English Premier League during the COVID-19 Pandemic

undergraduate thesis

• Author: Janko Lukačević
• Mentor: Tomislav Globan (mentor); MBZ: 324612
• Committee member: Tomislav Globan (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Economics and Business; (Department of Macroeconomics and Economic Development); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-07-15, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Economics; Macroeconomics

Abstract

After careful analysis of the events in the English Premier League, it is safe to say that even though the Premier League has experienced some heavy financial difficulties during the COVID-19 Pandemic they will surely survive this crisis. The main reason for their financial loss is due to Empty stadiums and failed broadcast-ing deals. The EPL broadcasting deals is one of the world’s largest broadcasting deals in football. The main source of income for EPL clubs is their broadcasting deals which are paid by broadcasting companies to clubs in order that they can stream their matches. Since matches have not been played, they could not hold up their end of the deal that they have made with broadcasting companies and were charged with re-bates. Also, since matches were not played, they did not earn any money from match-day revenues which on average account for 14% of their total income. Apart from the EPL clubs, fans have also been affected by the pandemic. Without the possibility of attending the games, many fans missed the chance to support their clubs in these tough times. Empty stadiums have led broadcasters to come up with creative solutions which enables fans to support their clubs from home, such as the introduction of video walls, which might be a great idea for the future when football returns to normal. It would enable fans who live far away to still show their support and be a part of the match day experience. The consequence of the COVID-10 Pandemic on EPL was the attempt at creating an elite breakaway league The European Super League, which consisted of Europe's elite clubs involving the Premier League's big-six clubs - Man-chester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham. The league was met with major criticism both from fans, from former football players and clubs not involved in the league. The biggest criticism against the Super League that it was an attempt of powerful club owners to take control of the football, with the main intention of earning more money. From the survey it is evident that most of the participants are strongly against the creation of the Super League and much more prefer the Champions League. I believe that the Premier League has had a lot to learn from the pandemic, and that through effort and collective participation from all the clubs, they will come out stronger and improve on their flaws and weaknesses.

Abstract (croatian)

Nakon pomne analize događaja u engleskoj Premier ligi, može se sa sigurnošću reći da će Premijer liga tijekom pandemije COVID-19 doživjeti neke velike financijske poteškoće, ali sigurno će preživjeti ovu krizu. Glavni razlog njihovog financijskog gubitka su prazni stadioni i neuspješni ugovori o emitiranju. EPL -ovi ugovori o emitiranju jedan su od najvećih svjetskih nogometnih ugovora o emitiranju. Glavni izvor prihoda klubova EPL -a su njihovi ugovori o emitiranju koje televizijske kuće plaćaju klubovima kako bi mogli prenositi svoje utakmice. Budući da se utakmice nisu odigrale, nisu mogle izdržati kraj dogovora koji su sklopile s televizijskim kućama i bile su optužene za odbijanje. Također, budući da se utakmice nisu igrale, nisu zaradile novac od prihoda na dan utakmice koji u prosjeku čine 14% njihovog ukupnog prihoda. Osim klubova EPL -a, pandemijom su pogođeni i navijači. Bez mogućnosti posjećivanja utakmica, mnogi su navijači propustili priliku podržati svoje klubove u ovim teškim vremenima. Prazni stadioni doveli su televizijske kuće do kreativnih rješenja koja navijačima omogućuju da podržavaju svoje klubove od kuće, poput uvođenja videozida, što bi mogla biti izvrsna ideja za budućnost kada se nogomet vrati u normalu. Omogućilo bi navijačima koji žive daleko da i dalje pokažu svoju podršku i budu dio iskustva na utakmici. Posljedica pandemije COVID-10 na EPL-u bio je pokušaj stvaranja elitne otcepljene lige Europske superlige, koja se sastojala od elitnih europskih klubova u kojima je bilo šest velikih klubova Premier lige-Man-chester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal , Chelsea i Tottenham. Liga je naišla na velike kritike navijača, bivših nogometaša i klubova koji nisu uključeni u ligu. Najveća kritika na račun Superlige je da je to bio pokušaj moćnih vlasnika klubova da preuzmu kontrolu nad nogometom, s glavnom namjerom da zarade više novca. Iz ankete je vidljivo da se većina sudionika oštro protivi stvaranju Super lige, a mnogo više preferira Ligu prvaka. Vjerujem da je Premijer liga imala mnogo naučiti iz pandemije te da će trudom i kolektivnim sudjelovanjem svih klubova izaći jači i poboljšati svoje nedostatke i slabosti.

• Keywords: COVID-19. EPL; English Premier League; Manchester United
• Keywords (croatian): COVID-19. EPL; Engleska Premijer Liga; Manchester United
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:148:760550
• Study programme: Title: Business Economics in English; Study programme type: university; Study level: undergraduate; Academic / professional title: sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/ prvostupnica(baccalaureus/ baccalaurea) ekonomije (sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/ prvostupnica(baccalaureus/ baccalaurea) ekonomije)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2021-08-31 12:23:31