Economics will strike at football

Aug 6 2008 by Andrew Hebden, The Journal

AFTER a build-up that seems to have lasted an eternity, the waiting will finally be over for millions of sports fans in the next few days.

Unfortunately, the TV and newspapers are going to be dominated by the Olympics, but I shall not let the “greatest show in the world” distract me from Saturday’s big kick-off in the Coca-Cola Football League.

If anything can lift the mood of the nation, it won’t be a few medals in gymnastics and synchronised swimming. Football might do the trick.

If, on the other hand, it fails to be inspiring – and as a long-suffering fan of a League Two outfit, that’s a pretty decent bet – then this season will be interesting to scrutinise from a financial perspective.

While millions of pounds continue to slosh around the upper reaches of the Premier League, the picture is less rosy as you move down the pyramid. Here, survival is often the name of the game. The current economic climate is going to make winning that game tougher than ever.

There is a widespread feeling that football clubs never go bust; a white knight always seems to emerge to salvage even the most desperate of causes. While this is often the case, fans of long-term Football League stalwart clubs Scarborough and Halifax Town will testify that there is not always a happy ending.

As families tighten their belts, it is inevitable that football clubs will feel the pinch.

Season ticket sales at many clubs will be down, as will the sales of replica shirts. As businesses scrutinise their own spending, clubs will find that selling sponsorship and corporate hospitality packages is more difficult.

Once the winter kicks in and many clubs begin to encounter cash-flow challenges, they might not find the banks as willing to offer a helping hand as they have been in the past.

It would be nice to think that in these challenging times, the richer members of the football family will be willing to lend a hand to the smaller clubs that are the lifeblood of the game in this country. I won’t hold my breath.

Andrew Hebden is assistant editor (business) at The Journal