In Scotland 10 clubs play in the Scottish Premier League with a further 30 clubs playing in three divisions of the Scottish Football League. The National League of Wales contains 20 semi-professional clubs, while another 16 semi–professional sides from
Northern Ireland competes in the Irish Football League.
The overall development of the game from grassroots to the highest level is currently in the hands of the FA’s Technical Director, who made a document, A charter for Quality. These included the establishments of centres of excellence for coaching and developing youngsters, and a reduction for very young players.
Task 5b: Funding, History and Organization Sectors
As the national governing body for football the FA has an important financial responsibility for the game. Its current income stands in the region of £70 million and is derived from four main sources, Television, Sponsorship and other commercials, International matches and competitions.
The FA has been able to use its major properties, namely the England team and the FA Cup, to generate television income through its domestic contract with Sky and the BBC. It has also recently initiated a new four-year sponsorship programme under the title of football associates. This is based around a family of ten sponsors that includes AXA, Nationwide, Cola-Cola and Carlsberg.
The massive interest which surrounds the professional game is clearly reflected in the annual turnover of the FA Premier League, which now exceeds £200 million. Most of this income is generated through the television deal agreed by the Premier League, Sky and the BBC. Since the inception of the premier League in 1992 some clubs have reaped unprecedented financial benefits, largely through the redistribution of television moneys, but also through additional funding for professional centres of excellence and stadium redevelopment.
All full-time professional football clubs are now run on a highly commercial basis, although not all clubs can command the same level of financial resources. Commercial has always been part of football, but following the formation of the Premier League in 1992 two different financial tiers have emerged to split the game. Due to its worldwide appeal, membership of the Premier League brings with it a range of commercial opportunities that simply cannot be realized in the leagues below. These include significant shares in television revenue, interest from high-profile sponsors, increased season tickets and gate receipts, and greater merchandising opportunities. These trends are perfectly illustrated by Manchester United, reputedly the richest football club in the world. The income profile for Manchester United during 1998 and 1999 was £10,882,233.00
Further evidence that the game is adapting to commercial forces can be seen in the number of clubs that have been floated on the stock market. Usually the main reason for widening share ownership in a football club is to create additional capital that can be used to fund stadia development and the purchase of players.
Although the game in the premier League is generally in good financial health, there have been concerns about the amount of money that many players are now demanding from there clubs. Players wages increased significantly following the abolition of the `maximum wage` in the 1960s, but are as nothing compared with developments since the late 1990s.
Top players can now earn as much as £100,000 per week as a result of changes to transfer rules (the Bosman ruling), and the influx of money into the game from sponsors and television companies.
Grassroots (voluntary)
There are over 46,000 Voluntary sector football clubs in the UK, with a combined membership of 1.6 million. Most voluntary football clubs rely heavily on income from subscriptions, small sponsorship arrangements, donations and a range of fundraising activities. In a growing number of cases, clubs have been successful in securing grant aid from sources like the Lottery, the Football Trust and Playing fields Associations.
Media and Sponsorship
Football has always been a sport with a high media profile. The game’s enduring popularity has meant that the media have not been slow to use football as a means of attracting large audiences. We have already seen how mass-circulation newspapers like the Sun and the Mirror use football to secure their market position. The same is true for television.
Football has a broad appeal that may be spreading further due to its continuing use of better marketing. However, this does not mean that the media fail to recognize the main characteristics of their audience. In addition, Sky has also looked closely at the demographic profile of its viewers in a bid to develop coverage that best suits their needs.
Effects of television on football participation
The continued growth of football as a television sport has ensured that the exploits of team and individual players are never far from the spotlight. One of the benefits of this is the positive role that television can play in encouraging more people to become involved with the sport. Despite losing in a semi-final penalty shoot-out to Germany, England’s performance in the 1990 world cup finals and in particular Paul Gascoigne’s arrival on the international stage gave many youngsters the inspiration to try to emulate their sporting heroes. Also the arrival of Michael Owen at the 1998 World Cup finals in France had a similar effect on youngsters almost a decade later.
Task 5a Tennis: Current Scale and Economic Importance
Tennis is one of the UK’s most popular sports, although it has had to remain sensitive to a variety of factors that affect the leisure industry as a whole. Greater personal disposable incomes have led to more people with higher expectations of service provision than ever before. In response, tennis facility providers such as the LTA, David Lloyd, local authorities and private tennis clubs have had to be ever more mindful of the service they provide. As a result, providers have become more interested in aspects such as surface technology and the range and quality of ancillary facilities on offer. Similarly, demands to make the sport a year-round activity have been influential in the recent growth of good quality indoor facilities.
Evidence for the economic significance of tennis is difficult to come by, although information on consumer spending and the value of volunteer labour provide useful indicators. It is thought that British consumers spend around £3.5 billion a year participating in sport, although tennis expenditure accounts for only a modest proportion of this. Total spending on goods for racket sport participation is barely £200 million, which for the average UK tennis player is roughly £30 a year.
If tennis players do not contribute significant amounts of money though their purchase of tennis goods, it is interesting to see if their expenditure patterns for tennis services are any different. For example, Mintel has recently found that a family joining a private facility like a David Lloyd Leisure Club would on average be prepared to spend £1,000 on membership, activities and related purchases.
In the voluntary sector, tennis participation remains strong; this indicates that volunteer labour is still a vital element in the game’s overall development.
Regional and Local Level
The LTA channels much of its support for grassroots tennis through it county offices. The aim of the LTA country administration is to provide an infrastructure which supports the development of tennis at a local level for its 2,386 affiliated clubs. The LTA is currently considering how it can assist clubs by providing resources which help attract more members.
National Level
The modern game of tennis originated in England after a major wing field published the first set of rules and marketed basic equipment in 1874. Not long afterwards the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was set up as the sports national governing body, a role it still plays today. In Northern Ireland, tennis is governed by a separate organization, Tennis Ireland (Ulster Branch), whereas the association for Wales and Scotland are affiliated to the LTA. One of the LTA’s main roles is to oversee the development of the game at all levels.
Task 5b: Funding, History and Organization Sectors
A more commercial approach to tennis was begun in 1968 when the tennis authorities allowed professional players into the main competitions. From this point on, the likes of Rod Laver, who had previously turned professional, returned to the tennis scene and amateurism soon disappeared from the highest levels of the game. The financial implications of the new professional era are largely dealt with by the international and national governing bodies for the sport.
As the national governing body for tennis in this country, the LTA is central to the funding of the game at all levels. A breakdown of the LTA’s annual income is shown below:
Sponsorship
The worldwide popularity of tennis coupled with the resurgence of British talent has made the game very attractive to potential sponsors. The LTA currently receives support from 34 high-profile companies, eight of whom form part of the British Tennis Partnership (BTP). The BTP is a brand created by the LTA to promote a stronger image for the game.
Subscriptions
Subscription income from the national and country association and the registered membership scheme is worth about £1 million to the LTA. A breakdown of this income is below:
- 93% Registered Membership Scheme
- 7% National and County Association
The Registered membership Scheme is designed to provide players and supports with a range of benefit, including the monthly Ace and British Tennis magazine. Already the Scheme has attracted over 80,000 members and is growing fast.
Media
Although not quite as popular as football, tennis plays an important role in the media’s attempts to secure large audiences. In 1998/1999, 11 million adults claimed that they enjoyed watching tennis on television, making it the fifth popular sport of those surveyed.
In this country most of the media’s attention is focused on Wimbledon fortnight, when tennis dominates the back pages of newspapers and features highly in television viewing figures.
The effects of television on rates of tennis participation would seem to be significant, although there is always a debate as to how long any such impact may last. Certainly, most tennis providers admit that their peak periods fall during or immediately after televised tournament like Wimbledon. What really adds to the impact of television, however, is when home grown players perform well in high-profile events like Wimbledon or the Davis Cup.
Tennis and Football: Education (Development of P.E)
Physical Education is a modern phenomenon less than 100years old; however its origin goes back even further than this and was developed from many different strands. The two main traditions of education basically were:
- Public (Private) school sports education
- State Schools (Government) outside private schools
- Private schools funded by parents (residential)
- Outside private schools funded by government
Public School Sports Federation
- organized games
- recreational based/good facilities/ rules
- Recognized that education objectives could be passed on through games
- Became important feature in schools
- Team games formed central core/tennis/rugby/hockey/athletics
- Based on co-operation and leadership
State Elementary Schools
- Lower class/free/cramped
- Physical training / Military drills
- Valued for discipline
- Social control values
- Small facilities/lack of equipment
- simple games/football
As part of the Education Reform Act (1988) all primary and secondary schools have a legal duty to deliver physical education as part of the National Curriculum. In 1992 the then department for Education and Science published the first National Curriculum specifications for PE, which clarified the broad areas of physical activity that children would need to undertake.
These areas incorporated:
- Games
- Swimming
- Gymnastics
- Athletics
- Outdoor and adventurous activities
- Dance
