Thursday 20th November 2003
Why the Premier League is Bad for Football
Alex Fynn
Alex Fynn is a well-known consultant to the football industry who has also written extensively on the subject of the football business. His clients have included Arsenal, Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur football teams, as well as the Football League and the Football Association. Through his work he has been influential in the formation of both the Premier League and the European Champions League. Previously Alex was a director of the well-known advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, latterly as vice-chairman.
In this lecture Alex casts a critical eye over the re-structuring of the football industry in Britain and Europe in the last ten years, and then presents some provocative future strategic scenarios for the industry. Critically he will argue that: The Premier League has ultimately proved a negative development for the English game and requires re-structuring in the interests of both it's own and the Football League's members. There is an urgent need for a real `European League' to replace the current Champions League format.
Read more about Why the Premier League is Bad for Football
Monday 7th July 2003
Monday 16th June 2003
The Football Industry in 2003: How Football's New Commercialism Turned Sour
Dave Conn
It is now six years since David Conn's best-selling The Football Business: Fair Game in the 90s? was first published. The book appeared at the peak of the post-Euro96 eurphoria which engulfed English football as the full extraordinary financial fruits of the second BSkyB television deal began to wash over the game. In The Football Business Dave Conn was almost alone among informed commentators in highlighting that, far from enhancing the long-term future of the English game, this sudden influx of wealth was actually de-stabilising it's financial health. In particular he analysed how the rush to capitalise on football's new found fashionability by targeting `new' higher income fans at the expense of the `traditional' lower income fan base ran the risk of destroying the special place of football in the cultural life of the country - the very wellspring of its financial power - as traditional fans were priced out of grounds never to return.
Read more about The Football Industry in 2003
Wednesday 17th June 2003
The Joint Selling of Media Rights and the European Commission's Statement of Objections
Jonathan Michie and Christine Oughton
Jonathan Michie and Christine Oughton provide evidence regarding the European Commission's Statement of Objections to the joint selling of media rights by the Premier League. Their analysis shows that the collective selling of broadcasting rights by the Premier League does not represent a restriction of competition on the market in the normal sense and therefore does not breach Article 81. In particular they show that the collective selling agreement improves the production and distribution of football matches and benefits consumers (football supporters). They believe that these benefits would be enhanced by greater solidarity (which has been eroded in recent years) and better corporate governance of football clubs. To realise these benefits they argue that the Commission should permit collective selling but seek changes in the rules of the Premier League to: (i) increase solidarity via more redistribution; and (ii) improve corporate governance to protect shareholders and consumers (football supporters).
Read more about The Joint Selling of Media Rights and the European Commission's Statement of Objections
Monday 19th May 2003
Broadcasting, attendance and the inefficiency of cartels
Stephan Szymanski
The English Premier League is a cartel of soccer teams that collectively sells the rights to broadcast its matches. Despite considerable demand for their product from broadcasters, the clubs agree to sell only a small fraction of the broadcast rights (60 out of 380 matches played each season). The clubs have explained this reluctance by claiming that increased broadcasting would reduce attendance at matches and therefore reduce cartel income. However, this paper produces detailed econometric evidence to show that broadcasting has a negligible effect on attendance and that additional broadcast fees would be likely to exceed any plausible opportunity cost.
Read more about Broadcasting, attendance and the inefficiency of cartels
Monday 12th May 2003
A 'Fit and Proper' Test for Football? Protecting and Regulating Clubs
Matt Holt
Following the collapse of ITV digital and the growing number of clubs in administration and financial danger, the regulation of the domestic game by the football authorities has come increasingly to the fore. Financial divides between leagues, a weakened regulatory framework, and the large personal gains to be made from football, have all focussed attention on the ability of the game's authorities to govern effectively. Matthew will look specifically at the recommendation made by the Football Task Force, that the Football Association introduce a 'fit and proper person' requirement for those owning a substantial shareholding in football clubs in England.
Read more about A 'Fit and Proper' Test for Football? Protecting and Regulating Clubs
Monday 28th April 2003
Impact of European Competition Law on Joint Selling of Football Rights
Peter Crowther
Individual EU countries presently take quite different approaches towards the sale of broadcasting rights for football, with the result that the amount of football shown on TV varies from country to country. Against this background, the European Commission has in recent years taken an increasing interest in how national and international football rights are sold. Peter will address this trend and consider some of the recent European Commission cases. More speculatively, he will also review the current Commission investigation into the sale of Premier League rights.
Read more about Impact of European Competition Law on Joint Selling of Football Rights
Monday 7th April 2003
New Elite Models in International Football
Professor Pierre LanFranchi
Professor Lanfranchi is based at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at the School of Historical and International Studies at De Monfort University in Leicester. The Centre is dedicated to the study of sports history.
In his lecture Professor Lanfranchi will assess one of the major shifts in organisational dynamics over the last fifteen years in the football industry; the industry has emerged from an amateur cultural inheritance and sporting ethic to one where traditional commercial imperatives now dominate eg. where amateur, unpaid referees once regulated contests between professional footballers professionalisation now applies to all sectors of the game.
Read more about New Elite Models in International Football
Monday 31st March 2003
The Labour Market for Football Players
Trevor Watkins
Trevor Watkins, Sports Lawyer for Clarke-Willmott, examines why the last decade has seen such significant change in the business of football. Critically, Trevor analyses why long regarded as commodities to be bought and sold players have seen their power and influence grow as the Bosman ruling confirmed that labour law applied to football as much as to other business. Now, with the introduction of a new transfer system, the threat of further challenge from European Union (EU) intervention, and crippling debts affecting most professional clubs, Trevor considers the practical and legal framework under which the market for players operates within the European Community, and assesses the prospects for future radical change in the regulation of players' employment contract status.
Read more about The Labour Market for Football Players
Thursday 27th March 2003
From Small to Large - How to Successfully Run a Football Club in Today's Economic Environment
Mr David Buchler
This seminar consists of an in-depth synopsis of the points of running football clubs at the smallest end of the spectrum, i.e. Barnet Football Club, to the largest end of the spectrum, i.e. Tottenham Hotspur. What are the pitfalls, how to avoid them and what are the issues to concentrate on to ensure success.
Read more about From Small to Large
Monday 17th March 2003
Consultant FIFA and UEFA at the start of the 21st century
Havard Davies
Havard Davies, formerly of UEFA and now an independent consultant, drawing on his long experience in the football industry, reviews the major developments in the evolution of UEFA and FIFA over the last decade, before assessing what the key strategic initiatives are likely to be from both regulatory organisations over the next five years.
Read more about Consultant FIFA and UEFA at the start of the 21st century
Monday 10th March 2003
Manchester and its Football Fans: Globalisation, Exclusion and Commodification
Adam Brown
This lecture is based on new research conducted in Manchester on Manchester City and Manchester United by the Manchester Institute for Popular Culture, Manchester Metropolitan University, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The lecture will consider the location of football fans in and around Manchester and popular conceptions of them, including an analysis of the location of season ticket holders of both clubs. The lecture will then consider the processes of globalisation and commodification of football in Manchester, in terms of both the fan base and the new commercial priorities of United and City. A comparison will be made between the reaction of fans at City and at United to these processes in terms of their campaigning activities as well as their own identification and the lecture will conclude by considering the responses of the clubs to critiques of their 'globalisation'.
Read more about Manchester and its Football Fans
Monday 3rd March 2003
The Old Firm's Contribution to Scottish Football
Brian Sturgess
Brian Sturgess, Managing Director, Soccer Investor Ltd, discusses the findings of a Report produced by himself and Dr. Jonathan Mounsey for some of the members of the Scottish Premier League concerning the Old Firm's (Celtic and Rangers football clubs) contribution to Scottish football. The Report concludes that Scottish football could survive and even prosper without Celtic and Rangers -- an outcome which is no longer a possibility because they cannot leave for England and the other 10 have withdrawn their threat to resign from the SPL.
Read more about The Old Firm's Contribution to Scottish Football
11th February 2003
Football in the Community
Roger Reade
This seminar will explain the background to the Football in the Community scheme and provide examples of ways in which Supporters' Trusts can work effectively with the scheme to promote the football club in the local area. York City Supporters' Trust's support for a local school project and the Gas Trust's initiative to develop a wide ranging community plan aimed at building links within the local community, which should bring together local business, community groups, the Trust and the club are examples of co-operation that could be replicated elsewhere.
Read more about Football in the Community
Thursday 28th November 2002
How Football Fans Can Own their Club: The Progressive Transfer of Shares and Directorships to Supporters' Trusts
Alan Steele
A seminar on how a Supporters' Trust can successfully achieve a substantial stake in its football club and open up the possibility of eventual outright control will be given by Alan Steel, Chair of CCUIST, the Carlise United Supporters' Trust. CCUIST was launched in May 2001 in the teeth of almost hysterical opposition from the then owners of the club - 'Kill CCUIST not the Club' was the title of a page on the official club website. Now, some 18 months later, CCUIST has more than 1,000 members (and rising), and £100,000 in the Bank with a further £30,000 pledged and coming through in regular monthly donations. CCUIST has achieved a change of ownership at the Club, have been offered 49% of the shares (20% immediately) and a controlling interest when the current owner moves on. CCUIST is currently conducting the election for its first director on the Board of Carlisle United.
Read more about How Football Fans Can Own their Club
January 2002
Fresh Players, New Tactics: Lessons from the Northampton Town Supporters Trust
Andy Walsh
This seminar investigated the longer-term challenges facing established trusts. The in-depth study of Northampton Town - one of the first trusts to be formed - provides evidence on how effective the trust has been in achieving its primary objectives: raising enough money to save the club from bankruptcy and providing effective involvement and representation of supporters in the running of the club. The study also investigates how a trust may grow and increase its influence over time, and was launched at a seminar on 20th March 2001.
Read more about Fresh Players, New Tactics
11th November 2001
Setting up a Football Community Mutual
Kevin Jaquiss
A recent project involved developing a model structure and constitution for a 'mutual' football club with proper community and supporter involvement. This is being conducted in association with Cobbetts, the leading law firm in the area of mutuals and cooperatives.