Accountants Deloitte and Touche have estimated the European football market to be worth around €10 billion in their latest report on football finances. Dan Jones, director of Deloitte and Touche Sport commented, 'England's matchday incomes are now almost three times those of other big leagues. German, Italian and Spanish clubs need to address revenue generation and commercial issues at their stadia urgently or they will fall further behind.' In particular the report notes that clubs in Italy and Spain 'lack the relative balance between different revenues that Premier League clubs have (being too reliant on broadcasting money) and have historically shown far less discipline regarding player costs.'
The report shows that the 'big five' leagues in Europe (which between them account for 80 per cent of all football income) experienced mixed fortunes in terms of revenue growth in the 2001-2 season. England (up €1.7 billion) and Germany (who broke €1 billion for the first time) recorded very healthy increases of 21 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. French revenues were static and Italy decreased by 2 per cent. There were no reliable figures for Spain. The 2001/2 growth rates meant that the English Premiership built on an already substantial revenue gap to the next biggest league (Italy). The absolute gap now stands at over €600m.
Wages again rose substantially. In the big leagues the increases ranged from 6 per cent in France to 26 per cent in England. Only Germany recorded a percentage wages increase (19 per cent) less than growth (17 per cent). Wages/turnover ratios increased everywhere except Germany. The English Premiership was Eropean champion in terms of operating profits, generating €130m in 2001/2, up from €125 million. Germany saw operating profits rise from €87m to €100m. France, and particularly Italy, recorded sizeable operating losses. Italy's loss of €404 million, up from €216 million in the previous season, was largely the result of static income and rising wages.
The Premiership remained the best-attended top division in European football. Its average crowd is eleven per cent above its nearest rival, the German Bundesliga. Italy's Serie A, whose average attendance fell by eleven per cent, slipped back into third place. Average attendances in Spain have fluctuated around the same levels, in the low twenty thousands, for years. France, after a post World Cup boom, has settled back into fifth place. The Premiership is the only league to exhibit consistent growth in attendance in every season since the mid 1990s.
The UEFA Champions League is the de facto sixth 'big' European league. Its estimated broadcasting income of €420m would rank it third among the 'big five' leagues. The competition's average attendance in 2001/2 (34,351) was higher than any of the 'big five' domestic leagues.
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