The Premier League is the world’s most popular football league with 1.02 billion viewers annually, from every continent. Every child in the UK has a dream of one day playing in the Premier League. Football is something that can unite all, regardless of class, religion or race. English football came to be loved for being competitive and fast. Premier league clubs also have some of the most revered history. Whether you are a Liverpool fan or not, you can admire the courage and determination they showed in the Champions league final comeback win in 2005. Manchester United’s recovery post Munich disaster is also something to be admired. This allows for a greater connection between fans from all around the world and their clubs.

Football in England is composed of 5 professional tiers, with all supporters praying that their club might one day play in the Premier League (the highest tier). Greater than any other sport, football has an expansive and loyal fan base. With fans traveling to home and away games all over Europe, it would not be uncommon for a fan to travel to 55 games in a season, averaging around a game a week. As the famous Celtic manager, Jock Stein said, “Football is nothing without the fans.” In the Premier League every game played is a sell out, with clubs generating revenue from match day tickets, advertisements and merchandise. Clubs such as Man United sold 3.22million shirts in 2022, helping contribute to total revenue of £265million for all clubs.  The Premier League averages about 12 million viewers a match; however marquee fixtures such as Man United vs Liverpool had 700 million viewers. In comparison, Super Bowl 50 only had 112 million viewers, far less than this Premier League match. 

In the 19/20 season, the Premier League added £7.6 billion to the UK economy, made up of broadcasting, sponsorship and ticket sales, whilst raising £3.6 billion in direct tax contributions which could be redistributed into society to increase societal welfare. The accessibility of the premier league is one of the main factors why fans feel so connected to the sport and helps increase revenues. For example, the average ticket price of Super Bowl 53 was a mind boggling $6,122. This price of tickets makes the Super Bowl for the few and not the many. On the other hand, the average FA cup final ticket was £90. It is also important to recognise that season ticket holders in America do not hold the right to buy Super Bowl tickets, due to pricing restrictions, whilst in the UK, for the FA Cup final this year, Man United fans are required to have purchased and attended every single game. These requirements by football clubs are to ensure that tickets aren’t given to those who can pay the most but to the most passionate of supporters. This may create much less revenue than the Super Bowl in the short term, however ensures that football is for the many and not for the few, maintaining a wider audience . 

The Premier League is known for its extreme wealth and high levels of revenue, but this success has also led to concerns about financial inequality within the league. The so-called “big six” clubs (Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur) are some of the wealthiest clubs in the world, with a combined revenue of over £3 billion in the 2019/20 season, according to the Deloitte Football Money League. In contrast, the remaining 14 clubs in the league had a combined revenue of just over £2 billion in the same season. This wealth inequality is reflected in the spending power of the big six clubs in the transfer market where clubs can buy and sell players with each other. According to data from the transfermarkt website, the big six clubs spent a total of £826 million on player transfers in the 2020/21 season, while the remaining 14 clubs spent just £302 million combined. This has led to concerns about the impact of financial inequality on competition within the league, with smaller clubs struggling to compete with the resources available to the big six. With players being sold for high sums of money this causes an inflated market where players are sold for more than they are actually worth, making it impossible for smaller clubs to buy the best players. This has lead to an oligopoly in football where only a minority of clubs can afford the most expensive players and smaller clubs are priced out of the highest levels of competition. 

When it comes to economic power, the Premier League stands head and shoulders above most other football leagues in the world. In the 2019/20 season, the Premier League generated a total revenue of £5.2 billion, according to Deloitte Football Money League. This was almost double the revenue generated by the second-highest earning league, the German Bundesliga, which brought in £2.8 billion. Furthermore, the Premier League’s television rights deals are among the most lucrative in the world, with broadcasters paying billions of pounds for the rights to show live matches. In 2018, the Premier League secured a three-year domestic broadcasting deal worth £5.1 billion with Sky Sports and BT Sport and a global broadcasting deal worth £4.4 billion. These deals dwarf the broadcasting revenues of other major football leagues, such as the Dutch Eredivisie, worth only £80 million. The importance of league revenue is huge, as revenue is redistributed in prize money, central payments to help keep clubs financially stable, solidarity payments where clubs in lower leagues receives sums of money to keep them afloat and operational costs to ensure the league runs smoothly.

The power of the Premier League is often demonised by other leagues. Alexander Ceferin, the President of UEFA suggested the original plan to form a breakaway league, thwarted in April 2021, was caused by “jealousy” towards the financial domination of the Premier League and England’s top division was a model the rest of Europe should follow. One of the great attributes of the premier league is that it is the most competitive league in the world, with every team having a chance to beat anyone, due to a low point differential. Earlier this season, already relegated Southampton drew 2-2 with Arsenal and Man City losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace last season adding to the mystique of why people adore the Premier League. 

Even though the league generates large revenues, many Premier League clubs are running at a loss, spending more money than they generate in revenue. According to a recent report by the financial analyst Vysyble, the combined losses of Premier League clubs over the past five years have exceeded £1.3 billion. Despite these losses, many Premier League clubs continue to spend huge sums on transfers and wages, with some clubs reportedly spending up to 103% of their budget on player salaries and other expenses. This level of spending can be unsustainable in the long term, as clubs risk accumulating significant levels of debt. An implication of clubs having high levels of debt is the risk of clubs going bankrupt. Bury FC, went bankrupt in 2019, due to racking up debt and not being able to pay players wages on time. This has led to one of England’s oldest clubs being shut down and thousands of job losses for those working for the club. One factor driving this spending is the intense competition for success in the Premier League, with clubs under pressure to achieve success on the pitch and satisfy the demands of their fans and shareholders. As clubs spend greater sums of money on players and players wages, the market reaches an imbalance where players prices are inflated, leading to a market where only the top clubs can compete. This pressure can lead clubs to take risks and overspend, in the hope of securing a top-four finish or a trophy. If this unsustainable spending continues, we could see many clubs going bankrupt such as Bury FC, threatening some of the fundamental parts of the league.

Pictured above: a match between Real Madrid and Man United in Michigan in 2014. With 109,318 viewers in the stadium, it was the largest football match ever in the USA. Emphasising the sheer popularity of football not only in Europe but also in the States. With the International Champions Cup in 2014 generating around £30 million, emphasising the amount money in football.

The Premier League is stronger than ever with players dreaming for moves to Premier League clubs. Other leagues must find a way to emulate the Premier League or they face being left behind financially. The revenue created from the league does a lot of good in the lower leagues through trickle down effects as clubs receiving funding to ensure they are financially stable. However, with football becoming more polarising with lavish spending on players wages and through the transfer market we may see the league become less competitive as only a minority of clubs can compete for the best players.