The Football Business and the Merseyside Economy

The Executive Summary of the Economic Impact of professional football on Merseyside research

The Football Research Unit, on behalf of Liverpool City Council, the Mersey Partnership and Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs, has produced a research report outlining the economic benefits of professional football to the City of Liverpool. The report is the first of its kind to assess the economic significance of professional football in Merseyside, or any other British locality. It therefore provides a benchmark, not only for future assessments of professional football on Merseyside, but for other urban areas across Britain. The following is an executive summary of the results of the research.

Headlines emerging from this research:

red arrow There are:

in the region of 3,000 full-time jobs in the Merseyside economy dependent on the football industry
plus 1,400 part-time jobs of those working for the clubs on match days
for every 100 jobs in the retail sector around the two grounds, five are dependent on match days
for every 100 jobs in the clubs' suppliers, nine are dependent on the trade the firm has with the clubS

red arrow We can also suggest that, on figures supplied by the clubs and estimations of linkages provided by the club suppliers,

for every £1 spent by the two clubs combined, 31 pence remains within the local Liverpool economy
the figure rises to 34 pence within the broader Merseyside economy
for every £1 spent in the businesses around the ground, 5 pence is attributable to match days.

red arrow Professional football has an impact on many local businesses, especially pubs, clubs, restaurants and sports shops:

Around 78% of those questioned noted a significant increase in weekend takings (between 10 and 25%) on a Liverpool match day (be it Premiership or European game).
A smaller percentage (around 37%) responded that takings increased when Everton played at home. The highest increase in takings comes during European matches.
Merseyside hotels have a higher than average occupancy rate during the football season
It has been estimated that close to 750,000 visitors come to the city for football related reasons.

red arrow Football has a significant impact on the local media. For example, from a total of 125 broadcast hours per week at Radio Merseyside, football output is between 23 to 25 hours, making up 20% of the total broadcasting output.

The key stakeholders in the Merseyside football industry

In the football industry in Merseyside which centres around the two Premiership clubs, the following groups fall into this category:

The clubs themselves

The supporters of the clubs

The City Council (and where appropriate other local authorities)

The Mersey Partnership

The businesses and communities around the two grounds

The businesses who trade with the clubs

The businesses in the city centre who benefit from football trade (mainly pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels)

Conclusions and recommendations

We believe the main message from our report is this:

red arrow The work here is a starting point for developing a collaborative approach for supporting the football industry on Merseyside.

red arrow A collaborative network of stakeholders is needed to ensure that the local football industry adds to the competitive advantage of the entire locality and is used to avoid a competitive cycle of decline within the local economy.

red arrow The two Premiership clubs need to be (and be seen to be) an embedded and highly valued part of the local Merseyside economy.

red arrow There is a need to develop a collaborative approach to enticing more football related tourism into the city centre i.e. to develop an integrated tourism and football industry strategy.

red arrow The local government agencies in the city should target specific government funding for football-related projects.

At present there is no blueprint for the future of the football industry on Merseyside. There is no co-ordination, or plan, about how this sector might be developed for the benefit of the two clubs, the local economy and the Merseyside community. There needs to be a first step in realising the potential of the football industry on Merseyside and this inevitably - and fortunately - involves two of the most successful clubs in the history of English football.

There is much to be gained if the local football industry can be developed for the benefit of the local economy and visa versa.

The research was carried out by Sam Johnstone, Dr Alan Southern of Durham University Business School and Dr Rogan Taylor, with the help of Claire Draycott and Dr Andrew Marks. A full copy of the report can be purchased from the Unit: please contact Sam Johnstone for more details.

Last modified on 1st November 2000