Abstract/Summary

Football is the most popular sport globally, with audiences worldwide. European football has experienced tremendous growth in the past thirty years and is not just a source of entertainment but a vital contributor to countries' economies as an industry. While the literature is growing with insights into various aspects of the game and business, some gaps exist. This thesis contributes to the literature with three essays on regulation, governance strategies and covid�19. The first paper provides evidence of the impact of UEFA’s financial fair play (FFP) regulation on clubs' financial performance. We use panel data from 37 clubs and the difference-in�differences model to investigate the impact of FFP. The results indicate that while the profitability and indebtedness of clubs exposed to FFP improved, only the improvement in profitability is statistically significant. The result is robust to alternative definitions of exposed clubs and placebo tests. The findings provide evidence for regulators and valuable information to clubs for strategic planning. The second paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between on-field and off-field performances. We use a mixed method case study approach to analyse the competitive and financing strategies and financial management and how they influenced Manchester United and Chelsea’s on-field and off-field performances. The results show that financial regulation, managerial turnover and the role of the sporting director, in addition to the interplay of competitive and financing strategies and financial management, influence on-field and on-field success. The findings provide possible strategies for new and existing club owners. The final paper contributes to the literature on the impact of covid-19 on clubs’ financial performance, using panel data from 36 English clubs. The result suggests that the clubs' profitability, indebtedness and financial stability deteriorated during the pandemic due to lost matchday revenue, though only the deterioration in profitability is statistically significant.