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English Football

Author

Listed:
  • Babatunde Buraimo

    (University of Central Lancashire)

  • Rob Simmons

    (Lancaster University)

  • Stefan Szymanski

    (Imperial College London)

Abstract

Financial distress is not an uncommon occurrence in English football. The number of clubs falling into financial difficulties has escalated, yet this coincides with an era when the revenues accrued to English football have reached unprecedented levels. This article examines the finances of the Premier League and the Football League and assesses the sources of financial distress experienced by many clubs. The authors find that as clubs in the lower divisions engage in the seasonal race for promotion to higher divisions where financial rewards are greater, excessive wage expenditure and the collapse of a major broadcaster have combined to threaten the already fragile existence of many clubs. The authors assess some policy proposals designed to deal with the financial precariousness of English football.

Suggested Citation

  • Babatunde Buraimo & Rob Simmons & Stefan Szymanski, 2006. "English Football," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 7(1), pages 29-46, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:7:y:2006:i:1:p:29-46
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002505282911
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefan Szymanski, 2002. "The Promotion Test," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 3(2), pages 171-183, April.
    2. Stefan Szymanski, 2010. "The Economic Design of Sporting Contests," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Comparative Economics of Sport, chapter 1, pages 1-78, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Leitao, Joao & Armada, Manuel Rocha & Ferreira, Joaaquim, 2012. "Corruption and Co-Movements in European Listed Sport Companies: Did Calciocaos really matter?," MPRA Paper 42474, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Daniel Plumley & Rob Wilson & Robbie Millar & Simon Shibli, 2019. "Howzat? The Financial Health of English Cricket: Not Out, Yet," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Sakınç, İlker, 2014. "Using Grey Relational Analysis to Determine the Financial Performance of Turkish Football Clubs," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 22-33.
    4. Alex Bryson & Giambattista Rossi & Rob Simmons, 2012. "Why Are Migrants Paid More?," CEP Discussion Papers dp1134, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. Alex Bryson & Giambattista Rossi & Rob Simmons, 2012. "Why Are Migrants Paid More?," CEP Discussion Papers dp1134, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Nicolas Scelles & Stefan Szymanski & Nadine Dermit-Richard, 2018. "Insolvency in French Soccer," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(5), pages 603-624, June.
    7. Babatunde Buraimo & David Forrest & Robert Simmons, 2007. "Freedom of Entry, Market Size, and Competitive Outcome: Evidence from English Soccer," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(1), pages 204-213, July.
    8. Francesco Addesa, 2013. "La Domanda Di Sport Professionistico Nelle Leghe Minori: Analisi Comparata Lega Pro - Football League," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 9(2), pages 143-162, settembre.
    9. Alex Bryson & Giambattista Rossi & Rob Simmons, 2014. "The Migrant Wage Premium in Professional Football: A Superstar Effect?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 12-28, February.
    10. Bernd Frick & Rob Simmons, 2014. "The footballers’ labour market after the Bosman ruling," Chapters, in: John Goddard & Peter Sloane (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Professional Football, chapter 13, pages 203-226, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. D Forrest & R Simmons, 2005. "New issues in attendance demand: the case of the English football league," Working Papers 563356, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    12. Tim Wallrafen & Tim Pawlowski & Christian Deutscher, 2019. "Substitution in Sports: The Case of Lower Division Football Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 319-343, April.
    13. Ýlker SAKINÇ, 2014. "Export Price Stability and Compatibility of Euro under the Export- Biased Productivity Growth in Turkey: A Criticism against the Maastricht Inflation Criterion," Journal of Economics Library, KSP Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 22-33, December.
    14. Marc Rohde & Christoph Breuer, 2018. "Competing by investments or efficiency? Exploring financial and sporting efficiency of club ownership structures in European football," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(5), pages 563-581, December.
    15. Buraimo, Babatunde & Simmons, Rob, 2009. "A tale of two audiences: Spectators, television viewers and outcome uncertainty in Spanish football," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 326-338, July.
    16. Thadeu Gasparetto & Angel Barajas, 2022. "Economic effects of promotion and relegation in parallel competitions," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 7-15.
    17. Babatunde Buraimo, 2008. "Stadium attendance and television audience demand in English league football," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 513-523.
    18. David Procházka, 2012. "Financial Conditions and Transparency of the Czech Professional Football Clubs," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(4), pages 504-521.
    19. David Alaminos & Manuel Ángel Fernández, 2019. "Why do football clubs fail financially? A financial distress prediction model for European professional football industry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Paul Downward, 2014. "English professional football," Chapters, in: John Goddard & Peter Sloane (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Professional Football, chapter 17, pages 277-297, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Armin Wiedenegger & Alexander Kern & Maria Rupprechter, 2012. "The Choice of Legal Form and its Effects on Good Governance: A Case Study of an Austrian Professional Soccer Club," Ekonomika a Management, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(3), pages 23-43.
    22. Matt Andrews, 2015. "Being Special: The Rise of Super Clubs in European Football," CID Working Papers 299, Center for International Development at Harvard University.

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