Bart Huby’s Post

Fair Game UK The Future of Football event. It was great to attend the Fair Game panel event, which consisted of a variety of conversations around the idea of English Football being in financial “trouble”. With the likes of Niall Couper CEO of Fairgame and Christina Philippou, David Kitson. The conversation was very much pinned around the introduction of independent regulator for football (IR) and how they would be mandating major changes to the way clubs are managed. With Damian Irvine (CEO of Ebbsfleet F.C) stressing that the IR can help manage expectations of all stakeholders across the club. 📚 While we echo the same sentiment that the IR could bring in incremental changes which in the grand scheme of things could make football across the leagues more sustainable there are still some fundamental issues that we believe may hinder any progress that the IR will be brought in to achieve. 1. Cost base - Any introduction of regulatory change results in increased compliance costs and acts as a detergent to investment and innovations. e.g the clubs resources will have be shifted towards documenting monthly reviews to the IR. This again places a big burden on lower league clubs who are already struggling to manage costs 💳 2. Fosters mediocrity - the idea of strict controls in place against spending and property right of clubs and owners will only disincentives investment which for us is key to the competitiveness across the leagues. By placing inflexible restrictions we can expect an increased amount of mediocrity across all divisions. 🤔 3. Independent Regulators( Bad track record) - Self regulation is how the Premier League has operated for majority of its existence and has coped relatively well (yes, it has become unsustainable) but how hopeful can we be that an IR can fix that when it hasn’t worked in other industries such as Gas and Financial Services.😴 In theory the idea behind a IR is both impressive and attractive but in reality it’s going to be very tough to see how this will benefit clubs across the whole pyramid. Let us know what you think in the comments 🫵🏾 #football #fairgame #finance #pyramid #viral #bigdata #footballseason #english #soccer #footballnews

Off The Pitch is thrilled to announce an agreement with Sheffield United, enhancing The Premier League club's capabilities through access to advanced analytics tools. This collaboration marks Sheffield United Football Club's entry into Off The Pitch’s expansive network of football clubs who are leveraging vital business data for more informed decision-making. Carl Shieber, Sheffield United's Head of Football Administration, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership: “Our partnership with Off The Pitch opens a realm of opportunities for Sheffield United. It provides an invaluable platform for benchmarking against other clubs, both domestically and internationally. This alliance is a step towards a more analytical approach in our business, commercial development, and player trading strategies.” The collaboration between Off The Pitch and another esteemed Premier League club underscores the value and impact of the data services provided by the Danish firm. This public announcement of the relationship is a testament to the growing recognition and importance of advanced business analytics in football. Mads Meisner Christensen, Co-founder and CEO of Off The Pitch, shared his thoughts on this significant agreement: “We are excited to equip Sheffield United with a diverse range of tools to enhance their operational efficiency. This partnership is set to provide Sheffield United with a strategic edge in the transfer market, helping them to identify and leverage market inefficiencies for optimal results.” #Partnership #SportsBusiness #Commercial #Football #SportsBiz #Finance #People #Data #Tech #Intelligence #Investment

Has Financial Fair Play changed European football? I am happy that more and more top economists investigate sports economics issues and publish in Sports Economics Review! This time it was Gianmarco Ottaviano from ACT Bocconi - Bocconi University and colleagues, who investigated the effect of Finacial Fair Play in the European football. The paper exploited data between the seasons 2007–2008 to 2019–2020. It finds that the FFP has increased the profitability of clubs, but have also tilted the competitive balance in favor of the top teams. Four results stand out: 1. After the reform the gap between revenues and costs of targeted clubs with respect to other clubs has widened. 2. Revenue and costs have increased more in targeted than in other clubs, but the differential growth in revenues has outpaced the differential growth in costs. 3. Only the financial outcomes targeted by the reform have reacted to the reform as the positive development in the clubs’ income statements has yet to be translated into improved overall debt sustainability. I my view, most importantly: 4. Competitive balance has decreased because targeted clubs spend more on players rather than because they have become more efficient in translating player quality into competitiveness. The paper was co-authored by Ariela Caglio, S. Laffitte, D. Masciandaro and G. Ottaviano https://lnkd.in/d6jd-am3

We need a strong Independent Regulator in place quickly with the ability to get involved in a meaningful way in the continuing sham of a negotiation between the The Premier League and the EFL (English Football League) to agree a sustainable financial distribution to protect the football pyramid. Enough is enough the. EFL (English Football League) Are quite obviously incapable of achieving the desired result and the input of a strong regulator is essential and quickly The recent The Football Association and The Premier League dictate on Fa Cup replays is indicative of the self-centred approach of the current football governance that is not fit for purpose. It https://lnkd.in/eTjKw22E

The UEC sent a letter this week to European football clubs and stakeholders in order to explain the UEC’s main objections regarding European Club Association's (ECA) modus operandi, in particular its purely plutocratic governance structures, discriminatory membership structures, and unethical practices. The smokescreen reforms this year changed nothing important in the governance of club football - elite is still firmly in the driving seat. At the same time, we outlined the differences between ECA and our organisation that is based on democratic principles and full equality of its members. ECA responded to our letter in both Off The Pitch publication and in the letter to clubs. We immediately appreciated the fact that they had not provided answers to, or denied our main arguments, but engaged in unspecified and false claims. It was absurd to have elitist organisation with ECA’s structures call for “unity” and refer to the UEC team as “extremist individuals”, whose “radicalism” is “driving a separatist and divisive agenda”. It is particularly absurd to hear ECA talk about unity, because in April 2021 ECA gave birth to a Superleague project – today most of the Superleague clubs are back in ECA’s driving seats while still being a part of Superleague shareholders agreement (their solution in the interim period before the ECJ passes its judgement in the ESL case). We will, however, let ECA’s response speak for itself, as it amplified the messages of ECA’s institutional character and strategies that we highlighted in our letter. True unity will only be achieved when all professional clubs are treated equally and have equal say in the governance of European football. This will certainly not happen while elite is running the "sole representative" organisation while calling for "unity" - a buzz-word for monopolising the decision-making and consolidating their market supremacy. 15 past years have taught us this lesson.

🌟 Introducing our fifth report from our Private Equity team about Investments in European Football 🌟 ⚽In recent years, European football has experienced a surge in investments, not only through majority takeovers but also via minority stakes. This trend, driven by private equity firms and individual investors, adds a new dimension to the sport's business dynamics. 💼 The motivations behind these investments are diverse, ranging from financial gain to strategic interests. Our report dives into the primary drivers that lead private equity firms and individual investors to pursue minority investments in European football clubs. 🔍 We'll explore how these motivations align with, or diverge from, the goals of the clubs themselves. Understanding this synergy or potential conflicts sheds light on the impact these investments may have on the football industry. Thank you to our analysts: Sebastián Arriola, Alex Benoit, Ines Ugarte and Lucas Vega, and their supervisor Thais Gonzales Dourojeanni!

Premier League Shaking Up Finances: New Spending Rules for Next Season! The Premier League is set to overhaul its financial regulations, ditching the current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in favor of a new system. Tony Sharkey Johan Cruyff Institute Football Australia Football Association of Ireland Liverpool John Moores University Soccerex #FFP #FinancialFairPlay #PremierLeague #TransferMarket #SquadCostRatio #FinancialSustainability

Fair Play? - Is it? John Textor Crystal Palace's largest shareholder speaking on Financial Fair Play and Premier League profit and sustainability rules after addressing the FT Business of Football Summit in London. Let me say something else about [chairman] Steve Parish. Do you know how hard it is to do his job? Look at Nottingham Forest. This is a club with an owner that has an incredible amount of capital. And he comes in the Premier League and he's told you can't spend it. If you spend it and it falls into a category of losses then we are going to sanction you and we may send you back to the league you came from. It's not about financial sustainability, it's not about financial fair play, nobody is protecting the little guy. This is [expletive]. This is people making sure that you can only spend a percentage of your revenue. Steve has to run his club with a top line of revenues which is driven by television. If we want to put in a bunch of money to buy more players we're not allowed to. So you have to watch your losses and you have to find a way to live between the eighth spot and 17th spot or you go back to the second division [the Championship]. If anybody thinks that I have a problem with the way that Steve is running the club, and [how he] has stayed up for 12 years, just because we have difference of opinion on things... try being Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis right now. #NFFC #crystalpalace 🤗

Forget transfer market bling! Financial fair play is the real beautiful game. ⚽️💰 This article explains how UEFA & Premier League stop clubs from overspending & getting into debt. It's all about financial sustainability & a level playing field.

Body for top European football clubs draws antitrust criticism from challenger. The European Club Association (ECA), a body to represent European professional football clubs, has been accused of acting anticompetitively by refusing to accept membership applications from clubs that have joined a new entity established to champion small and medium-sized sides, the Union of European Clubs. The UEC has made the claim after at least one member club said it was told it could not also join the ECA. The European Club Association (ECA) is the only football club association in Europe recognized by football’s European and world governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA respectively, and being a member gives clubs key benefits, such as representation to promote their interests in the game and participation in governing bodies’ decision-making. It currently has 330 member clubs, including giants such as Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal F.C and FC Bayern München. But membership is exclusive, because clubs must either regularly or occasionally qualify for UEFA competitions such as the Champions League or Europa League. To follow this competition story, and learn how MLex Market Insight, a LexisNexis company are monitoring this story, please connect with me for an initial conversation.