Football in numbers - lesson activity

The media coverage of the takeover of Arsenal FC by “Silent Stan” Kroenke has provided us with a topical soap opera of a takeover battle. It has also prompted some media outlets to delve into the financial results of the other four American-owned Premier League clubs, and I have used this data to put together a possible lesson activity.

The table above shows the most recent revenues for four Premier League clubs which are currently owned by US investors. I have excluded Arsenal largely because their most recent accounts are distorted by property-related transactions relating to the old Highbury stadium (which makes financial comparisons too complicated for students).

The table shows the composition of revenues, splitting it between:

Media - e.g. the sale of media rights for club coverage + revenue shares from various Premier League deals
Commercial: This includes items such as merchandising and hospitality
Matchday: includes the sale of season tickets, matchday tickets and ancillary spending on matchdays (e.g. pies)

The latest data on annual wage bill is also provided, together with an estimate of the club’s average attendance for home matches.

There are various calculations students could perform on this data. The spreadsheet is attached below to allow you / them to analyse the information in whatever way they see fit.

One approach is to look at revenue mix (the percentage of revenues provided by each of the three revenue categories). How does this vary between the four clubs? Why might this be?

Since wages are by far the most significant operating cost of a professional football club, students could calculate the wage bill / revenue ratio and analyse the results.

Another possible calculation is to see how effectively each club converts matchday attendance into matchday revenue. Which clubs squeeze the most out of their supporters during a season? You can probably guess which of the four comes out on top!

Here is the spreadsheet with the calculations / data:
Football_Numbers.xls