The sport that became a business
At the risk of stating the bleedin’ obvious it’s really no surprise that the footballing stories currently filling headlines, bulletins, message boards and social media feeds share a common theme, even injury stories. A thread runs through the Premier League setting up its own streaming service, Chelsea’s £355m losses, Ruben Amorim’s potential £15.8m pay-off from Manchester United, clubs being linked with £75m Anthony Gordon and PFA concerns that Cole Palmer is fatigued because of Chelsea’s involvement in last summer’s financially rewarding but physically draining Club World Cup. It’s all about the money.
It’s always been the way in football, of course, dating back to payment of players during the Victorian era, but now more so than ever. It’s a business dressed up as a sport. The whole Premier League +, “Premflix”, “backofthenetflix” development was inevitable. Clubs are pushing the direct-to-consumer streaming service, knowing the greater riches on offer, important for dividends and PSR. The Premier League effectively trials it in tech-smart, football-daft Singapore where it will doubtless be a success.
Next stop, surely a global roll-out as deals expire. Simply the threat of this direct-to-consumer service will focus minds and wallets at Sky Sports, TNT Sports etc. One obvious area the Premier League will be watching closely is the use from the UK of VPN and a card like Revolut (now sponsoring English teams incidentally) to pay in Singapore dollars. (One personal plea: anything that simplifies the number of suppliers you have to pay for would be welcome.)