Premier League Contributes 7.6 Billion To The UK Economy
The Premier League has contributed £7.6 billion to the UK economy and supported 94,000 jobs during a single season, despite the impact of coronavirus.
In an analysis carried out by EY financial services, these new figures for the 2019/20 campaign reveal just what top flight football means to the country in terms of hard cash. The 20 elite clubs paid out £3.6 billion to the government in tax, including £1.4 billion from the players alone.
The numbers underline the extraordinary growth in the Premier League, since it was founded in 1992, driven largely by television revenues.
Over the last two decades, the league’s economic contribution has risen from £0.7 billion in 1998 99, an increase of almost 1,000 per cent. In the same period, the number of jobs supported by the top flight has gone up from 11,300 to 94,000.
While the numbers are impressive, Covid took a toll on the economic performance of the league in 2019/20.
In March 2020 matches were suspended when there were nine games still to play and then in June when the season resumed games were played out behind closed doors.
Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive said: “The incredible efforts both on and off the pitch were all carried out despite the significant financial impact of the pandemic.
“Our clubs have lost approximately £2 billion since March 2020, but we have ensured that our solidarity payments to the whole of football have been maintained, as well as contributing additional funding to help clubs survive.”
This analysis reveals the economic contribution of the Premier League to the wider UK economy was the same in 2019/20 as it was in 2016/17.
This can be explained by a fall in broadcast income, due to Covid, and matchday income which was massively reduced for a quarter of the season when fans were banned from stadiums.
The economic contribution of the Premier League is based on an analysis of it and its clubs’ activities, this includes directly employing 12,000 staff, paying suppliers for goods and services, typically attracting over half a million visitors from overseas, who in previous years have spent around £0.5 billion.
Top flight football also encourages hundreds of thousands of domestic trips as fans move around the country, as well as the contribution to the national purse through taxation.
As an illustration for comparison, the Premier League contributes a little more than the music industry to UK plc, which is valued at £5.2 billion, but less than exhibitions, which are worth £11 billion.
