tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/sport-business-18736/articlesSport business – The Conversation2023-08-24T12:23:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2117672023-08-24T12:23:17Z2023-08-24T12:23:17ZThe Lionesses had a terrific World Cup, but women’s football in England is on shaky economic ground – new research<p>Despite the disappointment of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66562418">losing to Spain</a> in the final, England’s women’s football team had a very good World Cup, on and off the pitch. Viewing figures <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66567881">were huge</a>, media coverage was unprecedented and excitement about potential <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/37390/12944457/england-women-whats-next-for-the-lionesses-after-run-to-world-cup-final">future achievements</a> seems high.</p>
<p>So women’s football in England looks to be strong and in safe hands. And at first glance its domestic top tier, the <a href="https://womenscompetitions.thefa.com/en/News/barclays-FA-WSL">Women’s Super League</a> (WSL), certainly looks healthy. </p>
<p>League match attendance <a href="https://womenscompetitions.thefa.com/en/Article/barclays-womens-super-league-new-records-20222909">records have been broken</a> recently, as they have for the women’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65448989">FA Cup</a>, and <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/barcelona-real-madrid-women-champions-league-sets-new-world/blt962372895786d457">Champions League</a> tournaments. The increase in coverage has continued at pace, with a ground breaking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/22/a-huge-step-forward-wsl-announces-record-breaking-deal-with-bbc-and-sky">broadcast deal</a> with the BBC and Sky worth £8 million a season.</p>
<p>Across the league, club revenue increased by 590% from 2011 to 2019. And those clubs were extremely <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7088182528523522048/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android">well represented</a> by key players at the World Cup, including the likes of England’s Mary Earps (Manchester United), Australia’s Sam Kerr (Chelsea) and Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal). </p>
<p>But without wishing to rain on the Lionesses’ parade, our <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SBM-10-2022-0088/full/html">latest research</a> indicates some worrying times ahead – and some critical concerns about the WSL’s financial sustainability.</p>
<p>For while income in the league has dramatically increased, we found that so too has debt for clubs – which has skyrocketed by an average of 1,351%. This is an alarming level which could ultimately jeopardise the entire league’s financial stability and the survival of some major clubs.</p>
<p>This debt is mostly connected to loans to the women’s sides from the men’s clubs they are linked to, rather than a reflection of increased interest rates or expensive infrastructure projects. </p>
<p>Our research also found other signs that the financial sustainability of the WSL has been in decline. Club profits have fallen from a small average of £4,000 in 2010 to average losses of £1.4 million in 2019. </p>
<p>This is a worrying trend which indicates that the women’s leagues could be heading in the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071503/Assessing_the_financial_sustainability_of_football__web_accessible_.pdf">same direction as the men’s</a>, with greater financial risks and increased chances of clubs going into administration or disappearing altogether. </p>
<h2>Financial pressure</h2>
<p>Our research also found a noticeable split emerging within the WSL, with the most successful teams’ finances apparently not linked to success or failure on the pitch. Instead, these teams are better at using their strong brand identity to secure corporate sponsorship and a loyal ticket buying fan base. </p>
<p>For the sides lower down the league, however, the state of their finances was linked with league position, so that their income very much depends on how well they play. Poorer form appears to be matched by less corporate sponsorship, fewer flagship events in men’s stadiums and fewer season ticket sales. They end up being much more reliant on the traditional business model of football, which depends on match day attendance and sponsors.</p>
<p>WSL clubs’ wage bills are also under more pressure – even though the women players earn a fraction of their male colleagues (very little information is available about exact sums). This follows the traditional football club business model, in that a large proportion of income ends up going on wages – often considered a good thing for athletes and club performance. But when wage bills become unaffordable, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58649432">clubs can go under</a>.</p>
<p>There is hope though. Since we began our recent our analysis, the first of its kind in women’s professional sport, England’s female footballers have continued to inspire new interest <a href="https://www.arsenal.com/news/il-makiage-partners-arsenal-women">and investment</a>. We discovered areas of serious concern – but also strengths in the women’s game which <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-english-womens-football-could-become-a-billion-pound-industry-and-where-the-money-comes-from-to-make-it-happen-209754">can be built on</a>. </p>
<p>After <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/raising-the-bar-reframing-the-opportunity-in-womens-football/annex-b-methodological-note">the independent review led by journalist Karen Carney</a> paved the way for much needed change, our research tells us the situation is more precarious than the WSL may have realised. It is now vital that the league heeds Carney’s recommendations, learns from others’ mistakes and ultimately chooses a sustainable path with room to grow. </p>
<p>Women’s football in England has enormous potential – but the players, the fans and the people who govern the game should know that a much stronger economic basis throughout the league has become an urgent requirement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Philippou is affiliated with the RAF FA.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Beth Clarkson is a leadership and workforce development consultant to the Premier League and holds academic positions at both the University of Portsmouth and University of Liverpool.</span></em></p>Women’s Super League clubs face troubling levels of debt.Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of PortsmouthBeth Clarkson, Football Consultant & Visiting Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Governance in Women's Football, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073762023-06-19T12:33:06Z2023-06-19T12:33:06ZProfessional men’s rugby has major financial issues which need to be tackled<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531687/original/file-20230613-30-xyr0lx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=69%2C48%2C4558%2C3157&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A 2019 Premiership clash between Northampton Saints and Bath.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/northampton-uk-23rd-february-2019-alex-1321501046">atsportphoto/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rugby club London Irish was founded <a href="https://www.london-irish.com/the-club/about-us/122/">back in 1898</a>. Almost 100 years later, it became a fully professional club, just in time to join the <a href="https://www.premiershiprugby.com/about-premiership-rugby/about-us/history/">inaugural season</a> of the Premiership, England’s top tier of rugby union.</p>
<p>But now, after 25 years in the Premiership, London Irish <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/65819546">has been kicked out</a> for being unable to provide the sport’s governing body with “financial assurances”. Essentially, it had too much debt and was unable to pay its own staff and players.</p>
<p>London Irish is not alone in its loss of Premiership status. Two other clubs, <a href="https://www.wasps.co.uk/club-announcement">Wasps</a> and <a href="https://warriors.co.uk/2022/10/05/statement/">Worcester Warriors</a> have already gone into <a href="https://www.london-irish.com/news/club-statement/bp4204/">administration</a> and been expelled this season. </p>
<p>Three teams being booted out of the top tier in less than a year signifies a major problem in English rugby. So are other clubs at risk? And is professional rugby union even economically viable?</p>
<p>Certainly the current finances of the Premiership teams do not inspire confidence. According to the latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house">available accounts</a>, all of the 13 clubs that started the 2022-23 season made a loss last year. </p>
<p>Eight of them had negative equity, meaning that they were technically insolvent and being subsidised by their owners. Worcester and London Irish were among that group, while Wasps had healthy equity (club value), but a relatively <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63874443">high level of debt</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Table of rugby finances." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=715&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=715&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531166/original/file-20230609-5641-ayggg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=715&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The latest finances (2021-2022) for the top English rugby teams (figures in brackets are negative).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Their woes are just the latest in rugby union’s long <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SBM-10-2016-0063/full/html">history of financial problems</a>. And while there have been efforts to bring stability to the sport’s finances, such as controlling costs through salary caps, clearly the problem has not been solved. </p>
<p>There was also a lucrative sounding partnership between the Premiership and a <a href="https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12321/11586168/premiership-rugby-sell-minority-stake-to-cvc-capital-partners">private equity firm</a> in 2019 which gave clubs a cash injection of more than £200 million in exchange for a 27% share of the organisation. But this money provided a one-off short-term boost to club finances, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/rugby-unions-financial-crisis-why-the-sports-model-is-broken-192563">financial instability remains</a>.</p>
<h2>Turnover</h2>
<p>All rugby clubs have three main sources of income: ticket sales on match days, sponsorship and broadcasting. Match day income is the most important – but it varies from match to match, with <a href="https://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/record-breaking-weekend-in-gallagher-premiership-rugby#:%7E:text=GALLAGHER%20PREMIERSHIP%20Rugby%20came%20back,across%20the%20five%20matches%20played">16,400 the highest average</a> weekend attendance this past season. </p>
<p>The sponsorship income can also vary and depends on interest from fans. Sponsors also like stability, so clubs being at risk of collapse affects their arrangements, because cancelled fixtures (when an opposition team has gone into administration for example) and uncertainty about viability of the league as a whole makes investing risky.</p>
<p>On the broadcasting side of things, rugby union was comparatively late to professionalise. Other sports such as football and golf had already locked themselves in the main broadcasters’ sporting calendar when rugby came to the table in the late 1990s. As a result, rugby’s broadcast revenue is fairly low (£40 million a year for rugby’s Premiership compared to £1.6 billion for Premier League football).</p>
<p>Another vital issue that rugby faces is a lack of integration within the sport itself. For example, English club football has an international break to allow players to turn out for their national teams at various points in the year. </p>
<p>Premiership rugby, on the other hand, continues during events like the hugely popular <a href="https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/2023-fixtures/">Six Nations</a> tournament, which diminishes club squads and viewer numbers. This affects all three types of revenue.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Irish rugby team, February 2023." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531642/original/file-20230613-25-m9x1lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is the Six Nations tournament a distraction?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rome-italy-2502-ireland-team-during-2267035505">Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Where Premiership rugby does have an advantage over other team sports is the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13606719.2012.674388?journalCode=rmle20">competitive balance</a>, which means results are rarely predictable. This is good for broadcasters, as it makes it more exciting and appealing for viewers.</p>
<p>But next season will not be very exciting for the loyal fans of London Irish, Wasps and Worcester Warriors. After the last two went into administration in 2022, the UK government launched a <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/173615/rugby-football-union-and-premiership-rugby-to-face-questions-from-mps/">parliamentary enquiry</a> to address concerns around the sport. Independent advisers have <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/independent-advisers-appointed-by-government-to-help-stabilise-future-of-professional-rugby-union">now been appointed</a> to work on the stability of rugby.</p>
<p>This is not the first time the UK government have got involved in sport. In football, the proposed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-sustainable-future-reforming-club-football-governance">introduction of an independent regulator</a> was a reaction to the the fragile state of club finances. When we looked in detail into the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071503/Assessing_the_financial_sustainability_of_football__web_accessible_.pdf">financial sustainability of football clubs</a> in 2022, we found similar problems to the ones being seen in rugby.</p>
<p>Put simply, to achieve economic viability and improve revenue from all three income streams, rugby union needs to evolve in a way which encourages growth and attract more interest. New audiences are vital, such as those seen recently <a href="https://www.ruck.co.uk/record-viewing-figures-2023-womens-six-nations-helped-grow-womens-sport-coverage/#:%7E:text=The%20growth%20of%20viewership%20has,total%20of%2010.4%20million%20hours.">in women’s international rugby</a>. Targeting younger audiences through social media would help too, as would working to shed rugby’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2020.1711739">image as an elitist sport</a>.</p>
<p>For now though, participation in <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/grassroots-rugby-clubs-struggling-to-find-players-wxp2dtc0g">grassroots rugby is falling</a> – which is bad news, as research shows that people who play a sport are more <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37032737/">likely to watch it</a>. </p>
<p>If that trend continues, the business side of rugby will struggle – and more clubs with proud histories will be end up paying the ultimate penalty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207376/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>London Irish is just the latest big loser in top level rugby.Christina Philippou, Principal Lecturer, Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of PortsmouthKieran Maguire, Senior Teacher in Accountancy and member of Football Industries Group, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657392021-08-26T15:08:38Z2021-08-26T15:08:38ZNFL and NHL salary caps have worked out well for players<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415044/original/file-20210806-90685-fj23gq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3667%2C2475&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff throws a pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Seattle in January. The Rams will have to count Goff’s signing bonus towards their salary cap for the next four years, despite trading him to Detroit.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Scott Eklund)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Salary caps are a controversial issue in any collective bargaining situation in professional sports. The introduction of a cap by National Hockey League owners <a href="https://www.prostockhockey.com/hockey-resources/miscellaneous/nhl-strike-and-lockout-history/">resulted in a lockout</a> that led to the cancellation of 2004-05 NHL season. The salary cap issue caused another season disruption in 2012-13.</p>
<p>In short, salary caps limit the amount of money a professional sports team can spend on their athletes. The National Football League was the first professional league to introduce one in 1994, followed by the national basketball and hockey leagues in later years. </p>
<p>The reason the NFL salary cap came into place was to make the league more competitive and to <a href="https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/an-introductory-guide-to-the-nfl-s-salary-cap">avoid runaway payroll spending</a> by wealthier teams, <a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-moneyball-how-covid-19-has-affected-baseball-odds-157203">in contrast with Major League Baseball</a> (the only North American sports league that doesn’t have a salary cap) that has teams of “haves” and “have nots” because of asymmetric payrolls.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-moneyball-how-covid-19-has-affected-baseball-odds-157203">Pandemic Moneyball: How COVID-19 has affected baseball odds</a>
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<p>To make the league more competitive — and avoid having differences in the performance of large and small markets teams — the NFL also employs revenue sharing. Both these mechanisms make the NFL one of the most socialistic professional leagues around the world, where teams share about 60 per cent of the league’s revenues. Without revenue sharing and salary caps, it would be impossible for small market teams like Green Bay or Buffalo to compete.</p>
<p>The NFL cap is characterized as a “hard” one because teams must always stay under it, but there are still ways around it. The NFL also introduced a hard salary floor — a requirement that all teams spend at least a certain percentage of the league cap. Both the cap and floor are tied to the league’s revenues and are adjusted annually. Until the last two collective bargaining agreements, the salary cap was at 50 per cent of the NFL revenues. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417277/original/file-20210821-21-cc8w31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NFL’s actual salary cap over time (the red line) and the trendline (the straight blue line). The graph shows that the salary cap is upward sloping, with the trend line capturing about 98 per cent of the behaviour of salary cap over time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Due to contractual issues, there was no salary cap in 2010, leading to a long lockdown in 2011, followed by a settlement between the NFL Players Association and the NFL collective bargaining agreement that reduced the salary cap from 50 per cent of the revenue to 47 per cent. This led to the flattening of the salary cap. </p>
<p>Because of COVID-19, the league’s revenue <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/03/02/business-of-football-understanding-the-salary-cap-dead-money">dropped even further in 2020</a> and hence the 2021 salary cap will drop from $198 million to $182.5 million. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man in a suit holding sheaf of papers stands in front of microphone. Five other men in suits stand in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415048/original/file-20210806-19-j7yd2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr stands in front of several NHL players at a news conference following collective bargaining talks between the NHL and the NHLPA in 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Manipulating the salary cap</h2>
<p>Salary caps can be manipulated by allocating some of the contract to a signing bonus, which, in turn, is distributed <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/03/02/business-of-football-understanding-the-salary-cap-dead-money">over the years of the contract</a>. However, this strategy can result in “dead money” counting towards the salary cap if a player leaves the team. Quarterback <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/detroit-lions/jared-goff-18949/">Jared Goff’s contract</a> with the Los Angeles Rams is an example of this. </p>
<p>In 2019, the Rams signed Goff for a <a href="https://www.profootballnetwork.com/jared-goff-contract-details-salary-bonuses/">five-year contract extension</a>, with a signing bonus of US$25 million (counting for US$5 million per year towards the salary cap).</p>
<p>Last year, Goff renegotiated his contract and received another US$9 million signing bonus. This combined signing bonus was prorated for an annual US$6.8 million for 2021, 2022 and 2023 and $1.8 million in 2024. </p>
<p>However, the Rams traded Goff to the Detroit Lions and even though Goff is no longer with the team, the Rams will have to count the signing bonus ($22.2 million in total) towards the salary cap for the next four years.</p>
<h2>The cryptocurrency loophole</h2>
<p>A novel and fascinating way to circumvent salary caps is illustrated by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/exclusive-messis-paris-st-germain-package-includes-crypto-fan-tokens-2021-08-12/">the recent use of cryptocurrency fan tokens</a> by Paris Saint-Germain as a signing bonus of Lionel Messi, one of the most iconic soccer stars in the world.</p>
<p>Paris Saint-Germain-issued fan tokens are linked to Ethereum (a cryptocurrency) and allow fans to participate in some decisions made by the team (for example, the music used by the team or armbands worn by the team) and connect socially with players. These fan tokens can be traded and their price is related to the team performance.</p>
<p>It is estimated that the fan tokens granted to Messi by Paris Saint-Germain are valued between 25 million and 30 million euros. One advantage of fan tokens is that they are cheap for the issuing team, but provide real value to the recipient. The biggest advantage is fan tokens are not considered for salary caps (which are called <a href="https://www.uefa.com/news/0253-0d7f34cc6783-5ebf120a4764-1000--financial-fair-play-all-you-need-to-know/">“financial fair play” rules</a> in European football).</p>
<p>The Messi situation likely means two things are happening now in other professional leagues: franchises are investigating using the same crypto tool to circumvent salary caps and leagues are considering ways to close the loophole. Ironically, rich teams in North American pro leagues (the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Lakers) that might issue fan tokens will become even richer because they have the biggest following of fans.</p>
<h2>The effect of salary caps on players’ salaries</h2>
<p>I’m a professor in financial analysis and in my day job, one of my areas of research is how game theory is applied to financial situations. Game theory is the study of strategic interaction among players (individuals or firms) to explain their behaviours. Businesses, sport teams, military organizations and governmental policy makers commonly use it on a regular basis for strategic decision making. </p>
<p>From a game-theoretic viewpoint, major league sports should be characterized as an “all pay auction,” where every bidder pays the bidding costs but <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3087482">only the winner takes the prize</a>. This type of analysis leads to an interesting and unexpected insight — salary caps increase the payroll spending of teams. </p>
<p>Without salary caps, the “have not” teams might feel like they have no real chances against the “haves.” But because of salary caps, these teams <em>do</em> feel like they have a fighting chance, so they spend money on player salaries, which increases the average team payroll spending. This means the immediate effect of a salary cap is an increase in the average player’s salary, while superstars’ salaries decrease. From this perspective, the NHL Players Association’s early war against the salary cap ended up hurting average players and protecting the superstars. </p>
<p>The other effect of a salary cap is that having a more competitive league helps teams grow their fan bases (because no one wants to watch a team that always loses, although <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/changes-maple-leafs-make-worst-collapse-yet/">the Toronto Maple Leafs are an exception to that rule</a>). That, in turn, can increase the league’s revenues, leading to a higher cap and, ultimately, higher salaries. </p>
<p>To show this, I analyzed the average team payroll in the NHL since the introduction of the salary cap. As the chart below shows, the average team payroll has been trending upwards in the NHL since the establishment of the salary cap, not counting the lockdown year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417279/original/file-20210821-13-1my7b89.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The average team payroll in the National Hockey League was US$81.5 million in 2019-20 compared to $34.3 in 2005-06 — 138 per cent higher. The graph shows that the average team payroll in the NHL is upward sloping (with the trend line capturing about 89 per cent of the behaviour of average team payroll over time).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Salary caps have been around since 1994 and are used in all North American professional sport leagues with different degrees. They were instituted to enhance competitiveness among league teams, and to large extent were successful in achieving this goal.</p>
<p>Despite the opposition of salary caps by player unions in the past, game theory and actual data shows that caps have actually increased average players’ salaries over time. Coupled with how salary caps can help smaller teams stay competitive against those with deeper coffers, it’s clear they currently play an important role in the financial well-being of major league sports teams.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramy Elitzur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NFL salary caps were originally introduced to make the league more competitive and reduce performance differences between small and large market teams. But they have also worked out well for players.Ramy Elitzur, Associate Professor, Financial Analysis, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/809052017-07-12T15:18:56Z2017-07-12T15:18:56ZWill F1 bosses step in to save the British Grand Prix?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177855/original/file-20170712-14421-1r4ptlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C92%2C2749%2C1815&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/formula-one-grand-prix-great-britain-303597215?src=etyYPWT-2nBOG0U9kbUapQ-1-0">BAKOUNINE/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Silverstone is playing hard to get. The venerable racing circuit <a href="http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10944415/silverstone-confirm-break-from-f1-contract-from-2019-what-does-that-mean-for-british-gp-future">signalled its withdrawal</a> from the Formula One season from 2020, citing escalating costs. It is a fascinating moment for the sport. So much of F1’s appeal is wrapped up in the sentimentality of history, but its push for a modern, glittering future risks leaving that behind.</p>
<p>So will F1’s new owners, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reasons-to-be-cheerful-as-liberty-media-era-dawns-in-formula-one-72406">Liberty Media</a>, take the bait and seek to help? The only legitimate way for everyone to save face in this scenario would be for Liberty to buy Silverstone itself and shut down any accusations that they are letting the circuit back in the game on the cheap.</p>
<p>Or might there be a new role here, perhaps, for a certain billionaire with a shock of white hair who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jan/23/bernie-ecclestone-no-longer-f1-chief-executive">only recently relinquished his grip</a> on the world’s premier motor racing competition?</p>
<h2>Street fighters</h2>
<p>The Silverstone circuit is enshrined in motor sport history. It hosted the first ever World Championship Formula One race in 1950. But now its owner, <a href="http://www.brdc.co.uk/">the British Racing Drivers Club</a> (BRDC) has reached a financial tipping point. It feels <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/Formula1/british-grand-prix-at-silverstone-faces-extinction-as-owners-activate-break-clause-with-f1-a7835571.html">unable to sustain continued losses</a> from hosting the British Grand Prix, which were £2.8m in 2015 and £4.8m in 2016. It has therefore exercised a break clause in its contract with F1/Liberty Media.</p>
<p>There has been talk about the race relocating elsewhere, but there is no other facility that could host the 350,000 spectators that annually visit the former airfield in Northamptonshire, northern England. </p>
<p>A mystery street circuit in London was <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/f1-chief-chase-carey-on-why-he-wants-less-shooting-from-the-hip-as-he-bids-to-drive-the-sport-a3585146.html">suggested as an alternative</a> by Liberty’s F1 CEO Chase Carey but no details have been aired in public. In any case it seems unlikely that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who is working with the <a href="http://www.c40.org/press_releases/press-release-mayors-of-paris-and-london-announce-car-scoring-system-to-slash-air-pollution-on-city-street">C40 Cities organisation</a> to identify real-world car emissions and their impact on air quality, would find that this fits with his agenda.</p>
<p>Politicians are sensitive to their electorate. Wherever such a circuit might be in London the local residents almost certainly would follow the lead of the <a href="http://savebatterseapark.com/issues-at-a-glance/">“Save Battersea Park” campaigners</a> who saw off the much more politically acceptable <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-electric-car-racing-could-one-day-challenge-the-spectacle-of-formula-one-76192">electric motor racing series Formula E</a> after just two seasons. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177854/original/file-20170712-14421-1o8h7pu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No more green lights for Formula E in Battersea Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sheeprus/19334691668/in/photolist-vsxmdU-wkdCAM-wk6hm1-vsu7WQ-vEQq7p-wk6Ey9-wkdEcH-wkdGxe-vEGcdL-wkdeH2-wCchNn-vEFUBj-vEQQLK-wCctn8-uoZ6L2-uN6BFd-wzorZE-vEQSMi-wkdfcP-wB1shG-wk78uU-vEGnZA-wk63dw-vEGvtd-vEGqrQ-wBHH5D-vr3LW8-vsFAXZ-vJubE9-uNcT4W-JShTwu-uNf7ka-JmKP39-vJyNP5-vJtKwo-uNeHJP-vsuud9-KfmEzy-vK6WCx-JmSJ6v-vJtXcC-vKsLm4-wk76gL-vki84m-wCcr7g-wB1Se9-wBHCsH-wBHBnM-vEQJ5t-vEQFRk">Sheep</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Well-known motor racing circuits such as <a href="http://www.brandshatch.co.uk/">Brands Hatch</a> and <a href="http://www.donington-park.co.uk/">Donington</a> cannot cope physically with the demands of modern grand prix racing and the huge crowds involved – Brands Hatch’s record crowd is only a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motorcycling-fogarty-pulls-in-record-crowd-1109838.html">little more than 100,000</a>. Silverstone itself seems the only realistic solution for the British Grand Prix. If no deal is done the worst case scenario would be that the this iconic event, which was first run at Brooklands in 1926, could be lost. </p>
<p>Silverstone could be sold or leased to the right bidder. Jaguar Land Rover, which was recently keen on just such a purchase, <a href="https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/jaguar-land-rover-not-going-buy-silverstone">failed to pull it off</a>. One of their aims had been to establish a company heritage centre at the track. The BRDC has plans for <a href="http://www.silverstone.co.uk/news/silverstone-heritage-experience-secures-funding/">its own heritage experience</a> to open there in 2019 as well as for a hotel complex.</p>
<p>So, what sort of organisation might take on such an asset? Is it too far fetched to think that F1’s new owners might fit the bill perfectly? Liberty Media is well versed in the entertainment business and you only have to look at another of its sporting assets, Suntrust Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team to see the <a href="http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/">company’s existing experience</a> in establishing a major entertainment complex.</p>
<h2>Old hand, new role?</h2>
<p>Liberty is hoping to emphasise F1’s potential as an entertainment spectacle, and to bring in more and younger fans from around the world, but it still has a keen eye on the decades of glamour and stories which have defined the sport’s appeal. The company has stated its wish for the British Grand Prix to continue as one of motor sport’s historic blue-riband events, and has already <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/f1-chief-chase-carey-on-why-he-wants-less-shooting-from-the-hip-as-he-bids-to-drive-the-sport-a3585146.html">offered to run the race for the BRDC</a>. But what about buying the whole entertainment complex and developing it? Zak Brown, executive director of the McLaren Technology Group, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-f1-britain-silverstone-ecclesto-idUSKBN19V0OU">thinks they should</a>.</p>
<p>The added bonus is that this would sidestep any accusations of favouritism from other race promoters if, in an alternative scenario, the BRDC were granted a reduced fee for the race.</p>
<p>The final twist could be that Bernie Ecclestone, who is just getting used to semi-retirement from a lifetime of running F1, is not without influence, knowledge and funds. Could he come up on the rails and buy Silverstone and could the BRDC work with him? He admits to having made <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-f1-britain-silverstone-ecclesto-idUSKBN19V0OU">just such an offer in the past</a>, but denies he is interested right now. Is this a classic piece of posturing?</p>
<p>At the British grand prix this weekend, the action will be focused on a historic circuit as iconic names such as Ferrari, Mercedes and Williams fight it out. The huge crowds both at Silverstone and watching on global television will find it hard to believe that the race might be lost after 2019. Think that’s impossible? Well things do change in this sport. The French Grand Prix <a href="http://www.eurosport.com/formula-1/french-grand-prix-returns-as-part-of-austria-silverstone-triple-header_sto6223818/story.shtml">reappears on the F1 calendar</a> again next year after an absence of ten years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Grant-Braham is a Council Member of the British Automobile Racing Club.</span></em></p>Formula One owners Liberty Media, and perhaps even old-hand Bernie Ecclestone, might hold key to saving a crucial part of the sport’s history.Bruce Grant-Braham, Senior Lecturer, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/768962017-05-16T13:26:56Z2017-05-16T13:26:56ZHow football clubs fail and succeed after reaching England’s Premier League<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169513/original/file-20170516-11956-16am5fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=832%2C142%2C4573%2C3135&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailandmay-19-2016-leicester-city-423303871?src=lkAjMaxiRUllBl9EWku42A-1-11">Naypong/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Football always divides opinion. As the latest English season draws to a close and the Football League playoffs take centre stage, there will be some that grumble about the format. They will say how “unfair” it is that a club can finish third in the league in the regular season, yet be denied promotion by a club that finished sixth after a late surge. Set that aside though, and you are left with the pure drama. It is win or bust, and prolongs the excitement of the regular season, giving more teams, more to play for in a crescendo of late season fixtures. </p>
<p>The playoffs concept was borrowed from US team sports where this end-of-season competition is a regular feature, attracting huge media exposure and <a href="http://www.nba.com/playoffs">significant commercial interest</a>. In England, for thirty years now, the playoffs have determined the final promotion spot within each division of the Football League. Four teams first try to get to the playoff final at Wembley stadium, then face a nerve-jangling 90 minutes or more to secure a step up the football pyramid.</p>
<p>The inspiration from US sports is important. Put aside the passion, excitement, disappointment and any sense of injustice for a moment. The playoffs can be of huge importance financially. A playoff victory can have the power to stabilise a club’s financial position, clear debts and allow significant investment in players. The pot of gold at the end of this rainbow has largely been filled with TV money. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/10/premier-league-tv-rights-sky-bt">most recent domestic</a> deal was signed for £5.14 billion. Add in the international rights and this swells to £8.4 billion. </p>
<p>Lower down the leagues, the money on offer is not eye-watering. Our conservative estimates <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/05/20/proposed-changes-to-football-league-may-cost-premier-league-club/">put the prize</a> at around £500,000 for promotion from League Two to League One and around £7m for promotion from League One to the Championship. However, the prize on offer for promotion to the Premier League is staggering and has led to the Championship playoff final being labelled the “<a href="http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11689/10295845/the-price-of-championship-play-off-promotion-the-richest-game-in-football">richest game in football</a>” with a value of around £170m-£200m. Huddersfield, Reading, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fantasy-sports/predictor/championship/">are facing off</a> for the jackpot this time around.</p>
<h2>Revenue generator</h2>
<p>The often-quoted £200m figure is a little misleading as it takes into account so-called parachute payments which only kick in if a club is relegated the following season. Clubs will receive a minimum uplift of £120m though, which can be triple or quadruple their turnover. In fact, the chart below shows that when Bournemouth was promoted in 2015, the club saw a six-fold increase in revenue, essentially driven by additional broadcasting fees.</p>
<p>When the prize is so very shiny, straining to reach for it presents a strategic dilemma for clubs. The boost to revenue from promotion can stabilise a club financially, just like it did for Blackpool in 2010, helping it to (theoretically) secure a long-term future. In Blackpool’s case, however, <a href="http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/the-rise-and-fall-of-blackpool-fc-1-7902906">on-field performance</a> was destabilised and supporters became disenfranchised. Seven years later, Blackpool now hope to be promoted back to League One this season, via the playoffs. </p>
<p>Promotion can also increase the level of expectation and create pressure to retain a position in the world’s richest league. The club can get excited and the board can sanction acquisitions that fall outside a reasonable budget and seriously threaten the short and even long-term financial future of the club. This recalls the <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/queens-park-rangers-they-cant-buy.html">experience at Queens Park Rangers</a>, which somehow accumulated £143m of losses despite generating about £250m in revenue during their stay in the Premier League. QPR managed to spend a startling £285m on wages and £114m on player purchases, while their level of debt surged to a peak of £194m. </p>
<h2>Prepare to fail</h2>
<p>The third option is to rein in your ambition, develop a strategic plan, grow incrementally and accept that you may become a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/05/01/burnleys-honest-toil-sets-an-example-for-all-clubs-to-follow/">yo-yo club like Burnley</a>, or survive by the skin of your teeth like <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17770888">Stoke City</a>. </p>
<p>Either way, the club builds a longer term future at the top table which benefits everyone. Survival through this approach means that a club receives at least another £120m so can build still further and become a stable Premiership club. But even failing and being relegated means a club will still have money to spend, receive a parachute payment (of another £45m or so) and spend a season in the Championship with turnover in excess of three times that of a standard team. This provides a significant competitive advantage over your rivals as Newcastle United showed this year – <a href="http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-accounts-explained-things-12854721">the Magpies spent big</a> and gained promotion at the first attempt.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the direction of travel comes down to owner objectives, which can differ depending on their <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/20426781311316889">background and motivations</a>. One thing that is clear: spending beyond your means does not always guarantee success.</p>
<p>The chart above allows us to examine a club’s transfer spending in the year following promotion. It is a confusing picture, but the red bars show those clubs which were relegated the following season, and demonstrate clearly that spending big is no guarantee of survival. This chart doesn’t show the starting point for each club in terms of player quality, but how you spend it is plainly crucial, and the chart shows too that you can survive without throwing the kitchen sink at player acquisitions.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2014.980737">There is broader evidence</a> that the most successful clubs, with the most money, do tend to outperform, but the trade-off between financial and sporting performance is hazardous. Many clubs now choose to chase <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044500516000160">multiple and escalating objectives</a>: recall the devastating failure at Leeds United in 2003, when creditors were owed almost <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2004/mar/07/sport.features1">£100m</a> after the club chased the dream of playing in the Champions League. You chase that dream at your peril is the warning; plan carefully, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/prepare-for-a-record-breaking-premier-league-transfer-window-70631">spend wisely</a> is the advice to your board. Relegation doesn’t have to be a trapdoor, but promotion can be a trap.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are three ways to manage promotion to the top flight. Let QPR, Blackpool and Burnley guide you through the choices.Rob Wilson, Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance, Sheffield Hallam UniversityDan Plumley, Senior Lecturer in Sport Business Management, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/724062017-03-21T10:24:08Z2017-03-21T10:24:08ZReasons to be cheerful as Liberty Media era dawns in Formula One<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161627/original/image-20170320-9108-1n0jm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=56%2C27%2C1596%2C994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pjmixer/27680698384/in/photolist-Jb3Pfq-Jb6LkR-ExrL6Q-FhRqHN-JFCaPY-HPEyby-JFCwi3-EwPVkw-EwQaFq-F9tbNS-JFCdhd-K7uHHZ-K4uL3s-Jb6is2-KCFerg-E9NJ3H-JMobaz-K4v5eY-D8F2VD-JFC7tQ-JFCeWL-K4uCNC-Jb6s3D-JFBUCW-GPA7bi-JFBP9E-Jb3ZEd-EEZkBL-K4uSHb-ESAhiE-EEZ93y-Egazy1-DKUVCX-E9PetM-KhFYfS-FrbNVU-JFCt6m-JXii7C-JFC97E-K7uXCc-K7uVFB-K7uSga-JxamAf-K4v4ad-J1X5yW-KhFYys-KhFYBd-KhFYtY-KhFYqb-KhFYmy">PJMixer/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The new Formula One season offers some reason for optimism. When the green lights flash for the opening race in Melbourne at the end of March, we will get our first glimpse of the new promised “Super Bowl-style” Grand Prix. If its recent history is any guide, Liberty Media, the group which now owns F1, should have the ability, experience and resources to revitalise the sport, and deliver on promises they’ve made.</p>
<p>John Malone’s Liberty is a vast media conglomerate, and a rival of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Both, at various times, have eyed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/business/worldbusiness/22iht-murdoch.3991109.html">each other’s share holdings</a>. Liberty controls big name brands such as Virgin Media and the shopping channel QVC. It is anticipated that the organisation’s media pedigree will be used to recruit younger Formula One fans, and attempt to keep a tight hold of them through improved interaction.</p>
<p>For an idea of how this might go, we can look at Liberty’s ownership of the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball (MLB) team in the US. The former World Series Champions were <a href="http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2007/05/17/liberty-media-acquires-atlanta-braves-baseball-club">bought a decade ago from Time Warner</a> in what was described rather unromantically as a “tax driven transaction”. Since then, performance on the field has not lived up to expectations. Two years ago, attendance slumped to the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/03/23/how-valuable-are-the-atlanta-braves.html">lowest level in 25 years</a>, which affected revenue badly. Not good signs for Formula One you might say.</p>
<h2>Renovation</h2>
<p>However, many of the problems for the Braves were caused by essential renovations of their home ground, Turner Field. This had been the 1996 Centennial Olympic Stadium and was <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/02/sport/turner-field-last-game-atlanta-braves/">in need of substantial upgrading</a> to improve the experience for fans. There was no solution that didn’t involve a significant outlay.</p>
<p>What Atlanta is getting is a new stadium complex – <a href="http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/ballpark/">Sun Trust Park</a>, which opens in April and involves a deal to bring in Comcast’s high-speed voice and video services. An agreement like this could have potential in F1 where <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/17618136/liberty-sees-virtual-reality-gambling-growth-areas-f1">Liberty has suggested</a> both virtual reality and gambling opportunities might be developed.</p>
<p>For the Atlanta Braves, the prospect of this new venue bolstered confidence and led to a sharp increase in the <a href="http://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/forbes-braves-surpass-billion-value/SyyfBm2f2pbu8IolMExTAN">value of the MLB franchise</a>. There is fresh optimism around results on the field too if <a href="http://atlantabraves.blog.ajc.com/2017/01/30/the-farm-is-thriving-braves-future-looks-bright/">forecasts are right</a> about the good young players that Liberty has assembled.</p>
<p>Sun Trust Park is not just a sports stadium, and as such, it doesn’t have to rely entirely on MLB games for revenue. It includes a shopping mall which will have up to a million square feet of retail space, as well as a hotel and sponsorship involvement from other local blue chip companies including Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines. The prospect of year-round entertainment is a message for many Formula One tracks: investment in infrastructure could pay off. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161529/original/image-20170320-9147-riqk8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">MLB makeover. Turner Field in 2006.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/flc/127939608/in/photolist-ciHZj-4KBU2s-nrUsAg-6PnZCr-4QANit-5RnWUp-4QAPL6-nn2eXo-4KAZPW-d6WkJ3-6ANRF5-4PV6sY-8HwUPA-etM8Y7-aL5pD-4L7aoB-nKwn4N-8HtAwv-2y1reg-4KzBQd-fSMoor-6eGrQJ-em31uv-4HivQS-4QJi3N-4KBQ3o-4PV6s5-dwWqNU-4KzEco-88nLhL-4HivQ1-a4R9A7-3drxLe-4KwnjH-4Kwe6K-4KxgAV-8HwUeC-3Cv4G-4KBpcs-d6VUyy-mRfBwy-eAALas-ozqvia-6khpYC-8HwKRo-4KwEwx-etJjVx-uxWxJ5-4KwiGx-4KxrBk">Gregor Smith/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Liberty are well placed to advise. Another Liberty company, Live Nation Entertainment, is a partner in Sun Trust Park, and describes itself as the largest live entertainment company in the world. Billy Joel will headline the <a href="http://www.wsbtv.com/entertainment/billy-joel-to-play-atlanta-braves-new-stadium-suntrust-park/481471135">first concert at the sports stadium</a>, opening a schedule that is expected to see 40 music and comedy shows each year.</p>
<h2>Brains and Brawn</h2>
<p>The Liberty team has some strong leadership in place, but they haven’t played it flawlessly so far. CEO of the parent group Liberty Media Corporation is Greg Maffei, who also acts as Live Nation’s chairman. Maffei is a former Microsoft chief financial officer (CFO) and was once chairman and CFO of technology group Oracle. He described Liberty as “happy owners” of The Atlanta Braves but came in for criticism from loyal fans when he <a href="http://jeffschultz.blog.myajc.com/2016/04/21/comments-from-libertys-maffei-reaffirms-braves-need-new-ownership/">referred to the team as an “asset”</a> and wouldn’t give a long term commitment. </p>
<p>This is noteworthy because Liberty Media Corp chairman, <a href="http://ir.libertymedia.com/management.com">John Malone</a>, has a <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/business/21652316-what-giant-deal-says-about-americas-media-and-internet-industries-malone-wolf">reputation for building and selling</a> business empires. At the time of writing he has not yet visited a Formula One race.</p>
<p>Liberty’s Formula One Group, however, is being led by Chase Carey – a former executive vice-chairman at 21st Century Fox. He <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/sports/autoracing/chase-carey-formula-1-bernie-ecclestone.html?_r=0">claimed to be “awed”</a> when he visited the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix and was impressed that the race managed to captivate the whole city. He drew that comparison with the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>But the really crucial part of the leadership team must be Ross Brawn. He was hired by Liberty to act as managing director for motor sports and called the Formula One deal an “almost unprecedented opportunity to work together with the teams and promoters for a better F1.”</p>
<p>There is little that Brawn doesn’t know about Formula One having delivered no less than 20 world titles. He has worked with Williams, Benetton and Ferrari, notably with Michael Schumacher. In 2009 he won one title with his own team’s Brawn GP Formula One car <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/oct/18/jenson-button-wins-f1-world-title-brazil">driven by Jenson Button</a>. And Brawn has many educated opinions about the competitiveness of the racing and the show expected by spectators.</p>
<p>These were no doubt expressed during his time as a consultant to Liberty before the company purchased Formula One. Brawn also introduced Virgin Media to Formula One in 2009, a company now absorbed in to Liberty. He too knows the media ropes and the expectations of such sponsors.</p>
<p>Brawn’s involvement, alongside the long-term game played with the Atlanta Braves, offers every indication that Liberty has the potential to improve Formula One for all concerned – and to do so not just with an accountant’s eye, but with some understanding of the glorious romance attached to this global sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Grant-Braham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An F1 insider could give the US media group an edge in its effort to reinvigorate the world’s fastest motor sport.Bruce Grant-Braham, Lecturer in Sport Marketing specialising in motorsport, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/727792017-02-13T13:02:48Z2017-02-13T13:02:48ZIs China on a collision course with world football’s governing body?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156551/original/image-20170213-23385-13x28u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=93%2C14%2C2263%2C1415&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tianjin-china-august-6-chinese-fans-30253606?src=O4s6IrKn02ldvVM06TTmzw-2-14">fstockfoto/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Trent Sainsbury may not realise it, but <a href="http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/trent-sainsbury-happy-with-first-days-at-inter-milan-4168104">he recently became the epicentre</a> of a seismic shift in global football governance. The Australian is a 25-year-old defender who had been playing for Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning. In January he signed for Italy’s Inter Milan on a short-term loan deal.</p>
<p>This looks like a relatively innocuous move – but it was not. Inter and Jiangsu are both owned by Suning, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/zhang-jindong/">a Chinese electrical retailer</a> (in Inter’s case the company purchased a 70% stake <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-inter-milan-suning-idUKKCN0YR03T">in the club last year</a>). In other words, Suning own both the buying and the “selling” club.</p>
<p>This immediately raises questions about conflicts of interest, although it is not just a China-related issue. The likes of Red Bull and the Pozzo family are also owners <a href="http://www.soccerissue.com/2014/01/10/why-would-anyone-want-to-own-6-clubs/">of multiple football clubs</a>. However, China’s ongoing football revolution seems to be premised upon taking control of and exercising influence over football’s global supply chains. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-china-stellar-idUSKCN0YN3T2">There have been widely reported rumours</a> that Suning is also seeking to buy a high-profile player representation agency.</p>
<h2>Conflict zone</h2>
<p>World football seems to be heading in the direction of multiple conflicts of interest which authorities have been slow to address. In some parts of the world, there are clear club ownership rules. <a href="http://www.danielgeey.com/multiple-football-club-ownership-disparities-between-rules/">In England an investor with more than a 10% ownership</a> stake in one club cannot own more than 9.9% of another. Under UEFA rules, an investor cannot own a controlling stake in two teams which qualify for the same competition. </p>
<p>Globally, the rules are neither as well developed nor as rigorously enforced. And it’s not just Suning which is keen on multiple ownerships; businessman <a href="http://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/2017/01/20/58822b37e5fdea3f138b462f.html">Jiang Lizhang owns Spain’s Granada</a> and China’s Chongqing Lifan. But China is testing the boundaries of football governance elsewhere too. There are <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e246a8f2-6a9d-11e6-a0b1-d87a9fea034f">suspicions among observers</a> that outward Chinese investment in overseas clubs is sometimes heavily linked to the state – particularly given President Xi Jinping’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-huge-punt-on-football-needs-a-heart-as-well-as-deep-pockets-58173">stated ambition</a> to turn China into a football powerhouse. </p>
<p>This raises a broader concern about multiple ownership and conflicts of interest. Indeed, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-09/premier-league-probes-chinese-investors-for-ties-to-beijing">reliable reports indicate that the English Premier League</a> has hired investigators to examine China’s portfolio of English club acquisitions for connections to the government. Standards of governance within China are often opaque, an issue compounded when the state is involved and the country’s investors are moving capital across international boundaries. </p>
<p>Ideally, FIFA should intervene to provide guidance and leadership. The problem is, football’s world governing body appears to be rather in thrall to China at the moment. </p>
<p>The organisation’s scandals of recent years have mired it in financial difficulty, something <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-fifa-china-wanda-idUSKCN0WN0Q3">Chinese property group Wanda admits it took advantage of</a> when securing a lucrative deal to become one of FIFA’s main long-term sponsors. In 2016, the company also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/11/china-wanda-buys-infront-sports-media">acquired Infront Sports and Media</a>, a Swiss-based company which manages media and marketing rights for international sports organisations. One of its biggest clients is FIFA.</p>
<h2>Network operators</h2>
<p>So, as one Chinese company (Suning) highlights weaknesses in football’s ownership and labour market rules, another (Wanda) is aligning itself with world football’s governing body. One might be inclined to see the two as unrelated; however, China is hugely ambitious and <a href="https://www.policyforum.net/the-guanxi-of-football/">highly adept at capitalising on its network of influence</a>.</p>
<p>These networks are inevitably never more than one or two degrees of separation away from the Chinese state, which is crucial in our understanding of the governance challenges that football now faces. For further evidence of those challenges, consider the case of Beijing Guoan.</p>
<p>As 2017 began, the Chinese Super League club was a perennial underachiever. Now, it is <a href="http://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2065990/chinas-beijing-guoan-now-worth-more-italys-ac-milan-us807-million-after">one of the world’s most valuable clubs</a>. Previously owned by the conglomerate Citic, a 64% stake in “The Imperial Guards” was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-26/at-over-800-million-china-soccer-team-worth-more-than-ac-milan">acquired by property developer Sinobo Land</a>. This has valued the club at US$800m, about the same as Italian giant AC Milan.</p>
<p>It remains unclear what the precise nature of relations are, or have been, between Citic, Sinobo and the Chinese government. It is worth bearing mind, however, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/18/opinion/stop-chinas-market-manipulations.html?_r=1">the words of Scott Kennedy</a>, China expert at the <a href="https://www.csis.org/people/scott-kennedy">Center for Strategic and International Studies</a>, who has a clear view on how the state intervenes in business:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Chinese bureaucrats believe that they have the right to intervene in their country’s economy whenever they want … to promote certain industries … Officials believe that they don’t have to defend or explain their decisions in real time … being opaque preserves their discretion to make changes on the fly.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This may be one reason why Beijing Guoan has just ascended into a position among world football’s elite; a demonstration of state ambition as much as it is an investment opportunity. If this becomes viewed as a case of market manipulation, then it represents a challenge to the governance of football as China seeks to rapidly position itself as a member of the game’s upper echelons.</p>
<p>This ambition is clear in China’s voracious appetite for overseas player signings. Fans have looked on in exasperation and awe as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2017/jan/05/china-chinese-super-league-oscar-carlos-tevez">China’s biggest clubs have hoovered up talent</a> for greatly inflated transfer fees and salaries. The common refrain is that the Chinese have more money than sense; that <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-european-football-compete-against-china-71362">the spending bubble will burst</a>.</p>
<p>Yet China has used this strategy in other industries to undermine competitors. <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/04/03/china-us-economic-power/">Fortune magazine observed</a>: “[The country] divides and weakens rivals by appealing to their greed.” So, is China’s inflation of transfer fees and salaries a deliberate ploy to draw high-quality playing resources away from European rivals, as well as inflicting financial pressure?</p>
<p>They wouldn’t be the first. England’s Premier League has <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-za/news/4633/soccerex/2014/01/29/4581526/five-clubs-skew-global-soccer-transfer-market-as-english">hardly been innocent</a> of skewing market values with massive bids for players, but this has been accidental rather than intentional. If covert Chinese state intervention in football is real, then it is of profound significance for global football governance.</p>
<p>Inter Milan fans are no doubt looking forward to Sainsbury starring for the Italian giants. However, right now, China and its investors are the ones that are turning in match-winning performances. Football governance is being pushed to its limits by China; and like a flat-footed defender, world football is struggling to work out how to respond.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>More articles about China and Xi Jinping, written by academics:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-glory-is-xi-jinpings-dream-for-china-96750?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup glory is Xi Jinping’s dream for China</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-china-on-a-collision-course-with-world-footballs-governing-body-72779?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Is China on a collision course with FIFA?</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/xi-jinpings-chilling-grab-for-absolute-power-in-china-92563?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Xi Jinping’s chilling grab for absolute power in China</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72779/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chadwick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Multiple ownerships, mega-transfers and a foot in the door at FIFA. Beijing’s bid for football power is a challenge to world soccer.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sports Enterprise, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/706312017-01-05T15:15:07Z2017-01-05T15:15:07ZPrepare for a record-breaking Premier League transfer window<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151819/original/image-20170105-18644-ycipix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C137%2C2038%2C1299&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/french-disko/6178378293/in/photolist-apXNBF-7yuwaL-Jwzsy-7pXJjk-e3v2p-6T96xW-bqPN4z-hDLTAx-Bq7o5-cZDhq3-89RrwE-mbCBQ-bWLwJV-eZeH9x-hAfU2-4LUrfP-7AYSbz-9GRc36-aeJKW4-56qAKu-9GwEPZ-7bWfFC-a4pzbd-a4pyQh-8StPSt-72neJJ-s2XqD-89NkNn-51JxVU-4pTgzZ-cJa4gq-8ARANv-aiejw2-aWw6K-a9ob5S-nU9CUU-96zS5P-gnVqs-5LbT2A-a7cecY-aoAisA-URRBy-bqPNbc-odq2UZ-2jWMjp-7HTYUg-b1JByr-bYcQBs-j2y5vz-8PLPGS">Anna Armstrong</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If a week is a long time in politics, then a month in football can seem like an eternity. The English Premier League January transfer window is now a well established tradition that can tease, delight and disappoint supporters in equal measure, delivering a ceaseless flow of news and half news all wrapped up in eye-watering spending by the clubs. </p>
<p>It is likely that this winter’s window will be the biggest yet, and is predicted to break the current record of £225m spent by clubs in 2011. The overall spending for the season should head past £1.4 billion – the summer 2015 window alone generated <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37209664">gross spending of £1.165 billion</a>.</p>
<p>There are two factors at play in this prediction. First, the financial significance of staying in the League is bigger than ever. Holding onto a Premier League place is <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2015/06/01/12280512/bournemouth-matching-bayern-how-the-new-premier-league-tv">worth an estimated £130m</a> to clubs so teams fighting relegation will feel under even more pressure to spend big. The risk here is clearly that their financial future could be threatened. Clubs can stretch too far, however, in tying players to big wages and long term contracts, an <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/queens-park-rangers-they-cant-buy.html">approach Queens Park Rangers followed</a> with players such as Joey Barton, Bobby Zamora, Richard Dunne, Rio Ferdinand, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Adel Taarabt. The club is now lying in 17th spot in the Championship, the second tier of English football.</p>
<p>Similarly, those clubs battling for a top six European spot, and for the European title itself, will be equally determined to ensure that their closest rivals do not buy the best talent. </p>
<p>Clubs also have more cash to spend than ever before. The signing of a £5.14 billion domestic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/10/premier-league-tv-rights-sky-bt">broadcasting rights package</a> means that clubs have the cash to strengthen their squad substantially. Coupled with overseas rights worth an estimated £3 billion, less the solidarity payments made to clubs in the Football League, Premier League clubs will have a total of around £7 billion to spend between them over the next three seasons – more for those who <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/60138">finish higher in the table</a>. That’s before we factor in record club earnings, worth another £90m-100m based on estimates by <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/sports-business-group/deloitte-uk-annual-review-of-football-finance-2016.pdf">football analysts at Deloitte</a>. </p>
<p>It is therefore of little wonder that major competition for experienced players will drive up transfer values and annual salaries. So, what can we expect from this window?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151817/original/image-20170105-29222-1i23aqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author's calculations/Telegraph/BBC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Last season, January spending hit a five-year high of £175m, an increase of 36% on the previous year. With the 2016 winter window the first year of the new record TV deal, we can expect this figure to rise. There has been a steady increase in the amount of money spent on winter and summer transfers in recent times, increasing, for the most part, in line with each of the four broadcasting cycles, dating back to 2003.</p>
<p>This season’s summer spending has already eclipsed the combined summer and winter spend of last season. Of course summer spending far outstrips the winter window, a trend largely to be expected given that this is when clubs tend to change managers and build new squads in the off-season. </p>
<p>Winter spending is normally based on an objective, intensified by pressure from chairs, owners, fans, other clubs, agents and players themselves. Teams might need to improve short-term performance to stave off relegation, qualify for European competition or win the title. The financial loss from an error is so large that clubs feel the need to spend money to properly compete with their rivals.</p>
<p>But let’s think about the strategy for a moment here. Should clubs look to invest in youth with a view to a more long-term developmental strategy or throw the kitchen sink at signing experienced players for big money? For many at the bottom end of the league it is the latter strategy that often takes hold despite the returns being so difficult to obtain. The combined spend of clubs in the bottom six <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35457851">last season was £90m</a> – more than half the total – yet only three teams would ultimately survive. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/151821/original/image-20170105-18647-jflk5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author's calculations/Telegraph/BBC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spending beyond your means does not always guarantee success. It is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660970.2014.980737">true that the evidence</a> suggests the most successful clubs with the most money do often outperform their rivals, but the trade-off between financial and sporting performance is hazardous and many clubs now need to chase <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044500516000160">multiple objectives</a>. Remember the devastating failure at Leeds United in 2003 when creditors were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2004/mar/07/sport.features1">owed nearly £100m</a> after the club chased the dream of playing in the Champions League?</p>
<p>With this comes a need to deviate from the original strategy to maximise short-term performance and retain your position in the world’s richest football league. For example, Swansea City, despite being a little busier this season, is the only club to have generated a net profit on their transfer activity during the last five years, while the two Manchester Clubs have spent over £1 billion between them in the search for the title and <a href="http://www.transferleague.co.uk/premier-league-last-five-seasons/transfer-league-tables/premier-league-table-last-five-seasons">European football</a>. This might be good financially, but Swansea also spent Christmas in the relegation zone <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/04/bob-bradley-denies-swansea-players-called-him-ronald-reagan">and sacked manager Bob Bradley</a> after only 85 days in charge. Aston Villa, meanwhile, failed to spend a penny in January last season, effectively sealing their own relegation without putting up a fight. </p>
<p>Newcastle by contrast went big. The club topped the spending table with nearly £30m, but were still relegated, much to the delight of their north-east neighbours, Sunderland, who spent less (still a chunky £18m) and survived. </p>
<p>Watford also went for it, spending about £19m and maintained their league spot but dropped four places. Norwich also spent heavily (£25m) and managed to drop five league places, were relegated and are now playing Championship football in 2016-17. </p>
<p>So, what does this tell us? Well, it tells us that whether your club is struggling, or even challenging for trophies, the temptation is always to spend your way out of trouble. Buying new players appeases the terraces and might even buy the manager some more time. New signings often rekindle the feel good factor but spending money on the wrong players is often worse than doing nothing at all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Everything is in place for a spending spree this January, but some data crunching shows successful spending is elusive.Rob Wilson, Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance, Sheffield Hallam UniversityDan Plumley, Senior Lecturer in Sport Business Management, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/492592015-10-16T12:34:12Z2015-10-16T12:34:12ZLooking behind the data in a misleading cost-of-football survey<p>The BBC <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34531731">released its Cost of Football Study</a> on Thursday and the headlines look positive for fans. But there are holes in the research which leave us wondering if there really is an improving picture in a country where even the cheapest season ticket in the fifth tier of football – at Eastleigh – is more expensive than comparable tickets for European heavyweights Bayern Munich. </p>
<p>The BBC’s upbeat conclusion has its problems, and for (at least) the second year running the study is methodologically weak. </p>
<p>One immediate flaw apparent in the data is that the assessment of the cheapest adult price includes promotional prices and only covers tickets for home games. The study mentions that Derby County offers the cheapest at £10. A <a href="http://tickets.wearederby.com/default.aspx?qit&q=31fb0094-7d53-40db-97f7-e7e4c2f1f9d6&p=0e89e409-969c-44dd-a9f8-af94269106fb&ts=1444921558&c=dcfc&e=dcfcq&rt=Safetynet&h=f78b6ec0b81d7ae445177e68f523f184">quick glance on their website</a> to check this reveals that the cheapest ticket price for the next ten home games (up to January 2016) is advertised as £19 (games against Bristol City and Reading). </p>
<p>That’s a useful starting point to push us to view the article with a healthy scepticism, and look more carefully at the actual cost of attending the 72 football league clubs’ next home games.</p>
<h2>Mixed up</h2>
<p>One of the headline figures is that in the Championship, Derby, Huddersfield and Reading have the cheapest match day price in the top five leagues in England. The problem here is that the BBC is not comparing like for like. Instead, the calculations are based on a mixture of student and discounted, one-off promotional tickets alongside standard adult tickets. </p>
<p>The page in the BBC report specifically devoted to Derby emphasises this point and is where that claim over a £10 ticket appears, alongside a stated cheapest season ticket at £319. Based on a season comprising 23 home games this appears immediately wrong – why would anyone buy a season ticket for £319 when they can save £89 by buying tickets separately at a tenner a pop? </p>
<p>By conflating ticket prices the BBC study makes it hard to draw conclusions and thus the assertions about the cost of attending a football match are weakened. Based upon a quick sample of tickets for football teams’ next home games (scheduled for the period 17 October – 24 October) I have recalculated the cost of match ticket prices. </p>
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<p>This methodological flaw underestimates the cost of going to a Championship game by 15% overall, or by an average of £3. I used a slightly different methodology and have used an internet search to buy a match ticket for the next home fixture of all 72 league clubs. We have to exclude the Premier League here; tickets are often sold out or only available to registered supporters.</p>
<p>Of the championship clubs, eight of them (including the three mentioned as being the cheapest by the BBC study) had ticket prices higher than those quoted by the BBC’s football study. Huddersfield’s cheapest tickets rose from £10 to £27.50. </p>
<h2>Down the divisions</h2>
<iframe src="https://charts.datawrapper.de/cLS0x/index.html" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="426"></iframe>
<p>In League 1 and League 2, the overall average price matches up more closely with the BBC study findings. But still there will be some surprises for ticket buyers. Five clubs in League 1 were more expensive than stated as was Exeter in League 2. Some clubs do come up as cheaper but we have to consider the exclusion of booking fees or increases in prices for those paying on the day. There are also one-off events to factor in here – Doncaster is a prime example which has gone for an ad hoc reduction in ticket prices for the next home game against Bradford. </p>
<iframe src="https://charts.datawrapper.de/bUiHf/index.html" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In any case, the headline figures on the price of football are misleading even in my recalculations above. And it is worth reminding ourselves of the true costs involved in supporting your club. Other costs include those admin fees for booking tickets online, money spent travelling to home and away games, and the additional costs from food and drink at the ground as well as any merchandise or programmes. Factor in the inflated costs of away tickets and it starts to stack up: Leeds, who are quoted as offering home ticket prices of £26 are charging visiting fans in a few weeks’ time £41 to attend a game. Such scenarios and ticketing discrimination are common. Clubs have varying policies on student and concessionary tickets in particular as well as restricting one-off price reductions to home fans too.</p>
<p>And let’s not forget how it appears in absolute terms. We might be quibbling over a 15% difference here, but in absolute terms the costs are still high. Football match ticket prices in the UK are often described as expensive relative to those offered in the top European leagues. Cheap season tickets in Germany and Spain in particular have been contrasted to the high prices paid by those who watch Premier and league football on a weekly basis. Season tickets at both the Spanish and German champions are <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/cheapest-barcelona-bayern-munich-season-6635285">cheaper than any league team in England or Scotland</a>. </p>
<p>The BBC’s study therefore should be treated with caution – without the explanatory notes it appears that football is becoming more accessible, however normative views from terraces suggest this is not the case. Better studies would explore the discrimination of certain groups of fans and wider concerns over exclusionary ticketing, both in terms of who is able to afford to attend games and in terms of discrimination between home and away supporters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Kirkland is a season ticket holder at Rotherham United football club. </span></em></p>A new study on how much fans are paying takes an upbeat view, but what’s missing?Christopher Kirkland, Teaching Associate, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/461742015-08-24T16:17:36Z2015-08-24T16:17:36ZHow Russia has devoted its energy to the beautiful game<p>As the new European football season starts and the tiresome FIFA corruption scandal rumbles on, most of us are inevitably preoccupied either by who will win the coming season’s titles or how the governing body will cope with the pressure. But there is an intriguing, and strengthening, agenda hidden behind both the new season and FIFA’s ongoing travails – global energy supplies.</p>
<p>In their <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-ugly-game-by-heidi-blake--jonathan-calvert-book-review-10231887.html">recent book The Ugly Game</a>, Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert discuss what it seems to take for a nation to win the right to host football’s World Cup. Notwithstanding the levels to which all the bidding nations seemingly stooped in the race for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, Blake and Calvert highlight a couple of specific episodes that reveal how deeply embedded football is in global geopolitics and, more specifically, energy supplies.</p>
<h2>Deal makers</h2>
<p>The first episode describes how, while it was seeking the support of the Thai FIFA Executive Committee, Qatar agreed a 20-year gas deal with the government of Thailand. In 2011, one year after the Middle East nation’s success in its bid to host the 2022 tournament, Qatargas delivered its maiden cargo to Thailand’s first and only Liquified Natural Gas receiving terminal, Map Ta Phut. Since then, Qatargas has supplied Thailand with 27 more cargoes.</p>
<p>In the second episode, Blake and Calvert observe that in the midst of the horse trading for support during <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/fifa/11686691/Brazil-delegate-comfirms-illicit-World-Cup-vote-trading-between-backers-of-Spain-and-Qatar-bids.html">FIFA’s problematic 2010 double World Cup vote</a> there emerged an agreement for Qatar and Russia – the world’s two largest natural gas suppliers – to exploit deposits that had been located beneath the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia.</p>
<p>There is an argument that such incidents amount to simple coincidence – <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/05/qatar-yamal-lng-idUKL6N0BXH2Y20130305">recent reports in fact</a> indicate that Qatar has decided against taking its involvement in the project any further. However, Blake and Calvert’s observations add further credence to the idea that football is increasingly taking centre-stage in the global geopolitics of international energy supplies. In particular, the authors note that several members of the 2018 Russian bid committee were former employees of Gazprom.</p>
<h2>Gas giant</h2>
<p>Gazprom is both the world’s largest extractor of natural gas and one of its biggest corporations. Formerly Russian state-owned, <a href="http://www.gazprom.com/about/history/company/">Gazprom was created in 1989</a> and then later partly privatised, although the country’s government retains a majority ownership stake. Despite sanctions against Russia, which have hit Gazprom’s business in recent years, the company <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0078c61c-52d5-11e4-a236-00144feab7de.html#axzz3j4Fy5HJs">still supplies around one-third</a> of the European Union’s gas and actively operates in countries such as Brazil, Germany, Iran and Nigeria.</p>
<p>Gazprom has an <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/be5b2017943e416e98eef2fc29740df8/world-cup-center-gazproms-sponsorship-empire">impressive array of relationships</a> across football – ranging from deals with FIFA and UEFA, <a href="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/gazprom-zenit-st-petersburg-and-the-intersection-of-global-politics-and-world-football/">through to ownership of Zenit Saint Petersburg</a>, its reported interest in buying Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade and sponsorship contracts with Schalke of the German Bundesliga and Chelsea of England’s Premier League. This has recently <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/be5b2017943e416e98eef2fc29740df8/world-cup-center-gazproms-sponsorship-empire">led some commentators</a> to question what Gazprom is seeking to achieve from such deals, especially as the corporation does not sell gas directly to domestic customers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92082/original/image-20150817-25727-1gjbhk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Schalke stars plug Russian gas in Germany.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dsteffek/4714217565/in/photolist-8bzADc-aa4UQs-gs7fx-bkAboN-dnF2UK-dnF7Ks-dnF3nx-dnF7o1-tp6U-9q1MHr-bpewD-dnF7Fh-dnF7vw-dnF3vx-dnF7Bo-dnF7yw-vUAFpp-8bCz8h-8bzzk8-8bCMRf-8bCRyq-8bzjiT-8bCAvS-8bCPtE-8bCNNW-8bCytW-8bCNpq-8bzyHZ-8bzgta-8bCzZ5-8bCxbf-8bCzGb-8bCQqQ-8bCBaY-8bzzCT-8bzBee-8bzf9x-8bCSRG-8bCSy1-8bCMe5-8bCMxo-8bCLXE-wby1ki-wbxx8n-wbxxnk-hCdKev-hCcWg3-hCcuC1-8bCxQw-8bzwF6">dsteffek</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Consider the Schalke deal; the club signed a shirt sponsorship contract with Gazprom in 2007, a move which at the time led <a href="http://www.11freunde.de/liveticker">German football magazine 11Freunde</a> to claim the club’s move was “like having sex without a condom”. Schalke is based in Gelsenkirchen, northern Germany, which is part of the country’s industrial heartland, the Ruhrgebiet. Many would argue that Schalke is emblematic of German football’s culture and of its industrial roots.</p>
<h2>Serbian routes</h2>
<p>As one of the biggest consumers of Russian gas, in 2005 the Germans agreed to collaborate with the Russians in building <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/06/18/energy-gazprom-pipeline-idUKL5N0Z42OB20150618">the North Stream gas pipeline</a>. The pipeline, which begins in Russia and terminates in Germany, was inaugurated in 2011. <a href="http://www.css.ethz.ch/publications/pdfs/RAD-81.pdf">One view</a> is that Gazprom’s deal with Schalke was a means through which to influence German opinion, particularly at governmental levels. As an interesting aside to this, it is worth noting that the North European Gas Pipeline Company (later renamed Nord Stream AG) which owns North Stream is incorporated in Zug, Switzerland – coincidentally the home of FIFA, of which Gazprom is a partner.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92085/original/image-20150817-5124-68hiat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red Star fans light up the stadium.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dzindzer/4971458850/in/photolist-ff9tn6-8zf2rq-8zf28h-7yw7yK-7Z4E6r-kbGSx-6evajk-9yXx4M-9z1AfC-9yXytB-ozP1-9oCJDJ-ndCT6S-8zj2vL-7szdUL-7svfAi-7szdMh-9oCMiW-9oCKYW-dxZ9xD-7Z4Dpa">dezindzer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>History may now be repeating itself, as Gazprom has for some time been flirting heavily with <a href="http://www.crvenazvezdafk.com/en.html">Red Star Belgrade</a> (Serbia’s most famous club) to the extent that the Russian corporation <a href="http://keirradnedge.com/2014/09/02/gazprom-poised-for-red-star-takeover/">may yet buy the club</a>. This should come as no surprise to anyone as Russia has long been seeking a route for its mooted <a href="http://www.rt.com/business/218635-gazprom-owner-south-stream/">South Stream gas pipeline</a>, a project of which Gazprom became the 100% owner in late 2014. Serbia was at one time a country through which South Stream could have passed, but it has been struggling to reconcile its aspirations to become a member of the European Union with a desire to remain close to Russia. Alongside that, Gazprom’s attempts to influence Serbia’s position through the purchase of Red Star have remained up in the air.</p>
<h2>Life, death and oil</h2>
<p>In the meantime, Gazprom has continued its headlong march into football. It’s rotational signage and animated television adverts have become a staple of UEFA Champions League games, while the company’s logo has started to become prominent on FIFA properties as a result of the Russian corporation’s 2013 partnership deal with football’s world governing body. Such deals have taken Gazprom into the boardrooms and corporate hospitality suites of football’s aristocracy, facilitating easy access to the politicians and officials who make the types of energy decisions Gazprom no doubt wants to affect. Football has clearly become a focal point for the fossil fuel diplomacy of countries across the world – Qatar and Russia are not alone in using football for this purpose. </p>
<p>Whatever the outcome of proceedings against FIFA officials, the activities of those such as Gazprom already reveal that those among us who still think that football is all about the game, are guilty of an increasingly naïve assumption. Indeed, one is reminded yet again of former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly’s words about football being more important than life and death. Seems like he was right after all: in the 21st century it is increasingly about oil and gas, international energy supplies and global geopolitics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46174/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
What does Gazprom hope to achieve with its deep and generous relationship with football?Simon Chadwick, ‘Class of 92’ Professor of Sports Enterprise, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446392015-07-24T09:24:26Z2015-07-24T09:24:26ZHow cycling’s rising popularity built a lucrative tribe of MAMILs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88381/original/image-20150714-21738-1p1evd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C160%2C1564%2C917&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some MAMILs, in their natural habitat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/camera_phone_lomo/15582695602/in/photolist-pJZovy-nYtskd-oQjkXj-fr6gda-enEzz5-n8Wodz-9KVqk3-frkyEu-fr6fPV-frkxLU-cLiVaJ-fr6h9D-n8WwMt-duiY4e-8AkuW4-pawc8p-bsFqCq-foWsUZ-rKHDCU-uV9btb-n2hp5M-dmxNb1-nY6Zq6-ou6mFi-egPJtn">camera_phone_lomo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088707/">American Flyers was a 1985 movie</a> depicting the strategy and tactics of road cycle racing. In addition to an early appearance by Kevin Costner, the film was notable, among other things, for its portrayal of European cycling.</p>
<p>At the time, professional cycling had still to take hold in the United States and Lance Armstrong was only a boy, no doubt pounding the streets of Plano, Texas in anticipation of what lay ahead. Instead, the movie’s glamour boys were the European riders who were all swagger and attitude. </p>
<p>Up to that point, professional cycling had been a distinctly European phenomenon. It was dominated by heroes and icons such as <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=13">Fausto Coppi</a>, <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=25">Jacques Anquetil</a> and <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=1">Eddy Merckx</a>. Another rider, <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=37">Miguel Indurain</a>, was the quintessential type of European cyclist depicted in the movie. </p>
<p>A five-time Tour de France winner, during his career Indurain was often portrayed as having had an impoverished working-class upbringing – cycling was his route out of farming in rural Navarre, Spain. Even so, for every Indurain, there had been a hundred other French, Italian and Spanish riders of the same ilk.</p>
<h2>Corporate strategies</h2>
<p>If American Flyers portrayed cycling in the way it had always been, its prophetic message was of what cycling would become. Many of the film’s scenes were staged using the actual <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-7-Eleven/291669047559438">7-Eleven professional team</a> as actors. In time, 7-Eleven eventually mutated into the Motorola team, which was formed by Jim Ochowicz. Ochowicz went on to become Lance Armstrong’s first professional team director when the rider competed for Motorola between 1992 and 1996.</p>
<p>Both Ochowicz and Armstrong brought a new approach to cycling that was less Spanish farm worker and more square-jawed American executive. Their strategy was more akin to industrial process and commercial enterprise, something which began to revolutionise professional cycling.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lance Armstrong joins the MAMILs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/goatkarma/3833165315/in/photolist-6QHYva-7wncwE-63UjnF-61c8QQ-9hW61a-q8oPr-33kwj-661a8X-5p91hv-5pdhAw-5pdhcu-5yR7HV-665sBW-7TMi2Q-61t2em-4MNYU9-29bE7S-aEC2i-77RWb5-93Ym6Q-5G99wr-o2vFf-2KfRf-brccL-6QGAU-brcgE-5pdhiw-dMzcmj-3egb67-7wnZXy-77PdKx-33kvq-6R5Rpa-3o8xk-612DxC-6R5QBp-7xWLUr-95VDv3-Y17zt-5p91rD-6qr9u-5ZUmWE-5zH3sT-5zMjp9-5zH3C6-5zH2UX-5zH2CD-5zMjgs-5zMjAj-5zMjU9">Andrew Wilson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Under the influence of Armstrong, Ochowicz and others, the corporate types being drawn into cycling were soon themselves enticed by participation in the sport. <a href="http://wheelmenthebook.com/">In their book, Wheelmen</a>, Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell of the Wall Street Journal identified how cycling was embraced by, and became the epitome of, American business culture. It was intensely competitive and combined the importance of strong strategy and tactics with the need for the good health and well-being of executives.</p>
<h2>Olympic effect</h2>
<p>Following developments in the United States, cycling’s <em>nouveau-riche</em> contingent found a new boost from an upsurge in British interest in cycling. First came some success, most notably during the 2004 Athens Olympics, which led to a sharp increase in the sale of bicycles in Britain. Then came <a href="http://www.teamsky.com/teamsky/home#WfL6MI1Dx4e3JaMG.97">the emergence of a new team, Sky</a>, which not only set about revolutionising the sport, but also provided a focus for UK sports fans and bike riders alike.</p>
<p>At the heart of this British new wave was a man who was neither European farmer nor American executive. Rather, he was all Fred Perry, Northern Soul and tattoos. Although he had been around on the professional scene for more than a decade, <a href="https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/bio/Sir_Bradley_Wiggins_CBE">when Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France</a> and an Olympic Gold Medal in 2012, cycling in Britain went stratospheric. </p>
<p>If Armstrong was the poster boy for corporate America, then Wiggins was more like David Beckham on wheels. With a penchant for 1960s British music, a wardrobe of sharp suits and a loving family to boot, for many British males Wiggins was and still is a 21st-century icon in the way he balances style, rebelliousness, family life and high performance at work.</p>
<p>Of this Anglo-American marriage was born a love-child, the disciples of which now populate the highways of both countries and beyond. Where once, the working-class traditions of cycling witnessed farmer’s sons on bikes, now our roads are adorned with gleaming machines ridden by accountants in synthetic fabric – the MAMILs have arrived and are populating the cycling world.</p>
<p>Middle-Aged Men in Lycra (MAMILs) have rapidly become a cultural phenomenon and a clearly defined market segment. Kitted out in garish sponsor-laden kits of professional teams, they <a href="http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bmc/timemachine-tmr01-ultegra-di2-2015-road-bike-ec053884">pedal away on £4,000 bicycles</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shopping time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/acme59/6842097649/in/photolist-bqBxfR-74f7j5-4GCfjX-Ej634-7czgcn-finaC1-6Ggjau-cUeHoG-iwuzSH-9pKZMG-doaWLd-v5Tyy-sSp7vA-8t4CsG-9ASosi-bE29vZ-chpbvy-5ZRpSP-9dL4hu-n1QJQE-nv8RSm-poyiZt-qc86Rf-fNH75s-8hunav-a3Qer3-asV1th-6xtJBK-b99yHi-j7Nmj8-ebGLBa-5CY6tQ-dwKJXT-dy9tZj-8trK98-kPRZu-57KzPS-b99uZF-dHFBp5-fCBZBS-agEauC-qCmjU2-gyGjZg-5spNsT-8isD8c-eirJYd-9ndtGo-7tFF1T-9mmgWY-4nBuZL">acme08</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some cultural commentators have identified cycling as the new golf, as hordes of men flee the fairways and head for the hills. The suspect fashion and competitive edge are still there, but health, welfare and team bravado have replaced the one-upmanship of golf’s club houses. Furthermore, there’s something distinctly 21st century about pushing oneself to the physical limit with the guys on Mount Washington in New Hampshire or in the Yorkshire Dales, rather than indulging in a Sunday afternoon saunter around a pleasant golf course.</p>
<p>MAMILs have also become a marketer’s dream, spending sums of money on a bike that most people would ordinarily only spend on a small family car. The preponderance of lycra, carbon fibre helmets and on-board computers has contributed to a cycling industry that is now estimated to be <a href="https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/corporate/The_British_Cycling_Economy_18Aug.pdf">worth £2.9 billion</a> or more to the British economy alone.</p>
<p>As Britain’s Chris Froome continues to lead the Tour de France, and with US rider Tejay van Garderen challenging strongly until <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/tour-de-france/it-was-hard-to-look-at-my-teammates-after-abandoning-says-van-garderen-183999">his dramatic exit on Wednesday</a>, this year’s race has been something of a MAMIL fantasy. As such, carbon fibre rim manufacturers and energy bar producers are no doubt already salivating at the prospect of further boosts to their coffers. </p>
<p>Yet for all the cynicism among lonely women and overweight men, MAMIL mania should not be so quickly discounted. Just think of the environmental benefits every time a pushbike replaces the 1970s fuel-guzzling sports car that such men once longed to buy in middle age. At the same time, there are health benefits as well; unlike golf with its 19th-hole celebratory cigars and round of whiskies, the new way among MAMILs is to consume energy drinks and fruit purees in order to keep their bellies in check.</p>
<p>While some people will mourn the passing of cycling’s heritage and traditions, we now have a sport that is exactly what the likes of Jim Ochowicz set-out to create – and then some. Indeed, as we get deeper into the 21st century, with money in sport taking hold and the need for active lifestyles pressing, it is unlikely that we will ever see a return to the rugged, unvarnished type of cycling witnessed during the era of Coppi and Anquetil.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Whether through US corporatism or the Wiggo effect in the UK, Middle-Aged Men in Lycra are spending big on bikes and bib-shorts.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/447422015-07-17T13:50:00Z2015-07-17T13:50:00ZWarning for FIFA in Barcelona as fans bid to end Qatar sponsorship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88839/original/image-20150717-13796-39i99r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C13%2C1073%2C715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">From more charitable times.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/libertinus/18450314470/in/photolist-u7oFGb-9B2UWQ-psCo7-9B3JcS-a8HZ6x-6EfaEJ-ziaFF-e931D-pHczDE-fqXz7-DpTfV-4u9Q6m-xn2iz-fqXzn-aozYgi-8YaoKo-7uEAqu-28tVhF-ez49z9-abijoX-3MXawM-9NbvG2-82Rubx-a9tS6b-6oH42U-6oH3Fd-aXpDcB-cKPoFE-DpThG-dnvVLS-FadSi-6ThNXr-9GRLZ5-rkYr5Z-uoSNkp-axwfvx-e9jyW-g8LStw-ee5i7E-nXPAce-g8M2Ru-8RxVYr-of8Gb1-e6pbjJ-bDZzBQ-6M3Lnw-oh5Kvk-9NVvwT-6MBRzt-c8XcCf">Montecruz Foto</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At home games, FC Barcelona plays its club anthem – <em>El Cant del Barça</em> – to which the crowd normally responds by singing along in unison. Translated into English, <a href="http://www.totalbarca.com/2010/offside/chants-barcas-anthem/">parts of the anthem</a> contain the following lines: “We all agree; One flag unites us in brotherhood; We’ve got a name that everyone knows; And we have shown; That no one can ever break us.”</p>
<p>These words are emblematic of the histories shared by the football club, the city and Catalonia. This is bound up in a heady mix of republicanism and leftist politics, which has often manifested itself as a fight against bigger foes. </p>
<p>For FC Barca, the intoxicating nature of this mix is heightened by a club governance system that consists of members (socios), not owners, who periodically elect a president.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gApaq-QyTJs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>In the modern footballing era, Barca is almost unique, often held up as being the epitome of fan democracy and good governance. Indeed, even in an intensely commercial operating environment, this has helped define the club brand and underpin its commercial activities.</p>
<h2>Charity case</h2>
<p>This most poignantly meant that Barca didn’t sign its first shirt sponsorship deal until 2006. Even then the deal was with UNICEF, a children’s charity, which entailed the club paying its sponsor rather than the other way round. This was a great way of accentuating Barca’s philosophy, as well as its brand proposition, of being “more than a club”. </p>
<p>However, in 2010 (in a deal with the Qatar Foundation) and again in 2013 (when it signed a £125 million deal with Qatar Airways), <a href="http://philosofooty.afootballreport.com/post/2168114008/barcelonas-sponsorship-deal-the-end-of-an-era">the club moved away from its established approach</a> to selling shirt sponsorships.</p>
<p>The latter deal was especially important for a club that had been struggling with huge debts, the result of heavy player transfer expenditure (and, arguably, poor management) over several years. However unlike, say, Yokohama Tyres at Chelsea or T-Mobile at Bayern Munich, Barcelona’s Qatar associations have come with considerably more baggage.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88841/original/image-20150717-13752-o0x78x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flights cancelled?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stmaartenpiloot/2162420865/in/photolist-4i5Yon-iLpRWm-gSkLJW-fxt2ps-sgEnqJ-m4AgSj-8TGeEs-qGJutf-aAwjBX-8VruQy-4wskYq-bT8XDX-92xPS-dLAbb5-658Key-aQwhAX-q9KF1F-bK7AqM-bCkY4L-r8pRSi-9fj1YR-kBTnp3-mW25b3-7KiDEv-nSkPXr-qKfMJu-rTNYZE-v4fkj6-tmE6jk-aQwhS2-pyZ3Q8-r5vhaS-eH7bmB-rGbZu7-8hGr95-4Sk9PP-bDCAt4-armnhX-aQwhiK-qsKSu1-9aXzn5-9dZWMb-oUFzZk-d9FToy-pyZ3Ce-pRxR29-pz5xXY-pz5xMh-iu1CFr-6qQH9R">Pieter van Marion</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For a club with such strong political foundations, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11479991/Qatar-Airways-chief-shames-drunk-flight-attendant-in-email.html">reports about employment conditions within Qatar Airways</a> would appear to have put the football club in conflict with itself, its culture and the reputation it has always sought to uphold. </p>
<p>But it is a double whammy, as Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup has also brought the issue of <a href="https://theconversation.com/qatar-has-every-reason-to-enforce-new-workers-charter-23263">how the country treats migrant construction workers</a> into sharp global focus.</p>
<p>And with these concerns the words “now we all agree; One flag unites us in brotherhood” have brought FC Barcelona’s fans together. The club’s associations with Qatar have finally proved too much for <em>blaugrana</em> supporters. In recent weeks, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/barcelona/11731733/Petition-calling-on-Barcelona-to-drop-shirt-sponsor-hits-40000-in-24-hours.html">an online petition has been started</a>, which has gone viral with 59,000 people now having signed it. The petition reads:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Right now, Qatar Airways sponsors one of the most famous football clubs, the Barcelona Football Club. Barcelona’s millions of fans see the team as ‘more than a club’, revered not only for the quality of its players but for its allegiance to ethics, fairness and social justice. We cannot legitimize a company that exploits thousands of vulnerable workers. It is against the values of the sport. We need to drop Qatar Airways as a sponsor.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Presidential</h2>
<p>At one level, this may be seen as a call to protect the heritage of a cherished social institution. At another level though, it is typical of direct consumer actions that have increasingly and more generally emerged over the last decade or so. Direct action normally involves a group addressing an existing problem, highlighting an alternative, or demonstrating a possible solution to a problem. </p>
<p>In some instances, direct action is perpetrated in the form of violence, but other, more peaceful means are often used too – the Barca petition being one example. As the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/jun/07/features11.g22">Guardian newspaper</a>, the Occupy movement and more recently Anonymous have all shown though, disgruntled people are no longer prepared to idly accept perceived wrongdoings. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether the Barca petition will achieve the fans’ goal of removing Qatar Airways’ name from team shirts. But one has to remember that the timing of the petition is not accidental. The club is in the midst of a presidential election that will reach it’s climax on Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.espnfc.com/club/barcelona/83/blog/post/2525564/bartomeu-laporta-benedito-freixa-barcelona-presidential-race">One of the candidates</a> is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/17/barcelona-presidential-candidate-joan-laporta-elections">former president Joan Laporta</a>, who is a staunch Catalan nationalist and a firm advocate of the football club’s traditional values. He also happens to be the arch nemesis of Sandro Rossell, who succeeded Laporta as Barca president in 2010 and then signed the deal with Qatar’s state airline. Laporta has stated that he will terminate the Qatar Airways deal should he be elected. </p>
<p>Laporta’s posturing orchestration may be entirely opportunistic, motivated by political ambition, conveniently underpinned by discontent among willing disciples. However, the form of direct action being taken by fans is especially resonant <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-clever-politics-of-sepp-blatters-resignation-from-fifa-42733">in light of recent problems at FIFA</a>. </p>
<h2>FIFA foe fum</h2>
<p>As world football’s governing body has plunged deeper into a mire of corruption, football fans across the world have called for <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/05/29/fifa-sponsors-pressure-corruption-scandal/">FIFA’s corporate partners to take action</a> against the organisation. The response of most partners has been lame, their statements being a tightrope walk designed to placate fans whilst not undermining either their relations with FIFA or the sponsorship investment they have made in the World Cup.</p>
<p>What the Barcelona case illustrates though is that bringing about change at FIFA may rest in the hands of direct consumer action. Rather than looking to faceless executives in the boardrooms of sponsoring corporations across the world, Barca’s socios are signalling to fans everywhere that consumer petitions and product boycotts may be a new way of tackling some of sports’ most serious problems. </p>
<p>It will therefore be interesting to see how fans respond globally, particularly as Barcelona supporters are effectively challenging them to take matters into their own hands.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88844/original/image-20150717-21047-1mhwada.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Blatter stands alone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/9753072@N03/2535267174/in/photolist-a81FLS-8mN9nX-i8ocjq-bCqzhP-4S2UB1-8iiB43-9sUPWJ-87F3Uu-87CnyZ-bdS3Xk-cs4f9q-cNJR5C-nUYKJm-gEo1e-7kGKD3-fqzc1-8mN76X-4BiZPf-bdS3Ca-xLsk4-xLsyR-bdK6i4-cQpQmU-bdS4UB-bdK1Lp-bdJZPF-bdS4bk-bdS3Lp-bdK66D-tsTSFy-dv8bub-77Kiuu-dTZVjy-dv8c6j-dv2Ayz-dv2zQX-duTQss-duTQ57-duTPw3-duNdpg-ojQLDV-dTUhdz-dTZUUs-dTZURu-dTZUfQ-dv93uC-omATBr-ojNNSo-dv3ukF-8dBoAf">AsianFC</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sepp Blatter and the FIFA hierarchy presumably don’t normally break a sweat when they hear “one flag unites us in brotherhood” echoing in their ears. Yet they should start learning the words of El Cant del Barça, while keeping an eye on developments over in Catalonia. </p>
<p>After all, should Barcelona fans be successful in their quest to oust Qatar Airways, then it creates a precedent that may expose both FIFA itself and its commercial partners to similar actions in the future – Blatter, be warned.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44742/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The race to become the new FC Barcelona president reaches a climax this weekend, and there is more at stake than football.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.