The European football market grew by 16% in 2022-23 compared to the previous season, generating a total turnover of 35.2 billion euros (barely less in francs), according to the annual study compiled by consultants Deloitte published on Tuesday.
For the five major European championships (England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy), the increase is 14%, to 19.6 billion euros. For the first time since the 2018-19 season, notes the study, the ‘Big Five’ generated an operating profit, estimated at 500 million euros.
The good financial health of European football over this period is explained in particular by the lifting of the latest health restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and by the fallout from the World Cup in Qatar, note analysts from Deloitte Sports Business Group in their annual study.
In detail, the turnover of the English Premier League increased by 11% and crossed the 6 billion pound mark for the first time (6.1 billion pounds, owes 7.2 billion euros).
The net debt of English clubs increased at the same time from 2.7 to 3.1 billion pounds (EUR 3.7 billion), an increase which can be explained in particular by the financing of infrastructure projects.
Estimated as a percentage, the increase is strongest for clubs in the German Bundesliga and the Italian Serie A (+22% in both cases), reaching 3.8 billion euros in Germany and 2 .9 billion in Italy.
‘The 2022 World Cup, the lifting of the latest Covid-19 restrictions and the fervor of football fans have resulted in strong growth in the European football market in 2022-23’, summarizes Tim Bridge, associate partner of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
But, he adds, European football has reached an ‘inflection point’ in the face of the rise in power of other regions of the globe.
‘Football is developing towards a more connected sport on a global scale, which brings a host of new challenges to preserve a competitive balance as well as a solid governance and set of regulations,’ he continues.
Bridge urges European football leaders to present a ‘united front’ so that football in the Old Continent continues to generate enthusiasm among the players, supporters and economic partners who participate in it.
The study also addresses the issue of women’s football. She notes that the success of the Women’s European Championship organized in the summer of 2022 in England has a major effect on the development of the Women’s Super League, the English women’s championship, whose club revenues have increased by 50% to 48 million of books (57 million EUR).
The trend remains upward, with Deloitte anticipating a turnover of £68 million for the 2024-25 season.
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