Top 5 Euroopan jalkapalloliigat - Yhteys taloudellisen ja urheilullisen menestyksen välillä

Abstract

Objectives of the study The research consists of two primary objectives. First one is to provide an extensive theory basis of European club football in the field of sports economics. The second objective is to further study the connection between financial performance and sporting success in European club football. The study especially seeks answers if financially successful clubs do well also in the field and vice versa. Motivational factor behind the study is UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations, and the study aims to reveal their impact on the connection between clubs’ financial and sporting performance. Data and methodology The sample consists of 690 observations of 139 different clubs that have played in top-five leagues (English Premier League, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga) between years 2008 and 2016. Financial data consists of revenues and operating profit, and it’s restricted through public availability. Sporting success is measured by domestic league positions. Various multivariate linear regression models are built to study the correlation between financial and sporting performance. In addition, correlation results are analysed through various sensitivity tests, such as comparisons pre- and post- UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. Results The study offers lots of significant results of which one of the most important is that domestic league winners generate on average $59.2 million greater revenues and$13.5 million greater operating profit than other clubs. In addition, reaching one position higher on the league table rewards the club with $1.3 million greater revenues on average. Positive correlation between league position and operating profit is found only in German Bundesliga, where reaching one position higher on the league table rewards club on average with$1.2 million greater operating profit. Interestingly negative correlation is found in Italian Serie A, where cost of reaching higher on the table is on average $0.6 million reduction in operating profit. Almost same negative connection ($0.5 million) is found for whole data set before UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations were introduced, but after the introduction no statistically significant connection can be found. Hence, it could be argued that UEFA’s regulations have already had a positive impact on operational profit of the most sportingly successful clubs in Europe