Business of Sport Rick Parry: EFL Chair, ‘We Need Sporting Jeopardy Without Financial Catastrophe’ (Ep52)
This week we’re delighted to welcome EFL Chair Rick Parry to the show. Rick has seen it all in football; The first CEO of the Premier League, CEO of Liverpool (1998-2009), and now Chair of English Football League. It can easily be argued that overseeing the interests of 72 clubs ranging from Leeds to Morecambe, is the hardest job in football.
But Rick would never look at it like that. When we asked why take this job now having been offered it in the past, he simply responded ‘because I believe I can make a difference’. Football in the UK is at an interesting junction; the Premier League has never been more successful, financially and engagement wise, but there are question marks over its long term stability. The EFL has recently agreed a mega £1bn broadcast deal with Sky with the quality of football on the rise, yet the financial chasm to the Premier only increases.
How do you make clubs sustainable businesses? How do you bridge the financial gap between the leagues? How do you protect a community’s most socially valuable asset? The challenge was laid out perfectly: ‘We want sporting jeopardy without financial catastrophe’.
Rick’s assessment of the health of the infamous football pyramid alongside the power of enterprise Premier League asks the key question: should the Premier League do more to support the football structure that enables its success?
On today’s show we discuss:
Forming the Premier League:
- How was the world’s most successful league created in a few hours with a new set of groundbreaking regulations to govern it?
- The importance of the relationship with Sky in building a business model that supported the global growth of English football and its assets.
- How much money did the Premier League make compared to the EFL in the first season and what has that gap grown to now?
- What makes English football so unique and special compared to other leagues?
- The essence of the game is opportunity; anyone can reach the Premier League and anyone can win it. Rising through the pyramid (and falling down it) is the jeopardy we all want!
Financial Successes and Challenges:
- The Premier League was productised to create a marketable and best in class football product, but did Rick ever expect the gap to the EFL to be so big?
- How much does the EFL generate today and what does it need to do to ensure the sustainability of its 72 member clubs?
- “We must create sporting jeopardy without financial catastrophe”; why owner financing cannot be the model to build a club on.
- The Premier League makes £2.2bn more than any other League. Why does it need to be spending more money that it’s earning?
Distribution & Regulation:
- Should the Premier League be paying more money to the EFL to share in the spoils of the success it achieves as part of the English pyramid?
- Does football need an independent regulator? What would a regulator be able to do that the current governance structure is incapable of implementing?
- “You don’t need a parachute to fall off a step. You need a parachute to fall off a cliff”; Why parachute payments are a problem.
- The Premier League has chosen to spend £850m more on wages when the EFL asked for £300m to support their business. What does that mean?
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