Football, being the most popular sport on the planet, can be called one of the biggest businesses. And football clubs can undoubtedly be called the driving forces of this business. With their immense popularity and fanship, football clubs are a brand in themselves. However, running a football club is not an easy job and is quite an unreasonable deal. Money is required to pay the salaries of players and the management, to expand stadiums, to facilitate transfers, and a ton of more functions. So where does all of this revenue come from? Below listed are the sources of income of a typical professional football club.
Broadcasting Rights
Broadcasting rights are the most critical source of revenue for football clubs. With the global viewership of the European Leagues, television rights bring in a lot of money for the clubs. The English Premier League is said to receive the most revenue by selling the broadcasting rights. According to some reports, it received around £5.14 by selling television rights in 2015. La Liga minted over $1.5 billion by selling the television rights for the 2014-15 season. It is said that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona receive around 40% of this revenue.
Matchday Income
With the global fandom of the sport, any football match triggers a rush of adrenaline among the viewers. Any other thing can nowhere match the excitement of watching a live football match. This excitement and fanship are cashed by the football clubs very well. Matchday income includes the sale of tickets, which is vital for the clubs to run their day-to-day functions and cover those expenses. The clubs introduced the concept of a season pass for more sophistication of this incoming revenue. This scheme creates a win-win situation for both fans and club owners. The fans have to spend a little less amount while buying the pass than buying individual tickets whereas the club has a certain amount assured with every pass.
The example of the club Arsenal is often used to get an idea of the extent of revenue that match days generate. The club minted £101.84 in matchday revenue during the 2014-15 season.
Sponsorship and Jersey sales
The crazy fandom of the clubs and idolization of the players by the fans make football a lucrative advertising field for multinational brands. They pour in a ton of money to get their brands advertised by the players or the clubs. Sponsorships play an essential part in bringing in revenue for the football clubs. Top clubs in the European leagues have a bunch of sponsors. For an insight, Arsenal signed a kit deal with Puma worth £30 million a year. The club Manchester United also has exorbitant deals signed with Adidas, a similar brand.
Winning tournaments
The main aim of the players is winning tournaments. And for the club owners, it is a gateway to raking in more money. While winning tournaments bring in money in the form of prizes and rewards, it is insignificant as compared to the costs of the club. However, winning tournaments brings in more fans, and consequently, more sponsors to the club!
Conclusion
The inside world of football clubs is much more than the glittering, adrenaline-filled envelope visible to the fans.
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