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Brian Philpotts is Marketing Director of TheFootball League and is soon to take up a similarrole at the FA Premier League. In this interviewhe talks to David Hudson of De MontfortUniversity about his role and the challenges hefaced after joining The Football League fromNewcastle United in 1999. He shares his experienceand insights on the subject of sports marketingat both league and club level.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the digital culture on football supporters through analysis of official and unofficial websites and media reports. At first glance it would appear that technology has brought about greater opportunities to communicate, to share views which previously could not be widely published, and to organise against the commercial power of the large football clubs. However, surveillance, censorship and control continue to impact on supporters to restrict and ultimately prevent the ideal speech situation that is necessary to empower fans and promote greater participation in their clubs. Current media manipulation and corporate interests restrict and alienate fans who often have more of a historically constituted (over generations) sense of ownership and culture within their local clubs.

A critical social theory approach is adopted to examine structures and processes related to communication between fans, the media, football clubs and the public. Habermas' theory is draw upon using the concepts of “colonization of the Lifeworld” and “communicative action” to inform a theme and discourse analysis of official and independent football club websites and media reports. How corporate interests (the system) are manipulating public opinion and freedom to speak openly within an overall goal of profit maximization for club owners and the large media corporations are explored.

Although steps to enable free communication have been made we are still a long way off supporters having a powerful enough voice to organise against the commercial power of the large football clubs and media conglomerates. The ideal speech situation remains elusive and the hegemonic state remains unchallenged. Football supporters are increasingly constructed as “consumers” and the ultimate power remains in mass media and broadcast rather than personal “narrowcast”.

This paper extends debate on the impact of the developing “digital culture” focusing on football supporters, a specific and prevalent community within British society. It raises issues for further research in this area.

In the current economic climate, the huge rise in the levels of debt incurred by professional football clubs challenges the need to improve their efficiency levels. Hence, analysis of their productivity is essential and represents an integral dimension to any realistic and efficient strategy. Any such strategy includes the identification and analysis of the inputs and outputs that underpin club sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between the team performance of professional European football clubs and the stability of their financial efficiency.

The sample spans 15 professional football clubs that won the league titles in the leading football leagues (the English, German, Spanish, Italian and French leagues) in the period between 2009 and 2014. The analysis made recourse to the data envelopment analysis method.

The results demonstrate that of the 15 clubs analysed, only 10 proved efficient. Football is now an industry that moves major quantities of financial capital and holds the attentions of large groups of fans worldwide. However, despite this attractiveness, the financial crisis and recession, ongoing since 2008, increasingly requires the better management of such resources. To this end, clubs should improve their control over the financial resources available given the positive relationship prevailing between the sporting performance of clubs and their levels of financial efficiency.

Analysis of the efficiency levels of the inputs and outputs encapsulating performance related financial variables may aid in improving the standards of planning and sustainable management at professional sport clubs.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Champions League teams using the entropy-integrated Multi Attribute Ideal-Real Comparative Analysis (MAIRCA) and super-slack-based data envelopment analysis for the 2012–2022 period.

This study consists of two sections. First, this study uses the entropy-integrated MAIRCA approach, which is a novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique developed by Gigović, to measure the performance of Champions League clubs. Second, this study proceeds with the super-slack-based DEA to evaluate the efficiency of the Champions League clubs.

As per the empirical results, Real Madrid is found to be the best-performing club over the past 10 years in terms of financial and sportive performance. Over the analyzed period, teams from the five Major Leagues of Europe perform better.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, performance measurement studies in football have focused on either DEA or MCDM. This study aims to present novelty for football literature by evaluating holistically both the sportive and financial dimensions. This paper also analyzes Champions League teams from the perspective of both MCDM and super-slack-based DEA methods.

This paper explores sports consumer interest in virtual environments (VE) and Web3 activations, specifically how the level of psychological involvement, consumers' generational cohorts and previous experience with VE and Web3 activations influence consumer interest in VE and Web3 products and services related to their favorite sports team.

A survey instrument was developed and distributed online resulting in a sample size of n = 526. The survey was designed to measure consumers' psychological involvement with their favorite sports team based on the Psychological Continuum Model, and to determine respondents' interest in potential VE and Web3 activations. Finally, the survey collected demographical information and data regarding respondents' previous experience with VE and Web3 applications. Multiple regression analysis was subsequently conducted to predict the impact of (1) psychological involvement, (2) consumers' generational cohorts and (3) previous experience with VE and Web3 activations on the dependent variable consumer interest in VE and Web3 activations.

The regression model showed a significant impact of the independent variables on consumer interest in VE and Web3 activations with consumer involvement exerting the highest influence. Consumers' previous experience with VE and Web3 applications also seems to trigger interest, in line with the consumption capital theory. This study also suggests that younger generational cohorts are not intrinsically more attracted to VE and Web3 activations but their interest seems to depend on the type of activation.

This study is intended as a first assessment of independent variables that may have an impact on sports consumer interest in VE and Web3 activations. Further research is needed to assess the impact these variables combined with other indicators may have on consumer interest, for instance by employing a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. This research included selected VE and Web3 applications comprising online games, NFTs and cryptocurrencies, to calculate a VE and Web3 Literacy Score for the purpose of this paper. However, the “umbrella term Web3” (Wang et al., 2022) could indicate a number of additional applications not considered in this research. Future studies could examine sports consumer experience with additional Web3 activations when assessing VE and Web3 Literacy.

The results of this research imply the need for a diversification of the VE and Web3 portfolio offered by sports teams to cater to different consumer segments. Upcoming challenges for sports teams include motivating younger consumers to take an interest in Web3 activations beyond gaming. Additionally, sports teams should encourage loyal supporters in the advanced stages of the PCM who possess limited VE and Web3 experience, to engage in VE and Web3 activations through simplified offers complementing their overall fan experience.

VE and Web3 activations currently offered by sports teams are still in their early stages and data underpinning their success is scarce. This is the first study examining variables that may influence consumer interest in a sports context.

This article provides a plain language commentary on the distributive equity structure of the English Premier League (EPL) with the aim of introducing sport business practitioners to a foundational challenge facing professional leagues as they grow financially with market opportunities, namely financial inequality between clubs.

Introducing and discussing data from seasons 2009/10–2018/19, the article reveals that despite maintaining a consistent distribution of the EPL prize fund over time, the financial imbalance within the league has grown throughout the period.

The EPL's financial distributive equity is exacerbated by growing imparity in the acquisition of sponsorship revenues, the distribution of broadcasting revenues and the implications of policies concerning financial fair play and parachute payments, leading to a problematic differential in the talent distribution and win–wage relationship experienced by the top six teams and the remainder.

The EPL's market-driven continuation of its revenue allocation policies has led to a broadening financial imbalance, in favour of the top clubs, which could paradoxically undermine the financial security of the teams and league. Sport business practitioners should be familiar with this fundamental challenge for sport leagues that accompanies financial growth.

Whilst the percentage difference in prize fund allocation between top and bottom clubs appears minor, there is a significant financial variation across the league, primarily due to the large increase in broadcasting income. This is compounded by positive feedback via the relative dominance of the top six clubs receiving the larger share allocated to higher finishing teams.

This longitudinal study aims to examine the extent to which football clubs in the Premier League communicate community activities in their annual reports through social disclosure. The research also seeks to examine the relevance and use of the annual report as a disclosure medium by football clubs. The need for social disclosure is examined in conjunction with media coverage of issues affecting Premier League clubs.

This study is deductive using three main hypotheses to test relevant underpinning theory used within the research. The study uses content analysis of annual report social disclosures of ten Premier League football clubs from 1993 to 2002, covering the first ten years of the Premier League. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the use of annual reports by those clubs. In addition, media reporting data from The Sunday Times is examined.

This study finds that there has been an increase in adverse media reporting concerning football, football clubs and their activities. One way in which clubs have responded to this increased attention and criticism is by expanding their community activities and associated social reporting, although reporting varies between clubs. The study finds that football clubs do value the annual report as an effective means of communication.

The authors acknowledge that some limitations inevitably affect the generalisabilty of this research. The use of content analysis, the precise methods adopted and the reliance on The Sunday Times constitute limitations. Nevertheless, the research has shown that clubs do engage with their local communities and have increased their reporting of such activities. The research has implications for those football clubs who fail to report their social activities. Further research could explore, why some clubs disclose more than others.

Football is a visible and important part of the UK economy. The study of social reporting by football clubs is in its infancy and this paper tests and applies relevant accounting theory to that sector. It shows that football clubs have begun to take social disclosure seriously within their annual reports.

Devon County Council was one of the pilot sites for the Government's Care Direct initiative, a multi‐agency partnership initiative for joined‐up information and help for older people. This article describes how the service has developed, the outcomes achieved and the future plans.

A research study carried out in Surrey to look at staff knowledge of and attitudes towards adult protection highlighted issues that may underpin the reasons for low levels of reported abuse with particular service user groups. This article looks at how the Surrey Adult Protection Committee has dealt with the recommendations of the research.

During one of the most nerve-wracking football matches of the 2012–2013 Bundesliga season, life-long friends Franz Dully and Max Vogel begin arguing about whether the wealth of a football club determines its success during the season. In order to disprove Vogel's claim that “money scores goals,” Dully must analyze the Bundesliga's current market values, points earned, and mid-season leader data.

After analyzing the case, students will be able to compute prediction intervals, develop regression models, and interpret data. The development of the regression models asks students to choose the relevant set of independent variables, as well as determine an appropriate functional form for the regression equation. The models derived have to be evaluated as well as compared to one another. Further, the students have to interpret the quantitative findings in the context of the application.