Football Management and Finance
Overview
- Credit value: 15 credits at Level 7
- Convenors and tutors: Giambattista Rossi, Sean Hamil
- Assessment: a two-hour examination (100%)
Module description
The professional football industry is one of the most commercially dynamic sectors in the sport media entertainment marketplace. Within the industry professional football clubs are the key engines of revenue generation. This module explores in detail the key factors that drive economic success for a professional football club, analysing in detail the main content and structure of the main financial flows that form the business operating model of a professional football club: (1) media broadcasting, (2) match-day attendance, (3) commercial, and (4) player development and trading. The best practice models adopted by clubs and league competitions in driving these revenue streams are analysed in detail. Critically, the module aims to educate you about the business models of professional football clubs, in particular how these can be optimised. There is a strong emphasis on utilising 'real-life' case studies to illustrate the key learning objectives. The analysis of club business models forms the basis to then present financial valuation methodologies e.g. DCF, Market Approach, NAV, that allow the financial value of a club to calculated.
Indicative module syllabus
- Understanding the basic financials of football clubs
- Financial control mechanisms and regulations
- Player trading/transfers
- Football club transactions: investment trends and club valuation
- Financial aspects of sports infrastructure
- New media, social media and digitalisation of football
- Hot topics in football
- Analysis of different business models/case studies of football clubs
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- explain the broad operational and financial contextual environment of the football industry (e.g. explaining the impact of league competition-level financial flows such as collective sale of broadcasting rights etc.), and overall stakeholder engagement environment in which professional football clubs must operate
- explain the main financial flows that form the business operating model of a professional football club: (1) media broadcasting, (2) match-day attendance, (3) commercial, and (4) player development and trading
- undertake a basic financial valuation of a professional football club using financial valuation methodologies.