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Existing studies of the finance of English Association Football (soccer) have tended to focus on the sport’s early years, or on the post-1992 Premiership era. The authors examine a case from the turbulent 1980s charting the struggle for economic survival of one club in a rapidly changing financial, economic, political and demographic landscape. The purpose of this paper is to examine not only the financial management of a football club during this time, but also the interventionist role of the local authority during this turbulent period.

The authors investigate the financial difficulties of a sport business, Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Company Limited, examining the broader economic context, drawing on unseen archival sources dating from the 1980s to analyze the relationship between club, local and national government and the regional economy.

They not only examine the financial management of the football club but also analyse the interventionist role of the local authority in supporting the club which had symbolic value for the local community.

This paper is relevant to policymakers interested in the provision of local sports facilities and the links between elite sport and participation.

The authors show that professional sports clubs are driven by a different institutional logic to state organizations and the findings enable them to define these differences, thereby refining Thornton et al.’s (2012) typology of institutional orders. Furthermore, the case study highlights practices involving informal partnership between state and sport that the authors label as shadow hybridity.

Despite multiple structural changes since its 2011 inception, many English Women's Super League (WSL) clubs have recorded losses and carried debt, leading to concerns about the financial health of the league. This study is the first to analyse the financial health of any professional women's sports league in the world. The authors examine WSL club finances between 2011 and 2019, theoretically situate the findings within joint production, and make policy recommendations.

In total, 73 annual accounts of 14 WSL clubs between 2011 and 2019 were scrutinised.

Since 2011, club revenue has increased 590% but is outstripped by club debt increase (1,351%). The authors find poor financial health throughout the league, which may damage both its and the clubs' future growth. Findings also indicate an emergent group of dominant clubs on and off the pitch, which may threaten long-term sporting integrity and disrupt the joint production of the WSL product.

Women's football exists at an important crossroad, and its next moves need careful consideration in relation to its governance structures and league design.

The authors provide a road map for necessary action (e.g. revenue distribution, licensing criteria, rewards) to protect the financial health of the WSL's clubs and promote sporting competition to assist the sport to capitalise further on positive gains in recent years.

This paper analyses English Premier League (EPL) and English Football League (EFL) championship clubs during the period 2002–2019 to anticipate financial distress with specific reference to footballs' Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

Data was collected for 43 professional football clubs competing in the EPL and Championship for the financial year ends 2002–2019. Analysis was conducted using the Z-score methodology and additional statistical tests were conducted to measure differences between groups. Data was split into two distinct periods to analyse club finances pre- and post-FFP.

The results show significant cases of financial distress amongst clubs in both divisions and that Championship clubs are in significantly poorer financial health than EPL clubs. In some cases, financially sustainability has worsened post-FFP. The “big 6” clubs – due to their size – seem to be more financially sound than the rest of the EPL, thus preventing a “too big to fail” effect. Overall, the financial situation in English football remains poor, a position that could be exacerbated by the economic crisis, caused by COVID-19.

The findings are not generalisable outside of the English football industry and the data is susceptible to usual accounting techniques and treatments.

The paper recommends a re-distribution of broadcasting rights, on a more equal basis and incentivised with cost-reduction targets. The implementation of a hard salary cap at league level is also recommended to control costs. Furthermore, FFP regulations should be re-visited to deliver the original objectives of bringing about financial sustainability in European football.

The paper extends the evidence base of measuring financial distress in professional team sports and is also the first paper of its kind to examine this in relation to Championship clubs.

This paper identifies five types of insolvency in English football: clubs that have failed to cope with relegation; failed to pay monies due to the UK government; seen 'soft debts' become 'hard debts'; lost the ownership of their stadium; or have been 'repeat offenders'. As the second of a three-phase research project, the paper concludes with an indication of the final phase research and implications of the findings so far for other professional sports.

The precarious position of Football League Club finances has been highlighted by extensive press coverage and has given concern to the Football League. It is our contention that the use of “traditional” financial reporting practices has hindered full understanding and consideration of the causes and indicators of clubs' financial difficulties. The first part of this article considers the objectives of financial reporting, and the view that these are best met by cash‐flow information; the second part reports on the results of an empirical investigation of a sample of Football Club accounts and assesses the informational value of a cash flow approach.

To provide insights into the role of formal and informal accounts in preventing the liquidation of a professional football club and in post-crisis rebuilding.

This case study, framed as a conflict arena, covers an eight-year period of a high-profile struggle over the future of a professional football club. It uses a mixed methods design, including direct engagement with key actors involved in administration proceedings and transformation to a hybrid supporter-owned organisation.

Our findings suggest that within the arena:• formal accounting and governance were of limited use in managing the complex network of relationships and preventing the abuse of power or existential crises. • informal accounting helped mobilise critical resources and maintain supporters’ emotional investment during periods of conflict. • informal accounts enabled both resistance and coalition-building in response to perceived abuse of power. • informal accounts were used by the Club as part of its legitimation activities.

This study provides theoretical and empirical insights into an unfolding crisis with evidence gathered directly from actors involved in the process. The conceptual framework developed in this paper creates new visibilities and possibilities for developing more effective accounting practices in settings that enable continuing emotional investment from supporters.

The purpose of this paper is three‐fold. First, to explore the relationship between the financial and sporting performance of clubs competing in the English Premier League (EPL). Second, to investigate the effect of different models of EPL club ownership on financial and league performance. Third, to review the finances of EPL clubs in the context of UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.

Financial data from annual reports for the period 2001‐2010 was collected for 20 EPL clubs. Correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the finances of EPL clubs and their league position. One‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were then used to examine the effect of ownership type on clubs’ financial and league performances. Where the results of ANOVA testing revealed statistically significant differences between groups, these were investigated further using appropriate post hoc procedures.

The stock market model of ownership returned better financial health relative to privately owned (domestic and foreign) clubs. However, clubs owned privately by foreign investors or on the stock market performed better in the league in comparison with domestically owned clubs. The stock market model was more likely to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

The paper confirms empirically that football clubs that float on the stock market are in better financial health and that clubs in pursuit of short‐term sporting excellence are reliant on substantial investment, in this case from foreign investors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the Union of European Football Associations’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) Regulations in the context of the European football industry. This study seeks to explore whether these regulations are perceived by member organisations as contributing to the creation of a “poverty trap”. To do so, this study turns towards what are traditionally perceived as smaller clubs operating in smaller member associations and, in doing so, explores whether the regulations limiting benefactor payments are suitable for smaller leagues.

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with key individuals involved in the management of Scottish football clubs. The Scottish context was chosen because of the disparity in revenues amongst competing teams and the limited broadcasting revenues achieved in comparison to some other European member associations.

FFP Regulations are perceived to be an effective tool for monitoring clubs and ensuring financial stability. However, the findings suggest that participants believe that these regulations consolidate the financial position of larger teams who rely on broadcasting and extant brand power for revenue generation. Further, smaller leagues demonstrate a lesser reliance on benefactor payments, and therefore, the restriction on benefactor payments inherent within FFP Regulations is posited by participants as holding little consequence and/or relevance within the Scottish football context.

Most prior studies on FFP Regulations have focused on generating quantitative insight into the application of FFP Regulations in large, resource-rich European football leagues. Through a qualitative approach, this study provides nascent exploratory insight into FFP Regulations from the perspective of smaller leagues.

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate football club financial reporting with reference to: the long-standing debate on the nature and purpose of accounting; and the implementation of UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

The paper is based on a review and analysis of academic literature, accounting regulation and football regulations.

The focus of financial reporting on rational economic decision-makers results in football club financial reports being of limited use to many football club stakeholders. Consideration of the social and organisational context of football, as takes place in FFP, can be used as a catalyst to consider broader approaches to football club reporting. The paper calls for fuller and different pictures to be provided of clubs’ performance, in particular broadening the scope of accountability to users beyond that provided by an economic account.

The paper is designed to stimulate debate about accounting for and reporting on football club businesses. A necessary next step is an exploratory project, focusing on one or a small number of clubs and their stakeholders, exploring in a practical setting what enhanced football club reporting might look like.

While the weaknesses of financial reporting have been considered extensively in the mainstream accounting literature and on occasion in terms of sport, the paper seeks to progress this discussion by linking it to significant football policy initiatives and to wider social and community-based football research.

The introduction of financial fair play (FFP) regulations in 2011 was accompanied by criticism that they would have an adverse effect on competitive balance in European football. Counter-points were also expressed, suggesting that the opposite would occur; that they would actually increase competitive balance through reducing the importance of financial power. The lack of clarity and cohesion on this issue prompted this paper. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect FFP has had on competitive balance in the English Premier League.

The analysis conducted uses the Herfindahl Index of Competitive Balance as the primary method, and is supported by standard deviation of points analysis and a Scully-Noll ratio analysis, which together provide an indication of the level of competitive balance for each of the past 21 seasons, from 1995/1996 to 2015/2016. This examination allows for the trends in competitive balance to be identified, with emphasis drawn on the seasons after the introduction of the regulations.

The results provide no indication that FFP regulations have resulted in a decline in competitive balance in the EPL, instead hinting that a positive effect may have been caused. This positive effect exceeds the primary aim of the regulations and underlines their importance in the future stability of club football.

While underlining the need for further research on the topic, this study provides the first insights into the effects of FFP regulations on competitive balance in the EPL. These insights would support the view that FFP initiatives have begun to shift the focus of sporting competition away from financial strength towards more natural means of competition such as efficiency, innovation and good management.