Paul Fletcher MBE's keynote presentation from the Sport and the Law Conference 2014.

1. Paul Fletcher MBE
CEO University of Football Business

3. Why are you here today?

4. Raise Your Game
“You can get anything that
you want in life – by
helping other people get
what they want.”

5. Every morning in
Africa a Gazelle
wakes up. It knows
it must run faster
that day than the
fastest Lion or it will
be killed.
The same morning a
Lion wakes up. It
knows that it must
outrun the slowest
Gazelle or it will
starve to death.

6. It doesn’t matter whether you are a
Lion or a Gazelle… when the sun
comes up
The point of the story is this
you better be running!

7. The changing face of
the football industry.

9. 2009
• £15million + additional games + positional
bonus + £15million parachute payment if
relegated - c £60 million
2010
• £16million + additional games + positional
bonus + £14million + £8million + £8million
parachute payment if relegated - c £80 million
2014
£120 million?

15. Bradford City – Valley Parade 1985

16. Hillsborough 1989

17. The changing face of
the football industry.

18. New Stadiums

21. RIBA Building of the Year 1995
McAlpine Stadium

22. BCI Building of the Year 1998The Reebok

24. Venue of the Year 2007

26. The New Stadium syndrome

27. League Positions
End of 2007/2008 Season
Premiership Championship
1 Manchester Utd WBA
2 Chelsea Stoke (1998)
3 Arsenal Hull
4 Liverpool Bristol City
5 Everton Crystal Palace
6 Aston Villa Watford
7 Blackburn Wolves
8 Portsmouth Ipswich
9 Manchester City Sheffield United
10 West Ham United Plymouth
11 Spurs Charlton
12 Newcastle Cardiff
13 Middlesbrough Burnley
14 Wigan QPR
15 Sunderland Preston
16 Bolton Sheffield Wednesday
17 Fulham Norwich
18 Reading® Barnsley
19 Birmingham Blackpool
20 Derby® Southampton
21 Coventry
22 Leicester®
23 Scunthorpe®
24 Colchester® (2008/9)

28. It generates more money
Creates more excitement
Involves more people, in more countries
Cuts across age; religion; gender; colour; creed;
social standing
……… And it keeps more people fit
Than any other ball
Its a Football
Moneyba££
This is the most important ball in the World

31. • Turnover c £2billion
The Premiership
• Broadcast to over 220 countries
• Watched by 600 + million people
• 20 Teams – 500 players
• Only 37% are British
• Average wage: £30,000 pw/£1.5m pa
• Biggest sports business on the planet

36. • Financial fair play - 1st year of UEFA’s
FFP regime - wait and see if any club falls-foul of the rules.
Legal Issue
• Fit & Proper person test –
• Safe Standing – standing is prohibited in England
(not Scotland). Most grounds majority of spectators stand.
• Alcohol – prohibited in Scottish grounds; allowed in
England except ‘in view of the pitch’.
Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela – Fail
Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe - Pass
Based on current test:

37. Rail Seating

39. £300,000 per week

41. XPro
• 60% of Premiership Players (300) will go
bankrupt within 5 years of retirement.
PFA
• Ridiculous! Only 10% / 20% - (100)
• 8 Premiership bankrupts still playing
• Paul Merson went broke having
gambled an estimated £7m.

42. • 15 year football career
0 - 15 16 - 30 46 - 60 61 - 7531-45 75 – 90
?
• 7 year average football career 2014
• One twelfth of life: One eighth of working life
<------Working Life---->

44. 78% of NFL Players
Go Bankrupt Within 5 Years of retirement.
1. Overspending (bling).
2. Career Duration (4.8 years)
3. Lack of finance knowledge
4. Family advisors
5. Too many children with too many partners
Between 1999 & 2002, 78 players lost a total of $42 million

45. Annual Salary for a Professional Premiership Player
17 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67
69
$0.00
$200,000.00
$400,000.00
$600,000.00
$800,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$1,200,000.00
$1,400,000.00
$1,600,000.00
$1,800,000.00

46. Annual Salary for a Businessman
17 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
$300,000

47. $0
$200,000
$400,000
$600,000
$800,000
$1,000,000
$1,200,000
$1,400,000
$1,600,000
$1,800,000
Professional Player
Businessman
17 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67
69
Annual Salary Comparison

54. A Puzzling Question?
What is a major factor that
will ensure your future
success?

55. Skill Attitude
The Pyramid of Success
K n o w l e d g e
15%
85%

56. Attitude
„How do you respond when
people ask „How are you?‟
1.Not bad 4.Fair to middling
5. Bloody Awful
6. Mr Doom&Gloom
2.Surviving
3.Fairly Avrge

57. New Attitude
‘Magnificent’

58. Good Luck!