players, but for anyone targeted by this sort of abuse. If we as a club can make a difference in this area, in fighting antisemitism, racism and promoting tolerance, I am determined to stand behind it and contribute in whatever way I can.”

Tackling intolerance is an issue that Abramovich also feels personally responsible to do something about. Although some 15 years have passed since he has given a media interview or press conference, his own words have not been entirely absent from the public sphere. On a handful of occasions, he has communicated his thoughts through personally-written messages—each time about something having to do with social responsibility.

Abramovich has penned letters for matchday programs around Chelsea's Say No To Antisemitism campaign. His words appeared in a club press release about making a change to the men's first team manager position this season. And a personal letter that he had delivered to each player after men's first team member Reece James was racially abused online earlier this year showed up in media reports.

“Statements with regard to the Say No To Antisemitism campaign or Frank Lampard or Reece James,” Abramovich says, “these are very, very big themes and they are very, very important. Things at that level require me to personally show that I am behind it and that I am accountable.” Even then, he channels the attention to work being done by the club, its people, and its community.

Abramovich's comfort zone is in infusing values and inspiring standards throughout Chelsea, rather than generating personal celebrity. “It has never been my ambition to have a public profile,” he says. His instinct is that the performance of the team, manger, board, and club “should speak for itself. It is not helpful to provide additional running commentary.”

One area of performance that many fans and media might want more commentary about settles on the turnover rate of men's first team managers—15 managers in less than 18 years. On the surface, the numbers suggest short-term thinking and impulsive decision-making about strategy. Yet, as Abramovich describes, it has to do with culture feeding strategy more than strategy as a standalone. He says that while Chelsea's culture is “definitely focused on performance, it is at the same time supportive, inclusive and diverse. Both elements are critical to our success and one does not work without the other.”

“I think we are pragmatic in our choices,” he continues. “And we are comfortable making the right changes at the right time to ensure we can achieve our long-term ambitions. I hope it also says something about the clarity of the long-term ambition of the club. Those who join understand the objectives both on the pitch, as well as the wider positive role the club plays in the community.”

Twenty years ago, Abramovich was one of tens-of-thousands of fans sitting in a stadium somewhere in Europe, realizing how great it felt to simply be watching a football match. Two years later, in London, he was becoming owner of Chelsea because of the opportunity it provided for fusing that “love” of “following the successes and the ups and downs” of football with his guideposts of innovation and investment. That contribution had an immediate impact on the club, its sport, its business, and its communities. Abramovich has kept it up—and is committed to keep it going.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:36 am

As it is reporting season in football, FIFA have released their own financial updates

The 2020 FIFA Financial Report can be viewed here https://publications.fifa.com/en/annual-report-2020/

- revenues remain steady, reserves are down but everything is ok because Gianni Infantino managed to earn his $1m bonus to keep his earnings at $3m - from the Associated Press

Revenue on track, reserves down in FIFA virus-era accounts
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
yesterday

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA expects to hit its four-year revenue target of $6.44 billion up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Total spending of $1.04 billion in 2020 included $270 million in grants to soccer bodies worldwide as part of a COVID-19 relief plan, FIFA’s annual financial report said on Friday.

It also included a $10 million donation to the World Health Organization.

FIFA again awarded its president Gianni Infantino a $1 million annual bonus to raise his overall pre-tax pay above $3 million in 2020, matching his 2019 income.

The pandemic relief payments helped reduce FIFA’s reserves by $705 million in 2020. They stood at almost $1.9 billion by the end of the year.

FIFA gets most of its money from the four-yearly men’s World Cup, and said on Friday it already sealed 92% of its income target from broadcasting rights.

Contracted income from all sources to the end of 2020 was more than $5.1 billion, or 80% of revenue budgeted for the 2019-2022 financial period, according to the FIFA document.

Fewer sponsor slots for the 2022 World Cup have been sold compared to the same stage before previous editions of the tournament.

After a near-total shutdown of soccer worldwide last year, FIFA advanced money due to its 211 national member federations and the six continental governing bodies.

Hundreds of millions of dollars more was made available in grants and loans for specific projects.

FIFA made savings by the forced cancellations of youth tournaments, its annual congress scheduled in Ethiopia, and the annual awards ceremony in Milan.

“Travel was reduced to the bare minimum, and a large-scale switch to online meetings and training produced significant cost savings,” the FIFA financial report said.

Administration and governance spending of $169 million was $42 million less than the planned budget for 2020.

The FIFA document showed Infantino got a base salary of 1.95 million Swiss francs, ($2.1 million) plus a bonus of just over 1 million Swiss francs ($1.08 million).

The package totaled 3 million Swiss francs ($3.2 million) — the same as in 2019 — when some allowances were added.

FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura got a 50,000 Swiss francs ($54,000) raise in her bonus from 2019 for a pre-tax package of more than 1.6 million Swiss francs ($1.72 million).

The six continental presidents who sit on FIFA’s ruling council each received a net income of $300,000, plus some expenses. Other council members each got $250,000 after tax.

The highest paid committee members were audit and compliance chairman Tomaž Vesel and chief ethics investigator Maria Claudia Rojas, who each got $246,000. Vesel also chairs the compensation panel which oversees pay for senior management.

FIFA is one of the most transparent international sports bodies in publishing what it pays senior officials.

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14562
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3435 times
Has Liked: 6339 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sat Mar 20, 2021 3:35 am

That Abramovich interview is a good read.

Worth noting how he sees something worthwhile in woman's football and has done from very early on, yet our own fans don't want anything to do with it and got the arse on when Burnley decided to bring the woman's team in house....

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 3:40 am

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 3:35 am
That Abramovich interview is a good read.

Worth noting how he sees something worthwhile in woman's football and has done from very early on, yet our own fans don't want anything to do with it and got the arse on when Burnley decided to bring the woman's team in house....
No doubt he has done a lot of good things with the club, plenty on equality, anti-racism and anti-fascism/anti-semitism which given the previous reputation of a section of the club's support is excellent work - they are usually the first to make a public response to anything a reasonable person would want to call out or give assistance with - on that point his reign has been quite remarkable

Vegas Claret
Posts: 30273
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 4:00 am
Been Liked: 10916 times
Has Liked: 5594 times
Location: clue is in the title

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Vegas Claret » Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:21 am

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Mar 19, 2021 2:06 pm
It is interesting to see what West Ham Managed to secure their £120m loan from MSD Holdings on

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1587267585

full details here dated 17th March 2021

West Ham United Football Club Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

WH Holding Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

West Ham Sportswear Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history

West Ham United Limited
https://find-and-update.company-informa ... ng-history
Hey CP

Are you still concerned about our dealings with MSD ?

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:21 pm

Vegas Claret wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:21 am
Hey CP

Are you still concerned about our dealings with MSD ?
The primary issue with the loan is that the money is not being used to grow the club's revenues, it has been specifically taken out to line the pockets of a few individuals, same as the inter-company loan from the clubs cash holding (all legitimate and common business practice). As I have previously stated, the monies used to pay interest on the principal of the loan (circa £6m per annum) could have been used to pay for the kind of intellectual capital that the new owners bring to the club to drive it forward without the attendant liability of the principal sum. With the cash holding used to fund the new strategies that the new talent has developed. Currently we have the (as yet unproven) talent, all the liability of the loan and it's interest and no funds to invest in the new strategies to me that is a point of genuine concern. More significantly the loans also restrict the borrowing capability of the club to invest in it's growth.

Of course, the new owners may bring in additional funding, it appears that they are trying to flip a portion of their shareholding for a profit, which is fine if that profit goes into the club to fund it's development.

For now the club is reliant on growing revenue to fund it's development, but this is not just the revenues to take us beyond the £150m + we were on target for last season pre-pandemic, it is also the revenue required to take us back to that £150m + loan servicing level in a time of rebates/failed tv deals and crumbling sponsorship revenue. That means that the new owners are going to have to find around £30m + of revenue every season for the next 3 years or so just to get back to where we were last March, and even then the investment in the team is unlikely to be all that significant without sales.

So my concern is not with MSD specifically, they are reputable, I despair at the interest rate, which reflects the footing the club has been placed on by the purpose of the loan (extraction not growth) not where it was in the previous ownership who could have borrowed such a sum for significantly less if it was to invest in revenue growth. The new owners have a lot to prove and not much time to do that if the stories about further payment schedules and ownership risk if not met are true.
This user liked this post: Vegas Claret

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:00 pm

Derby County are back before an Independent Disciplinary Commission today re the long running saga about how they treat the amortisation of players

https://twitter.com/JPercyTelegraph/sta ... 6899030020

@KieranMaguire suspects that they will be using this discussion paper about players being classed as inventory so they would be no amortisation and sales would still be classed as revenue - it comes from a credible source, the International Financial Reporting Standards Interpretation Committee - to support their case. I suspect the EFL will lose (purely on their track record in these cases) and this will put UEFA in a dilemma as it would transform the financial reporting of clubs and their fiscal strength. That would inevitably lead to a new form of FFP. The true test would be how the markets react to those clubs that are listed if they were to report in this way.

https://cdn.ifrs.org/-/media/feature/me ... yments.pdf

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14562
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3435 times
Has Liked: 6339 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:21 pm

If a player is classed as inventory instead of an employee wouldn't that also effect their rights/contracts etc?

Or am I missing something?

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:54 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:21 pm
If a player is classed as inventory instead of an employee wouldn't that also effect their rights/contracts etc?

Or am I missing something?
It is part of the argument in the discussion paper - there is no way that would be allowed in any modern court because that is essentially slavery to my mind.

I am still plodding my way through the paper and I an not an accountant and do not understand the references (though with time it would be possible to look them up too).

I think there are two issues:
Can Derby use the practice they have employed - I suspect yes because they haven't been pulled up by the relevant Accounting authorities

Should football dictate the standards required going forward in the industry- again yes, though this first has to be agreed with the international courts if things like Bosman are anything to go by

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14562
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3435 times
Has Liked: 6339 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:57 pm

I had a quick look at the pdf, but I'll need to spend more time with it and checking some of the terminology etc.

This is just Derby trying to find ways to get round rules and not be held to account for losing shed loads of money isn't it?

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:03 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:57 pm
I had a quick look at the pdf, but I'll need to spend more time with it and checking some of the terminology etc.

This is just Derby trying to find ways to get round rules and not be held to account for losing shed loads of money isn't it?
yes, and you have to have some admiration for their ability to find the weaknesses in the rules - if only they could employ the same success on the pitch
This user liked this post: GodIsADeeJay81

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14562
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3435 times
Has Liked: 6339 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:21 am

https://theathletic.com/2461224/2021/03 ... ed-article

Really enjoyed this article about what went on at Wigan since July last year.

Quite insightful and well written.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:53 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:21 am
https://theathletic.com/2461224/2021/03 ... ed-article

Really enjoyed this article about what went on at Wigan since July last year.

Quite insightful and well written.
as you say very insightful and a good read - It clearly demonstrates so much that the average punter does not understand about the intricacies of running a football club, particularly admired that they managed to extract their fees from what was essentially a spare/duplicate asset and the tyre kickers

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14562
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3435 times
Has Liked: 6339 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:52 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:53 pm
as you say very insightful and a good read - It clearly demonstrates so much that the average punter does not understand about the intricacies of running a football club, particularly admired that they managed to extract their fees from what was essentially a spare/duplicate asset and the tyre kickers
Made me chuckle that he'd learned to dislike agents in such a short space of time :lol:

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 12:41 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:56 pm
Wolverhampton Wanders have also announce their headline 2019/20 financial results - a more contained loss of £44m

https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/club/2021 ... or-201920/

full accounts here

https://www.wolves.co.uk/media/16897/ap ... d35c85dfa7

@KieranMaguire has been looking at these too

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1208040455
@SwissRamble with his assessment of those 2019/20 Wolverhampton Wanderers accounts

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 9532489729

and his summary sheets are here

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 2132943872

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 12:58 pm

John Nicholson tears strips out of the proposed expansion/remodelling of the Champions League - which should not come as a surprise.

https://www.football365.com/news/bloate ... -nicholson

The argument that is rarely brought up on this, but one that is actually likely to become more profound is the carbon footprint issue -

FIFA have been making a lot of noise about Qatar 2022 being Carbon Neutral (with Air conditioned stadiums)

https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/gord ... orld-cuptm

and it has it's own documentation on carbon management and climate protection

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload ... jgipnvph7g

but as we have seen FIFA President has spent most of the last year flying around the world in a Private Jet when most of it was in lockdown, and there has been a broad welcome of Arsene Wenger's call for a World Cup every 2 years. Gianni Infantino has also been championing an African Super League recently as well as combining the Mexican league with the MLS (essentially a North American Super League) and don't forget his bloated 24 team - Club World Cup or his machinations with Florentino Perez (Real Madrid) for a Global Super League

Then you have UEFA's commitment to the European Climate Pact

https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/about-u ... mate-pact/

they have been trying to build their green credentials for a while

https://www.southpole.com/news/carbon-n ... south-pole

but how do expanded competitions (and extra 100 games in the Champions League proper) and additional competitions (Europa Conference League) fulfil those commitments, let alone all the extra International games in the Nations League.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:13 pm

Does anything better describe the state of football currently than this - from insidethegame.biz - the playing simulated football makes FIFA more money than actual Football in 2020

Sign of the times: FIFA looks to have generated more income from video gaming than football in 2020

By David Owen Sunday, 21 March 2021

Financial statements covering 2020 appear to show that FIFA generated more revenue from video gaming than football ©Getty Images
In what is potentially a landmark moment for sport, FIFA appears last year to have generated more revenue from video gaming than from football.

The governing body’s newly-published 2020 financial statements show that $158.9 million (£114.4 million/€133.2 million) of its $266.5 million (£191.9 million/€223.3 million) in total revenue for the year came from licensing rights.

FIFA explained: "A key source of revenue in the licensing rights area was brand licensing for video games.

"In contrast to the many economic sectors that were drastically affected by COVID-19, the video game industry proved far more resilient to the pandemic."

One does not wish entirely to overstate the significance of the moment - 2020 was anything but a typical year - FIFA’s earnings from the 2022 World Cup, the cash cow on which its business model still stands or falls, will dwarf everything else in its four-year business cycle.

Nevertheless, this might very well be the first instance in history of a traditional sports governing body generating more in a year from video games than the underlying physical activity that is its raison d’être.

Judging by current trends, it seems highly unlikely to be the last.

Insidethegames predicted nine months ago that licensing rights could emerge as FIFA’s biggest single revenue source in 2020.

With the pandemic causing widespread disruption to physical football, expenses, as expected, far outstripped revenue, weighing in at $1.04 billion (£748.8 million/€871.5 million).

Of this, $270.5 million (£194.8 million/€226.7 million) was attributable to FIFA’s COVID relief plan, with a further $470.6 million (£338.8 million/€394.4 million) going on development and education.

This all left a hefty $778 million (£560.2 million/€652 million) loss before taxes and financial income, which was nevertheless marginally better than a revised forecast of $794 million (£571.7 million/€665.4 million) published last June.

While still substantial, the new balance-sheet showed that FIFA’s total reserves at 31 December 2020, with almost two years still to go before the next FIFA World Cup, had dipped to $1.88 billion (£1.35 billion/€1.58 billion) from $2.59 billion (£1.86 billion/€2.17 billion) a year earlier.

Further on video gaming, FIFA said: "Besides the FIFA eClub World Cup, the FIFA eChallenger Series and the FIFA eNations StayAndPlay Friendlies, FIFA also successfully launched the FIFA eContinental Cup.

"In addition, 2020 saw the introduction of FIFAe, a new esports tournament brand designed to create a substantial stage for players, clubs and nations."

The growing importance of this licensing revenue to the football body does much to explain why FIFA President Gianni Infantino was chosen, alongside Jean-Christophe Rolland, his World Rowing counterpart, to present a segment on encouraging the development of virtual sports and further engaging with video gaming communities at the recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session.

Infantino spoke of "seizing the opportunities of a changing landscape of technology, society and sport", while emphasising how FIFA and other International Federations had "accelerated our investment and focus on virtual forms of our sports to engage with young people."

The FIFA President also underlined on that occasion the "importance of moving quickly now."

These latest figures show that is exactly what FIFA has been doing.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:09 pm

We have all seen the reports about Players Homes being robbed while they are away at games, last week saw something new, a player substituted as his family has been subject to a violent robbery while he was playing. This marks a chilling precedent the implications of which have not yet been thought about. Meanwhile this article in the New York Times looks at the rise in crime against footballers and their families and what clubs are doing about it.

When Game Day Is a Crime Scene
MARCH 19, 2021

Ángel Di María got the news as soon as he stepped off the field. Pulling him in the middle of a tie game appeared to make little sense, but Paris St.-Germain’s coach quickly provided an explanation: Di María’s wife had called the team’s security officer. He needed to get home immediately. His family’s house had just been robbed.

His teammate Marquinhos received a similar message almost as soon as Sunday’s game ended: A property he had bought for his parents outside the city also had been targeted by intruders, and his father had been involved in a physical altercation with the robbers.

A third P.S.G. player, striker Mauro Icardi, would have understood the emotions each player was feeling: Less than two months ago, Icardi’s home was ransacked while he was away at a game. That day, according to news media reports, the thieves left with designer clothing, jewelry and watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The millionaire stars of P.S.G., though, are not the only soccer players being targeted by criminals for whom matches have increasingly become lucrative opportunities. In recent years, sophisticated operators have mined published match schedules and social media postings almost as a guidebook in their schemes to pilfer the trappings of fame and wealth belonging to some of soccer’s biggest names.

For years, gangs in England have targeted the manicured neighborhoods and luxury high-rises that are home to the stars of clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool. Last May, Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez told the police he had lost items worth hundreds of thousands of dollars when his apartment was raided. Only weeks earlier, the Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli revealed that he had been roughed up by robbers inside his London home.

But as the latest P.S.G. cases showed, home invasions are not only a Premier League problem. In Spain, the police broke up a crime ring that they said had targeted the homes of players from clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona. In Italy, the American midfielder Weston McKennie told ESPN that he had designer clothes and other items stolen while he played for Juventus in a cup match.

With similar home invasions becoming more common — Everton goalkeeper Robin Olsen reportedly was robbed by masked intruders wielding machetes earlier this month — rich athletes are increasingly expanding their lists of must-have luxury items to include not only expensive jewelry and the latest electronics but also fearsome dogs, private guards and even panic rooms.

“It’s a problem here for footballers because everyone knows where they will be,” said Paul Weldon, the managing director of the Panic Room Company, an English firm that now counts several Premier League stars among its high-net-worth clients.

“It’s become normal,” Weldon said of the safe rooms his company manufactures and installs. “When a client is going to build or restore a property it’s on a tick list: sauna, swimming pool, four-car garage, bowling alley and a panic room.”

Weldon said his company also can retrofit safe rooms into existing properties; typical locations include walk-in closets and utility spaces. Prices start from around $50,000 but can rise to as much as $1 million, depending on the requirements of his clients. The most expensive panic room Weldon’s company had been asked to supply, he said, included multiple generators, air-conditioning units and protection from biological and chemical attacks. The room would be able to sustain life for more than a month, he said.

Other players have taken a more warm-blooded approach. Months after Tottenham’s Alli was robbed of watches and other items by knife-wielding attackers, he was photographed walking a Doberman guard dog he had purchased after the robbery.

Dogs like Alli’s are so commonplace among soccer stars that Richard Douglas, the co-founder of a company, Chaperone K9, that trains protection dogs, said his business now can count at least one client at every Premier League club.

The company’s website is filled — perhaps not accidentally — by photos of current and former Premier League stars posing with their specially trained dogs. Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings acquired their Rottweilers through the company, and the West Ham captain Mark Noble posed for a photo on a bench between his two large shepherds. He loved the first one so much, Noble said, that he bought a second.

Douglas said his family-run business has flourished since it made its first sale in 2011, to the former West Ham and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora. “Our market is tailored more to footballers because they come straight from friends who are also footballers,” Douglas said. “The trust in that little circle is benefit for us.”

A typical guard dog takes as long as two years to train from the time it is a puppy, and the service is often extremely personal. Douglas said that he only deals directly with players and their families; emissaries like agents are told that they cannot buy dogs on behalf of their clients.

“We need to know the level of understanding of dogs, their strength of character, what breed they can keep up with,” Douglas said. He tells clients, “I have to meet you to prepare the dog for you.”

Prices for highly trained protection dogs often start at around $50,000 and increase depending on the dog’s pedigree and lineage. (Some players, ever competitive, now angle to have the best in class.) And while Douglas declined to provide specific details, he said there had been several examples when the dogs have proved their value.

“It’s just done what it’s supposed to do,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of dogs bite and others warn people off.”

“If an armed gang arrives with bats and machetes,” Douglas added, “you’re going to need a next level of dog that doesn’t fear that kind of aggression but runs toward it.”

In Paris, police and club officials were still trying to piece together what happened last Sunday night. Contrary to initial news reports, Di María’s wife was not attacked by the thieves, and only noticed a theft from the family safe after they had gone, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. Frightened, she immediately contacted a club official, who raised the alarm with P.S.G.’s head of security.

That led to a call — caught on video — to the team’s sporting director, who shouted down from the stands to Coach Mauricio Pochettino. He quickly agreed to remove Di María from the game.

Like all of the club’s players, Di María would have received a security briefing, including a site visit to his home and advice about security measures, when he joined P.S.G. But the club typically leaves decisions on additional security measures to the players and their families; its biggest stars, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, employ private personal security teams.

Jonathan Barnett, a leading soccer agent whose client roster includes Alli’s Tottenham teammate Gareth Bale, said some of the athletes he represents do the same after they have been victims of burglaries.

“The top guys have their own security, especially when they’re away from their wives and families,” Barnett said.

Still, in the wake of the most recent robberies, P.S.G.’s management has decided, at least in the short term, to provide extra security around the properties of first-team players whenever the club plays. A club spokesman declined to answer questions about the measures or the robberies, saying the team does not comment on security matters.

But its decision will be similar to those already made by several top Premier League teams, who are well aware that their players’ movements are increasingly documented in real time on social media platforms, including when they are staying in hotels, arriving at training sessions or traveling to games.

As well as routine patrols around players’ homes, an official at a top English team said, most top clubs now invest significant sums in hiring in-house security experts to provide advice.

“We have learned the corrosive impact these kinds of things can have on players, particularly recent recruits,” said one of the Premier League team officials, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about team security. “It can really unsettle a player, and then they will have family members saying they don’t want to be here.”

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:22 pm

With the mews of the imminent takeover of Wigan by a Bahrain backed consortium, English football will have another foreign owner. We are all well aware of how many of these are in the Premier League and the Championship chasing the money, but I was surprised to see how many were in League 1. Surely they cannot all be in it for the money train, so what is the attractions?

https://twitter.com/CIESsportsintel/sta ... 6189548548

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:25 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 12:58 pm
John Nicholson tears strips out of the proposed expansion/remodelling of the Champions League - which should not come as a surprise.

https://www.football365.com/news/bloate ... -nicholson

The argument that is rarely brought up on this, but one that is actually likely to become more profound is the carbon footprint issue -

FIFA have been making a lot of noise about Qatar 2022 being Carbon Neutral (with Air conditioned stadiums)

https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/gord ... orld-cuptm

and it has it's own documentation on carbon management and climate protection

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload ... jgipnvph7g

but as we have seen FIFA President has spent most of the last year flying around the world in a Private Jet when most of it was in lockdown, and there has been a broad welcome of Arsene Wenger's call for a World Cup every 2 years. Gianni Infantino has also been championing an African Super League recently as well as combining the Mexican league with the MLS (essentially a North American Super League) and don't forget his bloated 24 team - Club World Cup or his machinations with Florentino Perez (Real Madrid) for a Global Super League

Then you have UEFA's commitment to the European Climate Pact

https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/about-u ... mate-pact/

they have been trying to build their green credentials for a while

https://www.southpole.com/news/carbon-n ... south-pole

but how do expanded competitions (and extra 100 games in the Champions League proper) and additional competitions (Europa Conference League) fulfil those commitments, let alone all the extra International games in the Nations League.
just seen this - Planet Super League - football saving the planet !!!?? :roll: - it really needs to make it's mind up

https://twitter.com/BurnleyOfficial/sta ... 7610730504

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:36 pm

Some interesting valuations of the top playing asset at each club in the Big 5 European Leagues here - none more so that Dwight at Euro 50m - 70m, doesn't mean that someone would give us that though

https://football-observatory.com/IMG/si ... /wp330/en/

Perhaps even more interestingly is just how much of the squads overall value he represents 35.3%, with just one player in Europe's big 5 leagues above him Edu Exposito at Eibar 39.6%

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:35 pm

this has the potential to be quite an intriguing series - The telegraph is looking into the boardrooms of the big six and wondering just what is concentrating the minds of the executives - first up Liverpool (and thank you Outline for working again

Liverpool's summer to-do list: Lobbying for pay-per-view and planning for 'awful' Euro relegation
CHRIS BASCOMBE MARCH 22, 2021

The spotlight falls on Liverpool for the first of six pieces this week looking at the in-trays of executives and decision-makers at the Big Six. Check back in tomorrow for Arsenal.

Do not mistake the shuttered stadiums and deserted training grounds of this international break for inaction at the top Premier League clubs. For it is in the boardrooms that the most compelling action will be taking place over the next 10 days.

The spring international break, clear from the distractions of matches, represents the final chance for executives to get their priorities drawn up and their houses in order ahead of the summer. Throughout the week, we are looking at the conversations being held by the powerbrokers of the Premier League, starting today with Liverpool.

Playing staff
Liverpool have mastered the art of the euphemism to emphasise why they won’t be spending £300million to rip it up and start it again after a dismal title defence. Jurgen Klopp described the next stage of the squad’s evolution as ‘readjustment’. Others at the club have mentioned ‘retooling’. Either way, the messaging is the same. There will be no massive rebuild. The club believes the heart of another title winning side will emerge from their rehabilitation centre. That guidance will infuriate those fans who want a summer of mega investment, but it’s delusional to believe an era of self-sustenance will end.

That does not mean Liverpool are not prepared to spend where necessary.

It is more likely to be another summer echoing 2020 when the acquisitions of Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota looked like they would strengthen the champions before critical injuries struck. If Gini Wijnaldum leaves on a Bosman deal as expected, he will need replacing with a midfielder of similar quality. Fringe players like Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri are available at the right price, but no-one has offered that for the last two windows.

The great unknown is whether any clubs beyond Man City and PSG have the resources to start throwing around cash like drunken sailors in the post-pandemic world. Even if they do, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane - often linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona - are on long-term deals making them seem unaffordable. Although Jota has challenged concepts of the tried-and-trusted Liverpool front three, Klopp has given no indication he is expecting to have alternative striking options ahead of next season, albeit you can be sure he and sporting director Michael Edwards will be closely watching the market should exciting possibilities arise. Do not underestimate how enthusiastic some of the world's biggest names are to play for Klopp.

Elsewhere, Liverpool need another goalkeeper because back-up Adrian’s contract expires at the end of the season. And a decision must be taken with on-loan Ozan Kabak. Liverpool have the option to sign him on a permanent deal. Kabak has performed well in his last few games, but calculations must be made based on the availability of the centre-back targets who were unavailable before Liverpool’s January deadline-day scramble.

Non-playing staff
Jurgen Klopp will still be Liverpool’s manager at the start of next season. That’s probably as much reassurance The Kop needs so that this abomination of a league campaign can be boxed up, labelled with an asterisk, and buried in a time capsule with a note explaining why it was so weird.

Klopp has a habit of refreshing his backroom team as much as his playing roster every year. In 2018 he famously enlisted the help of throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark. A year later, Klopp invited big wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner to join the squad in pre-season, albeit that was a one-off lecture to advise players on how to deal with pressure rather than club appointment.

Lockdown measures prevented Klopp from similarly imaginative plans last pre-season, although there were changes to Liverpool’s medical department. Physio Chris Morgan returned to the club after a spell at Arsenal, and in December a new position of ‘Head of Recovery’ was created for German appointment Dr Andreas Schlumberger. Klopp was especially enthusiastic about Schlumberger’s arrival as he had tried to lure him to Merseyside earlier. With so many players coming out of rehab and needing to sharpen up before rejoining the first team before the next pre-season, Schlumberger may not have a peaceful summer break.

At executive level, the most significant changes occurred 12 months ago. Peter Moores’ terms as chief executive ended, replaced by former managing director Billy Hogan. His first year as chief executive has been predictably low key as all clubs deal with the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Business
Veterans of the Anfield executive wars between 2007-10 could be forgiven for breaking into a cold sweat at the prospect of Liverpool losing Champions League football next season.

The last time a prolonged spell in the competition ended, mayhem ensued.

Back then, Liverpool’s financial security depended on finishing in the top four. It all came crashing down for Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr when they failed. Bank repayments on high interest loans with pressing deadlines could not be met; Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres wanted out; Paul Konchesky and Milan Jovanovic saw a way in.

Over three years the long-serving chief executive had left, then dozens of Academy staff moved on, then the manager Rafa Benitez departed, followed by the owners and those key players. By then, even some of the dining staff said they had had enough.

It will not be the same in 2021. Firstly, FSG has experience of Champions League exile, so it is not new terrority. The club was in the competition only once in the seven years of their reign prior to Klopp leading Liverpool back in 2017.

That does not mean the hierarchy would not face similar acclimatisation challenges as in 2010 - when a six-year Champions League residency ended.

No positive spin can sugar coat how unspeakably awful it will be for Liverpool to drop out of the Champions League at a point in the club’s history when it seemed they were settling down for a sustained era of success.

European ‘relegation’ damages the team. It damages self-esteem. It damages the accounts. And it damages the ‘brand’.

Existing commercial deals usually include bonus clauses based on exposure in Uefa competition, while new sponsors are easier to attract when you’re one of the favourites to become European champions. After a year without matchday revenue, this is the worst time to haemorrhage more cash.

The prospect of fans returning next season without those grand European nights to look forward to is especially deflating. But FSG are no Hicks and Gillett. Okay, the previous owners set the bar lower than a sewage pipe, but it is still worth stressing.

In Boston, NBA superstar LeBron James has become a minority partner in FSG (he already owned two percent of Liverpool’s shares), and the sprinkling of such stardust can only be beneficial. FSG have also agreed in principle an 11 per cent stake to RedBird Capital Partners. The club has indicated the deal will not materially impact on Liverpool, although it is seen as a positive move to maintain the good economic health of the organisation. Liverpool are also pushing on with the stadium expansion plans - another sign that recent setbacks are a disruption rather than catastrophe akin to 2010.

General housekeeping
What happens to the 3pm on Saturday TV blackout when fans are allowed back in? Liverpool will be among the clubs most interested in the answer. Having offered more access to armchair fans during the pandemic, can football executives really regress to a world where, in order to watch a Saturday 3pm Premier League kick-off live on TV, the local pub must risk prosecution for using a dodgy satellite channel? And where fans can see the game by getting a flight to Dubai or Dublin, but can’t watch a couple of miles from their own stadium? It’s always been a preposterous and archaic arrangement. It looks even more so now.

This summer’s Premier League meetings must address the illogical arguments against the blackout and find an agreeable economic solution which satisfies fans’ needs and allows clubs to retrieve some of the lost revenues of the last 12 months. Going from the current situation where every game (in truth, far too many games) are available, back to one where it is only possible to see certain fixtures with a dodgy phone app makes no sense.

Liverpool have led the arguments when it comes to ensuring non-Sky and BT games - rare as they tend to be - are made available for a price. It’s a thorny subject because less globally popular Premier League clubs see it as a means of the wealthy cashing in so want the principle of collective profit preserved. One set of self-interest capitalists disagrees with another group of self-interested capitalists, allowing tribalist fans to pick a side and assume a non-existent moral high ground.

As one of the clubs which always claims the highest viewing figures - and in principle would generate some of the some of the biggest revenues - if more fixtures became pay-per-view, Liverpool are certain to be cast as profiteering bad guys should they push for permanent change.

The same applies in the ongoing talks regarding European Super Leagues and Champions League reforms, where Liverpool’s position is based around the perfectly reasonable notion that being inside the tent and having a voice is infinitely more desirable than loitering outside trying to listen in.

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14562
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3435 times
Has Liked: 6339 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:41 pm

Head of Recovery is a title I haven't heard before.

Do you know offhand if that's a common thing across football?

The 3pm blackout is looking a little old fashioned now and it would potentially be worth testing the water on that one for a short term to see if it truly does have an effect on attendances as per the claim.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:03 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:41 pm
Head of Recovery is a title I haven't heard before.

Do you know offhand if that's a common thing across football?

The 3pm blackout is looking a little old fashioned now and it would potentially be worth testing the water on that one for a short term to see if it truly does have an effect on attendances as per the claim.
The 3 pm blackout is not old fashioned in my view, or in that of the FSA - it is more a point of principle and statement of solidarity than anything and should not be subject to an actual test

Head of Recovery is a role that has been growing in the last few years as more analysis goes into the backrooms at clubs - it makes a huge amount of sense when you consider the transfer fees and wages that are paid for elite players - you want them on the pitch particularly if your economic model relies on Champions League qualification

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:38 pm

More shenanigans around the domestic live rights decision making for Serie A (The clubs are to meet again tomorrow) and even La Liga's Javier Tebas has stuck his oar in somewhat strangely - no doubt he wishes his league could profit in the way the Premier League has over the years from a SKY - from SportsBusiness.com

Lega Serie A, Sky at loggerheads ahead of ‘decisive’ TV rights meeting
SportBusiness Staff
March 22, 2021

Lega Serie A, the organising body of the top division of Italian club football, has found itself at odds with rights-holder Sky Italia as the pay-television broadcaster seeks to retain its status for the next rights cycle.

Serie A clubs are set to meet again tomorrow (Tuesday) in an attempt to reach a consensus on the league’s next broadcast rights deal.

Ahead of this league assembly meeting, which the Italian press have claimed will be decisive and definitive, Sky has written to the Lega stating its offer for the next set of rights is valid and must be voted on.

“The CEO of the Lega Serie A (Luigi De Siervo) has communicated to us… the request by the Lega that Sky renounces the clarifications presented in the course of the private negotiation, given that the Lega would have doubts about the admissibility of our offer, considering it conditional,” Sky said, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa.

“This communication and its timing are nothing short of surprising, given that the position is made explicit after more than a month and a half from the definition of the offers and a few days after their expiration.

“The invitation to detail the offer with an indication of the Lega’s commitment to distribute its channel with Serie A matches directly to users was explicitly made by the CEO and the lawyers of the Lega, during the private negotiations that took place.

“Sky therefore sent a letter to the Lega in which it reiterated that its offer does not contain any conditions and that the Lega’s position would be unfounded, in contrast with the Melandri Law and would undermine the competitive dynamics that the Lega has a duty to ensure.

The letter continued: “The award of Sky’s offer would lead to a more competitive result, because the live television broadcasts of the matches of the entire championship would be offered by both the Lega and Sky, with obvious benefits for Serie A, clubs and spectators, taking into account that they would be visible on all platforms.”

Sky is competing with OTT subscription platform (and another incumbent rights-holder) DAZN, whose new proposal carries the support of telecoms operator TIM. The Lega has responded to Sky’s claims, with De Siervo stating they “do not correspond to the truth”, according to the Ansa news agency.

De Siervo said allegations that he asked Sky to submit a conditional offer and that the broadcaster was not aware of the Lega’s doubts about the admissibility of the offer, were both untrue. He added: “We reiterate that the Lega has always acted in full compliance with the rules.”

On March 16, Serie A clubs once again failed to reach a consensus on the allocation of domestic broadcast rights for the 2021-24 cycle. Meetings held on March 4 and March 11 failed to deliver a consensus and a follow-up assembly meeting held last week resulted in a similar outcome.

DAZN has submitted the leading offer of €840m ($1bn) per season for rights to seven exclusive matches per matchweek and co-exclusive rights to three matches. Ahead of the February 26 meeting, Sky sought to increase pressure on the clubs by flagging concerns over the effect on market competition of the DAZN-TIM proposal.

Serie A’s existing deals with Sky and DAZN (from 2018-19 to 2020-21) are worth €973m per year. Sky is thought to have bid €750m for Package 2, one of the ‘mixed’ marketing packages offered by Lega Serie A, comprising rights across all platforms but with only co-exclusivity for internet, IPTV and mobile rights.

Tebas: Serie A can benefit from OTT, telco effect
The DAZN-TIM proposal has found backing in the form of Javier Tebas, president of Spain’s LaLiga.

Tebas told Ansa that DAZN’s bid can restore a competitive market in Italy and “lay the foundations for the future”.

He said: “To let this opportunity slip away would be incomprehensible and would risk leaving Serie A and Italian football in the past, in a clear position of disadvantage compared to the development we are seeing in the rest of Europe.

“In all markets where large companies of telecommunication demonstrated interested in the world of football the benefits were evident both in terms of profits and of future development.”

Tebas continued: “The OTTs represent the future, carrying on a path of innovation and modernity that it’s no longer possible to leave behind. We live moments in Europe where the big OTTs of entertainment make deals with telcos, like Disney, Netflix, etc.

“The time is now because whoever now fails to understand the moment that we are experiencing will lose the growth phase of football.

“The world of satellite TV has come to an end, it is no longer the model to build upon. Going in this direction, I think, it would be dangerous because the future is the OTT in partnership with the telcos and, probably, in 7 to 10 years integrated with them.”
Last edited by Chester Perry on Mon Mar 22, 2021 6:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 6:22 pm

The Sports Law bulletin from Blackstone Chambers looks at the thorny issue of salary caps in football

https://www.sportslawbulletin.org/from- ... -football/

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 6:42 pm

Simon Chadwick with the help of his long time collaborator with a piece for TheConverstaion.com on the growing influence of American Private Equity on European Football

https://theconversation.com/football-in ... how-157445

Football in Europe is being transformed by US private equity firms – here’s how
March 22, 2021 4.03pm GMT
Authors
Paul Widdop
Senior Lecturer in Sport Business, Manchester Metropolitan University

Simon Chadwick
Global Professor of Eurasian Sport | Director of Eurasian Sport, EM Lyon

Football is changing, again. Many fans who have spent years watching their teams, either live in a stadium or on the television, have long had to face the fact that their teams are (more often than not) no longer owned and run locally.

Russian oligarchs, Gulf nations and Chinese billionaires have regularly bought into European football clubs over the last 20 years. But more recently the money has been flowing across the Atlantic as US private equity firms have seen a lucrative opportunity, caused partly by the pandemic.

This is football like we have never seen it before. Transnational investors – driven by financial returns in a sport fast converging with the entertainment and digital sectors – are transforming the game into a big bucks global industry. Television helped make top football clubs rich, but streaming could bring them untold riches.

COVID-19 didn’t cause football’s private equity boom, but it helped by accelerating and amplifying existing or emerging trends. As football clubs have struggled financially, investors have moved in to pick up some bargains. And as people have stayed at home, so the consumption of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have become entertainment and lifestyle staples, enhancing the relevance of such platforms for sport.

Who are the investors?
So who are these major American private equity investors taking over European football? Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the owner of English Premier League champions Liverpool, is reportedly on the verge of selling over 10% of the club to US investor RedBird Capital Partners for around £540 million. RedBird appears intent on building a global network of football investments. This would be on the back of the £4.7 million recently invested into the club by basketball superstar Lebron James.

In December, ALK Capital – another American sports investment business – acquired the English club Burnley via a leveraged buyout (similar to how the Glazer family bought Manchester United in 2005). Leveraging essentially means using a club as collateral to secure a loan in order to buy it.

The situation is similar elsewhere. RedBird already holds a stake in French club Toulouse, while Bordeaux (General American Capital Partners and King Street Capital Management) and AS Nancy (New City Capital) are also US-owned. Meanwhile, Troyes FC was bought last year by City Football Group, in which Californian private equity investor Silver Lake owns shares.

The story is the same in Italy, where the Elliott Management Corporation owns AC Milan and where a private equity consortium consisting of CVC Capital Partners, Advent Capital Management and FSI Capital are pursuing the acquisition of a £1.5 billion stake in the new media business of premier league Serie A.

CVC and Advent are reportedly keen on striking a similar deal with German Football’s Bundesliga International, which handles overseas media rights sales.

Network analysis
see the picture here https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 78/photo/1

To give a sense of the size and scale of what private equity investors are engaged in and seeking to achieve, we undertook a social network analysis of a small sample of them. Our aim was to highlight the links when we observed two companies sharing an economic relationship. This resulted in the chart above.

It is apparent that this private equity investment is not just restricted to Europe or to football. For example, Silver Lake has connections to City Football Group franchises in India, China, Tokyo and Australia. And RedBird’s activities also extend to baseball, through the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Such investments are part of broader equity portfolios linked to sports like basketball, American football and wrestling. Silver Lake also appears keen to use football as the means of joining the dots between businesses operating in other sectors such as sports retail (like Fanatics, an online licensed clothing store) and entertainment (such as Endeavour, a talent representation agency).

Blank cheques and streaming
The resurgence of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACS, has also given rise to a focus on sport. SPACS (like RedBird) are formed specifically to raise capital via initial public offerings (where shares are sold to institutional and retail investors) for the purposes of acquiring or investing in an existing business. They are sometimes referred to as “blank cheque companies” and are focused on making as much money as possible for the investors involved in them.

SPACS and other private equity groups find football very appealing because it is a ready-made product with which people across the world are already engaged. Spectators and fans are willing to pay to watch sport and routinely buy merchandise. So there’s money to be made and investors know it.

But perhaps one of the main reasons these clubs are such a tempting proposition are the opportunities that streaming provides. Consumption habits have changed over the last five years, leading to the consequent erosion of existing broadcasting formats. Over the last two decades, football clubs have benefited from lucrative broadcasting contracts. But the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and DAZN promise even greater financial returns, especially for the top clubs playing in the biggest leagues.

These firms can also put clubs in danger. For instance, ALK’s acquisition of Burnley effectively involved mortgaging the club in order to complete its purchase. The club is now £90 million worse off than it was before.

https://twitter.com/david_conn/status/1 ... how-157445

At Manchester United, there has been a long-running fan campaign to remove the Glazers. Even at Liverpool, not everyone is happy with FSG.

That’s because blank cheques off the field don’t necessarily bring blank cheques on the field. Most fans know that investors are interested in one thing: making money. The problem is, maximising profits often means eroding the connections between clubs and the communities in which they are located.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 7:16 pm

Not altogether sure how this was possible in a league where the state owns all the clubs, The board of Saudi Arabian club Al Nasser has been disbanded as a result of irregularities in the way it was being run (sounds like a fiefdom) from ArabNews.com - you have to say this is one of those governments that you do not want to upset by behaving in this way

Al-Nassr board of directors disbanded over club operating irregularities

Updated 10 sec ago
JOHN DUERDEN
March 21, 2021
22:40

- The ministry announced finding six irregularities
- Violations included club president overstepping his authority

LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sports on Sunday disbanded Al-Nassr’s board of directors after finding a number of irregularities in the way the club operated.

Just hours after Al-Nassr thrashed Al-Batin 7-0 in the Saudi Pro League, president Safwan Al-Suwaiket was replaced by Abdullah Al-Dakhil, who will run the club until the end of the season. In the meantime, procedures will be put in place for a new president and board to be selected.

Al-Suwaiket started his four-year term as president in summer 2019 and, earlier this month, accepted the resignation of three board members in a very public sign that not all was well behind the scenes.

The ministry said that, on March 9, it had received a complaint from one member on how Al-Nassr, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest clubs, was run.
After carrying out what it said were thorough investigations, the ministry announced finding six irregularities.

“The club president exceeded his statutory powers, by taking individual decisions without taking into account the necessary legal procedures,” the ministry said on social media. “He also signed bank checks that had no financial consideration in the club’s account, which led to the club being subjected to legal claims.”

As well as Al-Suwaiket overstepping his authority, other violations included a failure to deal with resignations in the usual manner, the club running a budget deficit that was outside the parameters set by sporting authorities, publishing official decisions without holding meetings to discuss them, and the president failing to respond to the ministry’s request for documentation.

Al-Nassr officials refused to comment when asked by Arab News and Al-Suwaiket has, so far, also kept quiet. But he quickly deleted the title of “Al-Nassr President” from the biography section of his Twitter account.

The announcement marks another episode in an already chaotic season for the nine-time Saudi champions on and off the pitch, with the club making headlines for the wrong reasons.

In February, Al-Nassr was hit with a three-window transfer ban by FIFA after failing to pay Galatasaray the required transfer fee for Brazilian star Maicon Pereria Roque.

Later that same month, the club became involved in a racism row after an altercation between Hussein Abdulghani, a member of Al-Nassr’s coaching staff, and Al-Shabab’s Brazilian winger Sebastian Junior in a league game.
On the pitch, the 2019 champions and last season’s runners-up have performed inconsistently and currently sit in fifth place with six games remaining, 12 points behind leaders Al-Hilal.

Al-Nassr are still in the hunt for a top three finish and a place in next year’s Asian Champions League, but are six points behind Al-Ittihad in third.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 7:23 pm

This is a bit of a strange story from the Telegraph (one they are currently showing in front of the paywall) - I didn't think it was possible to pay bonuses with these monies

Is the FA about to use taxpayer money to fund Euro 2020 player bonuses?
With the FA receiving a £175m loan to help with losses caused by Covid, MPs want to know if any will end up in the pockets of players

By Ben Rumsby
22 March 2021 • 2:17pm

The Government and Football Association are under pressure to reveal whether the latter’s £175 million taxpayer-backed loan would be used to pay England players bonuses at the European Championship.

MPs called for the Treasury and FA to “’fess up” about the terms of the ultra-low-interest Bank of England loan amid fears millions of pounds of public money would end up in the pockets of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad.

Anyone making use of what is called the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) must commit to “pay restraint” unless they undertake to return all money borrowed through it before May 19.

As revealed by the Daily Telegraph, when the English Football League sought to borrow £75m through the same scheme last month, it was told it could only do so if its clubs agreed unprecedented curbs on player pay rises and bonuses.

Neither the Treasury nor the FA – which secured its own loan almost six months ago and as of last week had yet to repay a penny – would divulge when the latter was due to cough up what it owed or whether it was subject to similar conditions to those imposed on the EFL.

That compounded fears the cash given to the FA would be used to pay performance bonuses to England players at the postponed Euro 2020, which is due to be played between June 11 and July 11.

At the last World Cup, Southgate’s 23-man squad pocketed millions for finishing fourth under a bonus structure believed to peak at £5 million for winning the tournament.

Any Euro 2020 bonus would be paid a year after the FA announced the coronavirus crisis would force it to make 124 roles redundant – 15 per cent of its workforce – amid potential losses of about £300m.

Southgate, who was on a bonus of up to £1.5m at the World Cup, took a 30 per cent pay cut in April as a result of the crisis.

Julian Knight, the chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee, said the Treasury and FA “ought to "fess up and be transparent” about what he said was “taxpayer money”.

He added: “It would seem to be wrong if this applied to the EFL but didn’t apply to the FA. The EFL has no control over player pay so that doesn’t seem fair on the EFL.”

Clive Efford, Labour’s former shadow sports minister and a committee colleague of Knight’s, said: “There is absolutely no way this should be kept a secret.

“They should make it clear that the terms and conditions that apply to that loan scheme applies to everyone equally.

“Most football fans would give their right arm to play for England. I’m surprised they need bonuses."

Steve Brine, a former Conservative minister turned DCMS select committee member, added: “I don’t think England players should get bonuses, full stop. They’re paid a lot of money as it is.”

The CCFF was set up last March to provide loans of up to a year to companies that could prove they made a material contribution to the British economy.

Tottenham Hotspur were first from the world of football to borrow from it in June when they were also awarded £175m, due to be repaid by March 31, plus 0.5 per cent interest.

The club promised the facility would not be used to buy players but “ensure we have financial flexibility and additional working capital during these challenging times” and help pay off the debt and interest on their £1.2 billion new stadium.

They were followed in January by Arsenal, who borrowed £120m through the scheme.

Other companies that have taken advantage of the CCFF include John Lewis, easyJet, Nissan, Rolls Royce and Ryanair.

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 7:34 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 12:58 pm
John Nicholson tears strips out of the proposed expansion/remodelling of the Champions League - which should not come as a surprise.

https://www.football365.com/news/bloate ... -nicholson

The argument that is rarely brought up on this, but one that is actually likely to become more profound is the carbon footprint issue -

FIFA have been making a lot of noise about Qatar 2022 being Carbon Neutral (with Air conditioned stadiums)

https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/gord ... orld-cuptm

and it has it's own documentation on carbon management and climate protection

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload ... jgipnvph7g

but as we have seen FIFA President has spent most of the last year flying around the world in a Private Jet when most of it was in lockdown, and there has been a broad welcome of Arsene Wenger's call for a World Cup every 2 years. Gianni Infantino has also been championing an African Super League recently as well as combining the Mexican league with the MLS (essentially a North American Super League) and don't forget his bloated 24 team - Club World Cup or his machinations with Florentino Perez (Real Madrid) for a Global Super League

Then you have UEFA's commitment to the European Climate Pact

https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/about-u ... mate-pact/

they have been trying to build their green credentials for a while

https://www.southpole.com/news/carbon-n ... south-pole

but how do expanded competitions (and extra 100 games in the Champions League proper) and additional competitions (Europa Conference League) fulfil those commitments, let alone all the extra International games in the Nations League.
as a follow-up to this morning's post how about this from today's Guardian looking at how the worlds biggest carbon producers seek to hide behind sports sponsorship, naturally football is prominent in the outlets of such sponsorship

Major climate polluters accused of greenwashing with sports sponsorship
Report reveals more than 250 deals between high-carbon industries and leading sports teams

Matthew Taylor
Mon 22 Mar 2021 06.01 GMT

Polluting industries are pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into sports sponsorship in an attempt to “sports-wash” their role in the climate crisis, according to the authors of a report published on Monday.

The study reveals more than 250 advertising and sponsorship deals between some of the biggest corporate polluters and leading sports teams and organisation.

Andrew Simms, a co-director of the New Weather Institute and one of the report’s co-authors, said: “Sport is in the frontline of the climate emergency but floats on a sea of sponsorship deals with the major polluters. It makes the crisis worse by normalising high-carbon, polluting lifestyles and reducing the pressure for climate action.”

The report, by the New Weather Institute, the climate charity Possible and the Rapid Transition Alliance, identified advertising and sponsorship deals with major polluters across 13 different sports, including football, cricket and tennis. Football was found to have the most deals, receiving 57 sponsorships from high-carbon industries ranging from oil and gas corporations to airlines.

Simms said: “We know about ‘greenwash’ – when polluters falsely present themselves as environmentally responsible. This is ‘sports-wash’ – when heavily polluting industries sponsor sport to appear as friends of healthy activity, when in fact they’re pumping lethal pollution into the very air that athletes have to breathe, and wrecking the climate that sport depends on.”

He said “major polluters” had replaced tobacco companies as big sports sponsors. “They should be stopped for the same reason tobacco sponsorship ended: for the health of people, sports and the planet.”

The study follows a high-profile campaign against UK arts institutions’ sponsorship deals with oil and gas giants. Several have now cut their ties to fossil fuel companies.

The authors of the report say sport will be the next battlefield in challenging the social licence of polluting industries.

“Sport has been a gamechanger in raising awareness and rapidly shifting opinions and policy on vital issues ranging from child poverty to racism,” said Simms. “Now it could be set to do the same for climate change.”

The report claims that the car industry is the most active high-carbon sector courting sports sponsorship, with 199 different deals across all sports. Airlines come second with 63, followed by oil and gas companies such as Gazprom and Ineos, whose deals have previously been criticised by climate campaigns. When Ineos was preparing to take over sponsorship of Team Sky cycling in 2019, a spokesperson for the chemicals company said it was committed to moving towards a circular economy.

The report reveals the carmaker Toyota as the largest sponsor with 31 deals, followed by the airline Emirates with 29 partnerships.

A spokesperson for Toyota said it could not comment in detail without seeing the full report, adding that the company had been “the world leader in low-emission electrified vehicles for 25 years” and had “amongst the lowest CO2 fleet averages of any major volume manufacturer and is committed to some of the most ambitious environmental goals of any mobility company”.

Emirates did not respond to requests for comment.

Campaigners argue that the findings in the report appear to undermine recent pledges made by many clubs and sports bodies to take action on climate breakdown.

Melissa Wilson, a member of the GB rowing team for the Tokyo Olympics, is one of the athletes supporting the campaign. “As athletes, we focus a lot on keeping sport ‘clean’ through prioritising anti-doping,” she said. “Yet continuing to pollute in the face of the climate emergency is the Earth equivalent of doping or scoring own goals. By keeping polluting sponsors on board, sports detract from their opportunity to play a productive part in the race to zero carbon. It’s time for sports and athletes to change that.”

Chester Perry
Posts: 19167
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:06 am
Been Liked: 3114 times
Has Liked: 481 times

Re: Football's Magic Money Tree

Post by Chester Perry » Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:32 pm

Things are really starting to come to a head on these Serie A television rights, this time I post about the International rights. I have posted previously about BeINsport refusing to bid for the rights (in the same way they did not bid for Bundesliga rights) because of the lack of help in combatting piracy and even taking on commercial relationships with Saudi Arabia. This report from the Associated Press suggests that BeIN are now encouraging other international broadcasters not to bid either.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-socce ... 0d56fae964

AP Interview: Serie A CEO ready for big TV rights fees drop
By ANDREW DAMPF
today

ROME (AP) — When Juventus considers whether or not to extend Cristiano Ronaldo’s massive contract, a drop in income from TV rights over the next three seasons could be a significant factor.

The coronavirus pandemic and the failure of Italian soccer teams to make an impact in European competition only partly explain the expected economic hit to Serie A when its international TV rights through 2024 are assigned Tuesday.

The league’s cozy relationship with Saudi Arabia — and the resulting withdrawal of Qatari-run beIN Sports from the auction process — could be an even bigger factor.

“It will definitely go down. A decent amount,” Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Ronaldo, who has a salary of 31 million euro ($37 million), has only one more season remaining on his contract and Juventus has been hesitant to propose an extension.

“Our biggest problem is beIN,” De Siervo said. “BeIN was worth 50% of our package and they’ve decided not to take part in our auction. And they’ve prohibited all of their friends and intermediaries to make offers for their countries. So we’ve been ostracized by beIN, and that makes it very complicated and difficult for us.”

De Siervo did not identify who BeIN could have dissuaded from bidding, while BeIN said it remains open to continuing to show Italian games in countries like Australia.

In 2019, a FIFA-led investigation coordinated with Europe’s top leagues concluded that the Saudi Arabia-backed satellite company beoutQ was “without question” behind pirated match broadcasts that steals content from beIN Sports.

A year earlier, Serie A signed a deal with Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority to play three Italian Super Cups over five years in the country, the first two of which were held there despite protests over piracy as well as human rights concerns.

The Saudi deal provides more than 20 million euros (nearly $24 million) to Serie A and nearly 3.5 million euros (more than $4 million) to participating clubs.

While Serie A has made efforts to crack down on piracy, its continued dealings with Saudi Arabia have not appeased beIN.

When Serie A last assigned its international rights in 2017, it nearly doubled the value of the previous deal — earning 371 million euros (nearly $450 million) per season from IMG.

“The 371 number included technical costs, betting and the Italian Cup. The real value is 320 million (euros),” De Siervo said. “We’ve got to try and get as close as possible to 320 million.

“In certain parts of the world it’s very, very difficult in these times … Reaching the same number is impossible.”

A total of 49 offers came in for the international rights, featuring a mix of broadcasters wishing to acquire country-by-country rights directly and agencies that would act as intermediaries — Infront, IMG, Mediapro and Kosmos to name just a few. Then there are four more offers for rights in the Middle East, which are being handled separately.

De Siervo is proposing two options to the league’s 20 clubs. Either the league handles the offers itself country by country or the top agency proposal can take over the entire package.

“It comes down to whether we want to earn a bit less but control our own destiny and do it all internally, or gain a bit more and delegate others to handle it,” he said.

The assignment of the international rights could coincide with a long-stalled decision over the league’s much more valuable domestic rights — where the leading offer would come up just short of the current contract.

Streaming service Dazn has offered 840 million euros ($1 billion) per season for the rights to all 10 matches each weekend domestically, while satellite provider Sky Italia — the longtime leader — would chip in 70 million euros to show three games co-exclusively.

Amid internal squabbling, Spanish league president Javier Tebas said it should be an easy choice for Dazn and streaming.

“The world of satellite TV had its moment but it’s no longer the model to build on,” Tebas told the Italian news agency ANSA. “You’ve got to understand the times we’re living in.”

The impending cuts come with some Italian clubs still opposing signing off a on a 1.7 billion euro ($2 billion) offer from a consortium of private equity funds that would be charged with improving the sale and promotion of the league’s TV rights.

“If the funds were involved,” De Siervo said, “they would have definitely pushed us to be more independent from the agencies.”

Post Reply