No Economic Crisis For European Football

Wed, 02 Jun 2010

Europe may be going through a difficult economic period but football is not

by William Denous

On Saturday 22nd May, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan played the Champions League final. The game generated more money than any other club match in football history. Bayern and Inter are major corporate ventures, Bayern has annual revenues of €289.5m and is the fourth richest club in the world, Internazionale has annual revenues of €196.5m, and is the ninth richest club in the world. Inter won the final and took home €120m in prize money and associated commercial benefits, Bayern got €70m for coming second.

The economic impact of the final goes beyond the money made by the football clubs. According to a new study by Simon Chadwick, a professor of sports-business strategy at Coventry University the Champions League final, held at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium will generate more than €351m in prize-money and television revenue.

Prof. Chadwick’s report shows that the final had an impact on many interrelated areas. The final impacted the food and drinks industry, the merchandise industry and the gambling industry. His report predicts a total increase of €41.5m in revenue compared with the previous year. This is significant given that none of the richer English or Spanish clubs were represented at the final. The report also said that the uncertainty about who would win the match added a competitive premium to its economic value.

Fans spent significant sums of money travelling across the continent to see the match. In addition, football fans from every European country spent money before, during and after the match on items like replica shirts, and food and drink. The wider European economy will enjoy a predicted windfall of €94m because of the game.

The 2009 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and FC Barcelona attracted an average television audience of 145 million, eclipsing the Superbowl and its average audience of 106 million. ThE 2010 UEFA Champions League final was expected to attract 170 million viewers and therefore will bring in more advertising revenue.

The economic crisis has not been hard on the football industry. And with all the austerity measures being put in place at the moment, some European politicians might be looking forward to the World Cup in South Africa next June so that they can take their mind of economics to focus on football.