Football's Magic Money Tree

[Chester Perry]

Speaking of the regulator

this week the preferred candidate to chair the body, David Kogan, was up before a DCMS select committee this week and gave an excellent, very assured and well prepared performance. It was a marked contrast to those we have seen from both Rick Parry and Richard Masters.

you can watch it in full here and I recommend that you do

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/1 ... dium=email

Martin Cloake used his The Football Fan blog to give a review and also to highlight the points that will likely give plenty of encouragement to fan groups and no doubt put the wind up a few boardrooms that currently manipulate fan engagement requirements in ways that contravene the spirit of those rules

Kogan’s run
So David Kogan is going to be the chair of the Independent Football Regulator …
https://martincloake.substack.com/p/kogans-run
https://archive.ph/jNfds

[Chester Perry]

An anniversary for a club who were the topic that started this thread and the whole vast array of issues that football now provides the fulcrum for

from The Telegraph

Inside story of how the Glazers pulled off the most toxic takeover in English football history
Special report: Twenty years after leveraged buyout that has netted about £1bn for American family, the fury of fans has only intensified
https://archive.ph/usIiy

[Chester Perry]

meanwhile UEFA are considering offering a few more crumbs to those clubs who probaby will never make it to the Champions League - of course it is up to their commercial partners (The ECA) to agree to the idea for it to actually become anything resembling a reality

from the Independent

How smaller football clubs could receive huge money boost thanks to UEFA
https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/ ... 49293.html
https://archive.ph/MRatP

[BurningBeard]

Story linked by Kieran Maguire suggesting that TGP Europe, mentioned earlier in this thread as related to our sponsorship have exited the market due to regulatory issues.

https://x.com/KieranMaguire/status/1923 ... Cv2gA&s=08

[Chester Perry]

Story linked by Kieran Maguire suggesting that TGP Europe, mentioned earlier in this thread as related to our sponsorship have exited the market due to regulatory issues.

https://x.com/KieranMaguire/status/1923 ... Cv2gA&s=08

Indeed TGP Europe has long been under scrutiny much of which has appeared in this thread, of course our club has ignored all of this through successive ownerships


this is what the Gambling Commission have said on the matter

TGP Europe leaves GB market following Commission investigation
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/n ... estigation
https://archive.ph/7svbH

[Chester Perry]

meanwhile UEFA are considering offering a few more crumbs to those clubs who probaby will never make it to the Champions League - of course it is up to their commercial partners (The ECA) to agree to the idea for it to actually become anything resembling a reality

from the Independent

How smaller football clubs could receive huge money boost thanks to UEFA
https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/ ... 49293.html
https://archive.ph/MRatP

It transpires that this idea has come from the Union of European Clubs - who have featured a number of times on this thread and who have Michael Lee Smith (of ALK Capital notoriety) on their Executive board - and it is their 1st stated strategic objective,

It certainly fits in with the production line/farming ethos in play at our football club

This is what the UEC have done about it

The UEC proposes new Player Development Reward policy to support clubs investing in talent
The Union of European Clubs (UEC) has unveiled a new strategic policy proposal: the Player Development Reward (PDR)
https://www.ueceurope.org/post/the-uec- ... -in-talent
https://archive.ph/W4IVf

[Chester Perry]

Last week Gianni Infantino was so late for his own FIFA Congress, after following Trump around the Middle East, that UEFA walked out in disgust. Given that he treats his own electors with such disdain and continues to ignore due procedure - just look at the 2030 and 2034 world cups - this latest money grabbing ploy for next summers world cup i dynamic pricing of tickets - it is most definitely not an occasion 'For the Fans'. This news follows last weeks news that the pricing for this summers FIFA club world cup has had to reduce ticket prices.

from The Times

Fifa to use ‘dynamic pricing’ for 2026 World Cup tickets
Strategy for North America tournament, which gained notoriety after Oasis used it for their sell-out tour, could send prices sky high and give governing body huge payday
https://archive.ph/MY2SN '

[Chester Perry]

A huge whinge fest in Martin Samuel's Sunday Times Column today - financial rules take the greatest share of his opprobrium (nothing new there) but, in-between there are some strong points - sport should be about the joy of taking part and achievement, as we as the joy of achievement.

the column is fairly lengthy and covers a number of stories, but the central theme is the overbearing weight of regulation and questionable governance from the games authorities, though he never seems to countenance the notion of a level playing field. English football has lost a number of its greatest writers in recent years and Samuel has the capability to join that pantheon of greats, unfortunately his whinging, seeming cronyism and narrowed hard line attitudes will likely prevent that from ever happening. That still does not mean that he is not worth reading.

The prize was what mattered — now even fans are accountants
new
At 4pm on Sunday, five Premier League clubs will fight it out purely for money and — in the modern game — it is all that matters
https://archive.ph/cwOgl

[ClaretPete001]

What exactly is the point of Martin Samuel's article, which seems to cram numerous unrelated arguments into one article.

I mean what does this mean:

'And why everybody fixates on finance now is that the rules no longer allow a club to make mistakes. That’s all United have done. Made mistakes. Backed managers who weren’t up to it, bought players that failed to deliver. In the past they regroup with, they hope, better decision-makers, and go again. But they can’t, because Profitability and Sustainability Rules don’t allow that.'

United spent decades in the doldrums in the 70s long before sustainability rules. That is what happens when you a run a club badly. Is he suggesting that United should just get free passes?

Did Burnley fans not understand the nature of finance when we used to sing 'we'd rather have Dobbo than the stand'?

What exactly is the article about? Outside the top 6 most of the clubs do not have money and never will. How does Samuel think clubs like Burnley cope?

Financial unfairness is implicit to the English pyramid - to suggest 'That’s all United have done. Made mistakes.' is so absurd as to make you ponder his rationality.

[Chester Perry]

and speaking of money - The Athletic with an educated guess as to this seasons premier League money distributions in particular note that the overseas element not only continues to grow but also dominates the share of the payment.

Calculating what every Premier League place is worth and what each team could earn
https://archive.ph/KJno6

[Vegas Claret]

Rangers now owned by the 49rs group, 51% and approved by the SFA.

[Chester Perry]

Stefan Borson gives his view as to those Premier League clubs who are looking at the end of the month with PSR concerns - no real surprises, but the number does appear to be growing.

no mention of the clubs who chose to move their account dates to the end of July - to accommodate the Covid restart - that never moved back. Burnley and Crystal Palace being the most notable

From his blog on substack

REVEALED: The clubs at risk of 24/25 PSR and UEFA FFP issues (POST SEASON UPDATE)
30 June deadline day scrambles are not yet a thing of the past
https://stefanborson.substack.com/p/rev ... f-2425-8fe
https://archive.ph/LlnJ0

[bfcmik]

At a much lower level of football, I was talking to the COO of Coleshill Town, who play at level 8 in the English pyramid. He mentioned the challenges they face in both recruitment and retention of players as their budget is reliant on sponsorship, matchday income, prize monies, and the hiring out of their 4g pitch and bar, and gets no support from wealthy owners or benefactors. Apparently there are clubs at tier 8 able to pay up to £3k per match for star players and they can in no way get anywhere near that. However, he said almost all of these 'wealthy' clubs soar for a while and then crash and burn when the money runs out for whatever reason.

[Chester Perry]

Once again the Premier League seeks to act too late, but I expect Aston Villa (who sold club infrastructure to themselves just before the EFL brought in rules about related party asset sales, to sell their women's team to help cushion their PSR concerns, others may do the same.

To think that our club raised less than £4m for the sale of everything at Turf Moor and Gawthorpe 2 decades ago

from The Times

Premier League bids to close loophole that helped Chelsea comply with PSR
London club raised millions selling women’s team and hotels but rivals will now vote on whether such transactions should count when it comes to PSR
https://archive.ph/sUoQi

[ecc]

Thank you as ever, Chester.

Why is this going to happen (taken from Stefan Borson's article)?

"...until PSR is finally consigned to history."

[ecc]

A huge whinge fest in Martin Samuel's Sunday Times Column today - financial rules take the greatest share of his opprobrium (nothing new there) but, in-between there are some strong points - sport should be about the joy of taking part and achievement, as we as the joy of achievement.

the column is fairly lengthy and covers a number of stories, but the central theme is the overbearing weight of regulation and questionable governance from the games authorities, though he never seems to countenance the notion of a level playing field. English football has lost a number of its greatest writers in recent years and Samuel has the capability to join that pantheon of greats, unfortunately his whinging, seeming cronyism and narrowed hard line attitudes will likely prevent that from ever happening. That still does not mean that he is not worth reading.

The prize was what mattered — now even fans are accountants
new
At 4pm on Sunday, five Premier League clubs will fight it out purely for money and — in the modern game — it is all that matters
https://archive.ph/cwOgl

He may be on a low given how dire his beloved West Ham are doing. Don't know if he whinged when they started paying rent of two and six for the London Stadium.

[Chester Perry]

In Politics - as with most things in life - timing is everything

at just after 1pm today this story broke in The Athletic

UK government faces inquiry into appointment of new independent football regulator chair
https://archive.ph/N4EcJ

you may remember that Regulator Chair elect Kogan volunteered his donations to various Labour party figures including the campaigns for the Culture Secretary and the Labour Party Leader - it was covered in the post at the top of this page

just two hours later the Guardian game out with their own exclusive, which seemed more of a response to the above events than an act of conscience

Lisa Nandy removes herself from final decision on leader of football regulator
Exclusive: Culture secretary steps aside after it emerged preferred candidate donated to her Labour leadership bid
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -regulator
https://archive.ph/g8mUu

It is all a bit of a shame really, because if we are going to have a regulator then Kogan appears an impressive candidate - so impressive that he was actually sounded out and invited to apply for the role for the role by the Conservatives prior to the last General Election.

In less reported news the Government made an interesting amendment to the Football Governance Bill just over a week ago, in relation to the backstop on Parachute Payments, while it has the support of both the Premier League and the EFL there are observers who believe this is a significant win for the Premier League.

From The Athletic

Premier League gets government concession over regulator financial distribution deal
https://archive.ph/fGo0z

[Chester Perry]

It is nonsense to all but a few, and just goes to show what guaranteed participation can do for a league that earns less revenue than the EFL Championship (with more teams)

The Forbes list of the top 3- worlds most valuable football clubs

The World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams 2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinteit ... eams-2025/
https://archive.ph/dtiKQ

[Chester Perry]

Once again the Premier League seeks to act too late, but I expect Aston Villa (who sold club infrastructure to themselves just before the EFL brought in rules about related party asset sales, to sell their women's team to help cushion their PSR concerns, others may do the same.

To think that our club raised less than £4m for the sale of everything at Turf Moor and Gawthorpe 2 decades ago

from The Times

Premier League bids to close loophole that helped Chelsea comply with PSR
London club raised millions selling women’s team and hotels but rivals will now vote on whether such transactions should count when it comes to PSR
https://archive.ph/sUoQi

It really should not come as a surprise that the clubs voted against this ruling - even though it does not count in UEFA club competition rules - the petty fines there mean clubs are actually costing them in to the overall benefit equation, the fact that the Premier League would dock points for PSR failure means that such asset sales are to continue

from the Guardian

Premier League opts not to change rules that helped Chelsea comply with PSR
Lack of support among clubs leads to no vote at AGM
Rules allowed Chelsea to sell hotels at Stamford Bridge
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... y-with-psr
https://archive.ph/wip/y9GcB

[Chester Perry]

I cannot help but raise a smile at this news

Club World Cup tickets 16% of original price as Lionel Messi lure fails
Fifa’s new competition, brainchild of the president Gianni Infantino, could have thousands of empty seats — even with ticket prices for opener cut from $347 to $56
https://archive.ph/h0SfM

but of course it means that some may be having to cover significant losses - just look at what 12 European clubs are set to earn from the tournament (supposedly guaranteed - more or less). though as Stefan Borson points out, it will potentially pose problems for those not involved - not forgetting that it is the owners of financially constrained Newcastle United that are footing most of the bill.

What $700m between the 12 European Club World Cup qualifiers means for the future of the game
As Newcastle scrimp, PIF lavishly fund their Champions League rivals
https://stefanborson.substack.com/p/wha ... 2-european
https://archive.ph/DPR6y

Of course this is just FIFA's attempt to cash in on the success of The Champions League and to a lesser extent The Premier League - we mustn't forget they came very close to developing a World Super League with Florentino Perez, and that may still happen going forward. But as this somewhat poor article in The Athletic points out, to date there has not been a successful challenger to the Premier League

Why has there never been a challenger to the Premier League like LIV Golf or the XFL?
https://archive.ph/Z8lTl

[Chester Perry]

Always interesting to see - particularly when your own club is included in the analysis - note why Burnley may get away with it this year (£20m profit in a Championship season can be quite the ask - hence the loan to buys) but how challenging it could make the next reporting if we retain Premier League status (and continue to spend significantly without further sales).

The Athletic looks at next seasons Premier League and the PSR situation for each club as the 2024/25 financial year draws to a close.

Every Premier League club’s PSR situation: Who can spend and who should worry
https://archive.ph/xkJD3

2025 PL PSR.jpg (107.71 KiB) Viewed 2265 times

[Chester Perry]

for those who may be wondering what has been happening with this story about 777 Partners/A-CAP - the investigative journalists at Josimar Football are still following the story and it is unravelling in to a right old mess of seemingly huge financial criminality and very unfortunate consequences for thousands of people. This is a catch-up on my absence from this thread

Down by law
The demise of 777 Partners is now threatening to affect thousands of insurance policyholders in the USA whose money ended up funding the company’s risky bets on debt-ridden, loss-making football clubs and failing budget airlines.
https://archive.ph/7U42F

Crime and punishment
A-CAP has suspended the sale of Standard de Liège, a criminal investigation has opened at Genoa, and the future of all the clubs in the crumbling 777 Partners empire could soon be in the hands of US regulators.
https://archive.ph/dccNs

U.S. Steal
Whatever happened to 777 Partners? The company still exists, though their website has gone dark, they are losing court cases, and a former employee has testified under oath accusing them of “stealing” 350 million dollars. Now, one of their creditors wants to tell their story.
https://archive.ph/mrmap

It is just possible that by this time next month Josimar Football may cease trading due to financial pressures (they need £50k of subscriptions) so this may just be their last report on the whole sorry affair of 777 Partners and their failed financial actions within football

Collateral damage
Roll up. Roll up. 777 Partners are being forced to auction off all of their shares in all of their football clubs, with a sale to be completed this week.
https://josimarfootball.com/2025/06/05/ ... al-damage/
https://archive.ph/530UP

[Chester Perry]

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that this would present challenges to the clubs involved - though the Aston Villa example may point to a way out for clubs in the coming season

from The Guardian

Demise of TGP Europe leaves Premier League clubs with income gap to fill
More than half of the top-flight clubs in 2024-25 had dealings with the company, which exited the British market last month
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ap-to-fill
https://archive.ph/MMBEP

[ClaretPete001]

Always interesting to see - particularly when your own club is included in the analysis - note why Burnley may get away with it this year (£20m profit in a Championship season can be quite the ask - hence the loan to buys) but how challenging it could make the next reporting if we retain Premier League status (and continue to spend significantly without further sales).

The Athletic looks at next seasons Premier League and the PSR situation for each club as the 2024/25 financial year draws to a close.

Every Premier League club’s PSR situation: Who can spend and who should worry
https://archive.ph/xkJD3


2025 PL PSR.jpg

Interesting. The last time we were in the Championship we lost more than £20 million.

I think that few understand how boxed in the club is getting in terms of its finances. I can't see us spending a great deal to be honest without sales. And the players we would have to sell would need replacing with something similar or we will just get relegated again.

We are heading in ever decreasing circles unless the club can dig out real talent at Eur4 - 5 million that can play at PL level and then be sold for substantively more.

It's entirely predictable and I'm not sure we seen much evidence the club can do it on a regular enough basis.

[Chester Perry]

there is just so much more that be put into the written word than that we see in most of the you tube type fan output we see - though there are a number that have turned that into a quite lucrative format

This piece about a forthcoming exhibition in Leeds about football fanzines is fascinating and shows how - like in Burnley Libraries are now really grasping the metal in preserving this important part of our cultural history.

I note the claim that City Gent (Bradford City) is the longest running fanzine at a stated 49 years or so - though I am aware that "Something to write home about' the London Clarets magazine is approaching its 50th anniversary - it maybe that this publication is not be classed as a fanzine

from The Athletic

How fanzine culture gave a voice to supporters and changed English football
https://archive.ph/aEE8W

[ecc]

How the Glazers have generated almost £1.2 billion debt.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/arti ... 9lwdegxvxo

[Chester Perry]

How the Glazers have generated almost £1.2 billion debt.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/arti ... 9lwdegxvxo

to be more accurate it is £1.2bn spent on debt interest, the cost of refinancing on multiple occasions is thought to have been rolled up into the debt and of course there have actually been some debt repayments between all these activities.

Under ALK/Velocity our club has done similar, but on a somewhat different scale.

There is a key difference in the general understanding of debt at both these clubs. Manchester United have to make very detailed quarterly reports to the New York Stock Exchange, In contrast understanding what the current debt position is at Burnley is a nigh on impossible task, with refinancing occurring regularly just after the accounts have been signed off - my best estimate to the current position is circa £60 - £70m (we are still carrying debentures (charges) for MGG and Fasanara Capital though that may all be about to change again, if past promotions are anything to go by.

[Chester Perry]

I cannot help but raise a smile at this news

Club World Cup tickets 16% of original price as Lionel Messi lure fails
Fifa’s new competition, brainchild of the president Gianni Infantino, could have thousands of empty seats — even with ticket prices for opener cut from $347 to $56
https://archive.ph/h0SfM

but of course it means that some may be having to cover significant losses - just look at what 12 European clubs are set to earn from the tournament (supposedly guaranteed - more or less). though as Stefan Borson points out, it will potentially pose problems for those not involved - not forgetting that it is the owners of financially constrained Newcastle United that are footing most of the bill.

What $700m between the 12 European Club World Cup qualifiers means for the future of the game
As Newcastle scrimp, PIF lavishly fund their Champions League rivals
https://stefanborson.substack.com/p/wha ... 2-european
https://archive.ph/DPR6y

Of course this is just FIFA's attempt to cash in on the success of The Champions League and to a lesser extent The Premier League - we mustn't forget they came very close to developing a World Super League with Florentino Perez, and that may still happen going forward. But as this somewhat poor article in The Athletic points out, to date there has not been a successful challenger to the Premier League

Why has there never been a challenger to the Premier League like LIV Golf or the XFL?
https://archive.ph/Z8lTl

Jonathan Wilson in The Guardian suspects the new format Club World Cup is part of the early phase of forming a World Super League - it would be a very Perez/Infantino thing to do

Platense who? Club World Cup is another step on the road to a global super league
Fifa’s huge prize money risks making a handful of clubs almost infinitely wealthier than their domestic rivals
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... per-league
https://archive.ph/KEKCS

meanwhile a thought for the geo-politics on the commercial side from Simon Chadwick and his blog -GeoSport. Europe has the history and the glamour but its relevance to the finance and control of the game (as elsewhere has greatly faded

What sponsors of FIFA's new Club World Cup tell us about football's geopolitical economy
https://archive.ph/yOVqu
Europe will have twelve teams competing at a tournament where it will have no sponsors
https://profchadwick.substack.com/p/wha ... club-world

[Vegas Claret]

thoughts on this lads ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwo3v9p3R-I

[Chester Perry]

Thank you as ever, Chester.

Why is this going to happen (taken from Stefan Borson's article)?

"...until PSR is finally consigned to history."

\

thoughts on this lads ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwo3v9p3R-I

I posted about this on Monday and Thursday last week

Borson maintains PSR is dead because it is too easy to work around (but only for owners with lots of money) which is basically every Premier League club bar Burnley (though there is substantial wealth/money within the ALK/Velocity group) and that is the way that the owners have decided to keep it even though it contradicts UEFA and even EFL rules.

UEFA choosing to fine PSR failures (at minimal levels) rather than exclude and/or fine heavily has allowed the Premier League owners to continue doing this.

The thing is that there are a finite number of assets that clubs sell and they can sell them only once (unless they buy them back).

In theory ALK/Velocity could sell Longside Properties Limited to themselves if there was a need to raise funds - though it was acquired a decade ago for less than £4m so it would be difficult to see that group of properties worth a very significant amount (possibly not even double digit millions - Which might surprise given the sizes of some of the charges against the same assets in the last few years

In essence PSR or some such protocol will continue for the for some time yet.

It is also worth noting that UEFA and to a lesser extent FIFA are starting to bite against multi-club ownership (because there are lots of investors wanting in at the top end of the game) with some real effect - how many owners are going to accept their assets being in blind trusts free of influence for any substantial length of time?

[Chester Perry]

Leicester have a long established reputation for finding ways to ease their financial woes - though it does seem that the English games' authorities are now determined to bring a halt to that run.

So in a summer of challenges for the clubs ownership and executives this is something they could do without, though I suspect - given football's universal lack of due diligence in regard to offshore/illegal betting sponsorships - it will be of little concern.

from Josimar Football

Game over?
Declared bankrupt in Curaçao for not paying punters, BC.GAME, main sponsor of Leicester City FC in the 2024/25 season, moved jurisdiction. But the company behind BC.GAME does not exist.
https://josimarfootball.com/2025/06/10/game-over/
https://archive.ph/Ea4Th

[ClaretPete001]

to be more accurate it is £1.2bn spent on debt interest, the cost of refinancing on multiple occasions is thought to have been rolled up into the debt and of course there have actually been some debt repayments between all these activities.

Under ALK/Velocity our club has done similar, but on a somewhat different scale.

There is a key difference in the general understanding of debt at both these clubs. Manchester United have to make very detailed quarterly reports to the New York Stock Exchange, In contrast understanding what the current debt position is at Burnley is a nigh on impossible task, with refinancing occurring regularly just after the accounts have been signed off - my best estimate to the current position is circa £60 - £70m (we are still carrying debentures (charges) for MGG and Fasanara Capital though that may all be about to change again, if past promotions are anything to go by.

A different scale in absolute terms but in relative terms I should think United's balance sheet is healthier than ours.

[ClaretPete001]

Leicester have a long established reputation for finding ways to ease their financial woes - though it does seem that the English games' authorities are now determined to bring a halt to that run.

So in a summer of challenges for the clubs ownership and executives this is something they could do without, though I suspect - given football's universal lack of due diligence in regard to offshore/illegal betting sponsorships - it will be of little concern.

from Josimar Football

Game over?
Declared bankrupt in Curaçao for not paying punters, BC.GAME, main sponsor of Leicester City FC in the 2024/25 season, moved jurisdiction. But the company behind BC.GAME does not exist.
https://josimarfootball.com/2025/06/10/game-over/
https://archive.ph/Ea4Th

Due diligence seem to be two words completely lost in footballing circles

[Chester Perry]

While this story shows that Burnley FC are not the only club seeking overdue transfer payments from Botafogo - incidentally if FIFA was to bar them from the Club World Cup next week until payments were brought up to date the situation would be quickly resolved - there is a more interesting arc of a story involving John Textor's Eagle Holdings and Nottingham Forest.

from The Times

Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor’s other club accused over unpaid fees
Burnley claim Textor’s Brazilian side Botafogo still owe them for £6.5million transfer of Vitinho. Textor’s ties to Lyon could cost Palace their place in Europe
https://archive.ph/CJ8Kx

I say that because of this exclusive from the Times on Monday

Nottingham Forest write to Uefa over Crystal Palace ownership
Club stand to move up from Conference League if Palace are expelled from Europa League, while Brighton could also benefit — and battle likely to go all the way to CAS
https://archive.ph/d2yQA

[Chester Perry]

Jonathan Wilson in The Guardian suspects the new format Club World Cup is part of the early phase of forming a World Super League - it would be a very Perez/Infantino thing to do

Platense who? Club World Cup is another step on the road to a global super league
Fifa’s huge prize money risks making a handful of clubs almost infinitely wealthier than their domestic rivals
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... per-league
https://archive.ph/KEKCS

meanwhile a thought for the geo-politics on the commercial side from Simon Chadwick and his blog -GeoSport. Europe has the history and the glamour but its relevance to the finance and control of the game (as elsewhere has greatly faded

What sponsors of FIFA's new Club World Cup tell us about football's geopolitical economy
https://archive.ph/yOVqu
Europe will have twelve teams competing at a tournament where it will have no sponsors
https://profchadwick.substack.com/p/wha ... club-world

FOMO to the fore - remember what Jonathan Wilson had to say about the FIFA Club World Cup. that said this story still stinks of FIFA trying to change the narrative away from the reports of a lack of interest

from The Guardian

Fifa ready to discuss staging 48-team Club World Cup after lobbying from Europe
Big clubs concerned they are missing out financially
Winners could be paid more than £90m
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... cup-europe
https://archive.ph/k9EKB

[Chester Perry]

It is that time of year again - Deloitte have released their 2025 Annual Review of Football Finance - it is the 34th edition. It is fair to say that it isn't as positivity focussed as previous iterations particularly in relation to the English game and the unrest among fans

the full report is here

https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/as ... e-2025.pdf

[Chester Perry]

the Guardian continue with the notion that the new format FIFA Club World Cup is just a precursor to a FIFA approved World Super League

Uncontested: Dazn’s $1bn story reveals why the Club World Cup is really here
Saudi-backed streaming superpower’s TV deal for Fifa’s global project is next expansionist step towards a world super league
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... eally-here
https://archive.ph/HvaWu

[Chester Perry]

Many people are frustrated by what they perceive to be unnecessary delays in the '115 charges' case against Manchester City - here Stefan Borson (an ex employee of Manchester City) explains in great detail why we are at least a year way from judgements being finalised and any punishments (if guilt is determined) are determined

EXPLAINED: 115 - when, what and how? A guide to the inevitable appeals
Only one more year to go?
https://stefanborson.substack.com/p/exp ... -and-how-a
https://archive.ph/nSR7x

[Big Vinny K]

Apologies if you have posted this before CP.

Find this pretty incredible.

Chelsea women’s team valued (future value I know) at &50m more than ALK bought Burnley FC for.

The fact that the rest of the PL allowed this to happen says everything about what the league has become.

https://youtu.be/cwo3v9p3R-I

[Chester Perry]

While this news was already known in the boardrooms of the Premier League - they will have no doubt welcomed it - The Premier League continues to grow it's overseas media revenues - it is quite feasible that the bottom club this coming season will receive around £116m to £120m and that merit payments for each place will be around £3.5m - for the smaller clubs all this does is make up the likely shortfall from the reduced number of betting sponsors

Also note how it is the long term partners that continue to bring the real monies and commitment to the relationship.

from the Athletic

Premier League extends Middle East TV deal, overseas media rights value up 27%
https://archive.ph/rc8Zx

[Chester Perry]

there are two threads about kits active on the front of this board as I post. A common reference in discussion is nostalgia as opposed to a completely new approach - Here Simon Chadwick uses his Geosport blog to question the apparent omnipresence of framing kits and their launches in a nostalgic view of the past, just how many times can you recycle something?

The two things that constantly come up when talking about Burnley Kits are hooped socks (which were employed for less than half of the clubs existence) and the V shirt (an indescribably itchy item that was incredibly easy to pull a thread on which was also highly visible).

When the archives run dry: Football's crisis of nostalgia
Living through a great age of retro
https://profchadwick.substack.com/p/whe ... -footballs
https://archive.ph/LJsYt

[Chester Perry]

It is going to be interesting to see the match day pricing for non-season ticket holders at our club this season - meanwhile Manchester United have announced theirs and it is fair to say - supporters groups are not happy

from The Times

Man Utd fans’ anger as club raise ticket prices again
Supporters’ trust says it was not consulted over new categorisation scheme, claiming move is unacceptable after one of the ‘worst seasons in living memory’
https://archive.ph/HklC4

[Chester Perry]

There are some battles and wars that you should never go into.

The name of John Textor has appeared far too often and for far too long in these pages, he obviously loves himself and believes in is ultimate ability to be right (though he often isn't).

Meanwhile Nasser al-Khelaifi is possible the most powerful man in football given the many hats that he wears particularly in European football, there are increasing whispers that he is even potentially the President of FIFA in waiting (though such a role may actually dilute his powers - just think about that for a minute and consider the power of the present and previous incumbent at FIFA).

It may be a desperate attempt by The Athletic to drum up interest in FIFA's Club World Cup, but this piece gives insight into the way Textor operates and may go some way to explain why Crystal Palace are still yet to be confirmed as Europa League participants.

John Textor vs Nasser Al-Khelaifi — a French football feud that is about to go global at Club World Cup
https://archive.ph/sQ2Cd

[Chester Perry]

Following on from my comments about Nasser al-Khelaifi above - Simon Chadwick uses his Geosport blog to return to an old and enduring theme and practice of his and his research partners - interconnected networks - At the top of sport it is a very small group of powerful and dominant forces

The networked economy of FIFA's Club World Cup
It's not just Saudi Arabia that is behind the tournament's growing interconnectedness, others are also seeking to build power and influence
https://profchadwick.substack.com/p/the ... fifas-club
https://archive.ph/5jyc2

[Chester Perry]

We know that the price of sports franchises in the US are astronomical witness the LA Lakers being sold for $10bn but if you have a solid chunk over $300m to spare you can buy a majority stake in an MLS franchise that earns less than many Championship clubs

from Sportico

San Jose Earthquakes Owner Hires Bank to Sell MLS Club
https://archive.ph/2va7V

[Chester Perry]

Be your own judge

from Seat Unique - Burnley FC Partner

How Burnley FC is growing its global fanbase with Seat Unique
https://www.seatunique.com/blog/how-bur ... at-unique/
https://archive.ph/hfQ9o

[Chester Perry]

It transpires that this idea has come from the Union of European Clubs - who have featured a number of times on this thread and who have Michael Lee Smith (of ALK Capital notoriety) on their Executive board - and it is their 1st stated strategic objective,

It certainly fits in with the production line/farming ethos in play at our football club

This is what the UEC have done about it

The UEC proposes new Player Development Reward policy to support clubs investing in talent
The Union of European Clubs (UEC) has unveiled a new strategic policy proposal: the Player Development Reward (PDR)
https://www.ueceurope.org/post/the-uec- ... -in-talent
https://archive.ph/W4IVf

This idea is still circulating but has yet to be seriously discussed at UEFA where the ECA could easily put it to sleep - it should come as no surprise that the European Leagues are keen on the idea.

from the Guardian - a bit long winded, but it does get to the point eventually

As Club World Cup hands out riches, a plan is needed for those left behind
With the top-level juggernaut careering away the majority of Europe’s clubs need help and should be better rewarded for players they develop
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ound-draws
https://archive.ph/cqU7q

[Chester Perry]

Is this idea as crazy as it sounds - it has an American precedence of sorts (hand variations have been previously mooted) and has almost certainly been put into the journalists head by one club or another.

As Nick de Marco the famous sporting law KC has been want to say - The game first needs to learn how to write it's rules properly, that way clubs wouldn't necessarily believe there are workarounds such as we are now witnessing with depressing regularity

from The I an article that takes an age to get to the point while ignoring the problem of just chucking money at an arms race, which creates ever greater problems for the smaller/modest sized clubs

PSR is broken for clubs like Newcastle, Villa and Forest - here's how to fix it
PSR doesn't work for ambitious clubs - and the Premier League knows it
https://archive.ph/AttwF

[Chester Perry]

No surprise here really - it looks like Crystal Palace are heading to CAS to resolve their multi-club issues with UEFA, They shouldn't be too optimistic though Drogheda lost a similar case there just last week (though in this case bott the entities were 100% owned by the same group)

from The Guardian

‘A perfect storm’: multi-club ownership, Crystal Palace and a looming court threat
Uefa’s legal team is preparing for more action as a complex and increasingly common issue rears its head again
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... urt-threat
https://archive.ph/mz2il

[Chester Perry]

The FIFA Club World Cup has really inspired a lot of English writers to up their game in both quality of writing and condemnation - none more so than those who contribute to the Guardian - The dynamic is interesting there are growing contrasts in the English, European and World view - certainly the South American and Middle East clubs are relishing opportunities to knock European clubs 'off their perch' ?(to borrow a phrase), In Europe it often easy to distinguish which sources influence the various media outlets

The question from English (parochial?) sensibilities is - are FIFA actually contributing to the long term destruction of the game they are suppose to be building sustainably into the future.

Here are three more wary (and possibly weary) articles from The Guardian - meanwhile if you want to understand more about the questionable activities of Gianni Infantino and his cronies there are still many stories on https://josimarfootball.com/ that have not been relayed here

Club World Cup didn’t start the fire – it didn’t light it but we’ll try to fight it
Football competitions are expanding, overlapping and bleeding into one another, but is a month off too much to ask?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... verlapping
https://archive.ph/p2QJK

America is showing us football in its final dictator form – we can’t afford to look away
It has been an ominous week for the sport in the US but talk of a boycott of next year’s World Cup misses the point
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -look-away
https://archive.ph/SuKG6

Fifa’s embrace of cult of celebrity reveals a fundamental tension at heart of game
The individual walk-ons at Club World Cup underline Fifa’s failure to understand that football is a team sport – just ask PSG
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -world-cup
https://archive.ph/h09Vb