The Business of Sports Management

May 3 – Dutch Eredivisie outfit Vitesse has started a crowdfunding campaign in a bid to retain the club’s professional status.
Vitesse is in deep financial difficulty and has a deadline of two weeks to address the situation. The club is yet to obtain a professional license to enable it compete in next season’s league.
“Let your yellow-black heart speak, just like me,” said John Van den Brom, Vitesse’s manager.
Leo Beenhakker and Lois Openda are other ambassadors who have endorsed the crowdfunding.

Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami last season created MLS’s second billion-dollar franchise—but they’re still not No. 1.

Italian giants Inter Milan are reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy after financial problems with the Chinese company that owns the club.

Following the announcement of substantial losses by UK Athletics,
former Olympic heptathlon champion, Mrs. Denise Lewis, has been
appointed President of UK Athletics.

November 3 – When it comes to financial management, Barcelona rarely seem to catch a break.
The club have lost their latest appeal in the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Appeals Chamber against a €500,000 fine imposed on July 13 for failing to follow club financial regulations.
The fine was imposed for wrongly reporting in the financial year 2022, profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers). The asset disposals Barca were claiming are not deemed “a relevant income” under UEFA regulations.

October 10 – Financially beleaguered Juventus have reported a loss of €123.7 million for the year ending 30 June 2023, an improvement of more than 50% on the previous year but still a huge deficit that has helped push net financial debt to €399.9 million.
Alongside the losses the club announced a capital increase raising up to €200 million.
The news hammered the club’s stock market price on the Euronext Milan which saw a fall of 8.86% to €0.2572. Read more …

The Russian Olympic Committee is seeking more than $8 million from the International Olympic Committee through a lawsuit filed in Switzerland.

Improvements made in all lines of business, with better figures than expected, while also reducing the net debt for the second year in a row

CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post number 429 presents the net transfer spending of the 100 most active clubs in terms of the financial volume (...)

World Aquatics has posted an annual loss for 2022 of $16.4 million -
about half the level it forecast in December.

Championships and new stadiums have fueled the biggest increases in team values during the past half-decade.

London Irish have now been served a 'winding up petition' over an unpaid tax bill. They were initially given an extended deadline of Tuesday 6th June at 4 pm to have their affairs in order,

May 2 – Fluminense are the latest Brazilian club to report rising debt levels in their 2023 financial year, now running at more than R$800 million ($156.5 million) in 2023. This is despite the Rio club reporting an operating surplus of R$78 million ($15.3 million).
In 2022, Fluminense registered a profit of R$7 million ($1.4 million), adding a further R$71 million in 2023.
However club debts grew from R$793 million ($155 million) in 2022 to R$822 million ($160 million) the following year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies rose the most in value thanks to their rich TV deals and high attendance—but last year wasn’t a grand slam for most MLB teams.

January 25 – Real Madrid have reclaimed top spot in the annual Deloitte Football Money League, beating last year’s league leader Manchester City by a slim €5 million.
PSG broke into the top three positions followed by Barcelona on €300 million – €31 million behind their Spanish rivals.
Manchester City’s cross-town rivals Manchester United have dropped to fifth place (€746 million) and are now truly confirmed as Manchester’s second team, not only on team performance but also by being ahead by a substantial €80 million.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, worth $2.8 billion, have overtaken the New York Rangers to become hockey’s most expensive franchise.

In an official statement, OL Groupe have confirmed that they have successfully completed the refinancing of €385m of Lyon's outstanding debts. This

October 25 – Barcelona are projecting revenue for the 2023/24 season to hit €859 million generating post-tax profits of about €11 million.
For the 2022/23 season the club reported a profit of €304 million, €30 million more than forecast. Even so, the club still had an overall operating loss of €200 million for the year.

The top 20 owners on this year’s Forbes 400 list are worth a collective $382 billion. And for most, the NFL, the NBA and MLB remain a very lucrative side hustle.

October 2 – CAF has announced that the winners of the African Football League will receive $4 million in prize money, a paltry fee after the promised riches attached to a Super League on the continent. 
A breakdown of the total prize money pot of $14.4 million, shows the four losing quarter-finals will receive $1 million, the two losing semi-finalists $1.7 million and the runner-up $3 million.

The NFL remains the most dominant league financially, but it’s not the fastest-growing sport in terms of value.

The International Cycling Union has become the latest International
Sports Federation to post accounts showing that its financial
performance was impacted in 2022 by investment portfolio losses.

The International Tennis Federation has been awarded $20 million in
the wake of cancellation of its agreement with Budapest to host the
2021 Billie Jean King Cup finals.

The soccer pitch is filled with more green than ever.