Salient points from the
FT Business of Football Summit by Robert Mizzi
tournament. Richard Masters, the English Premier League’s chief executive, said he would not make concessions that would allow for more money-spinning European ties, for example, by reducing the number of teams in English football’s top division. It does not happen often, but I seem to be in agreement with Masters on this one.
T
he FT Business of Football Summit returned for its third iteration on the 17-18 February, this time in digital format. One of the main objectives of this summit was to explore how business models within football are adapting in these challenging times. In this article I will focus on what, in my opinion, were the salient points from the perspective of football fans. Proponents of Super League under fire, but an expanded Champions League isn’t a done deal
project. Amongst these, Christian Seifert, the chief executive of Germany’s Bundesliga, who launched a two-footed tackle on the project’s proponents. Not mincing his words, Seifert pointed out what he describes as the brutal truth: “a few of these so-called super clubs are in fact poorly-managed, cash-burning machines that were not able, in a decade of incredible growth, to come close to a somehow sustainable business model. If I was an investor, I’d ask if they are the right partners.” I would tend to agree despite the fact our beloved team is one of the “elite clubs” pushing this proposal forward. On the other hand, Manchester United seem to have a sustainable business model and would not, in my opinion, classify as a cash burning machine (many of us true football supporters are in fact annoyed that this seems to be the main priority for our club in recent years).
When the UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL), was born in 1992, taking over from the European Cup, many of us supporters did not like the idea at first. The idea that the club winning the Champions League might have finished second or third, or even fourth in the domestic league in the previous season seemed somewhat inconsistent with the idea of a league for champions. Twenty years down the line, everyone seems to have taken this on board. The point is that whatever changes will happen – and financial reasons will probably dictate these changes, we supporters will have to adapt. Broadcasting rights Read this carefully. Clubs in Europe’s five big leagues — England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France — earned a combined €17bn in revenues last season, primarily through TV contracts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for all football clubs financially, but the huge losses suffered by the so called “elite clubs” have led to new talks about reshaping European football.
However, following the pandemic, growth in football broadcast rights may be set to end. Or maybe not!
Spain’s Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are among those discussing a $6bn JPMorganbacked plan to launch a breakaway European “Super League”. We all know that this “Super League” has been discussed for a few years now, but the current scenario has seen a new impetus to push this on the agenda once again.
Those united in their opposition to the super league are, however, divided on reforming existing club competitions, such as the Champions League.
There are, as expected, many top people in the footballing world who oppose such a
UEFA, European football’s governing body, is proposing an expansion of the current
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Lars Christer-Ollson, head of European Leagues, the body that represents national divisions, said he wants any extra Champions League places to be awarded to teams in smaller countries, such as the champions of Scotland or Denmark, and not the sixth place team in England or Spain. That idea is anathema to top clubs who want greater guarantees of playing continental football every season.
There have been significant reductions in the value of TV contracts in Italy and France this year. If this trend is somehow transposed into the EPL, it would be a huge blow for the Premier League clubs. It is worth noting here that the EPL will start the auction for the 2022-2025 broadcasting rights later this year.
