[Borys]

Ahoj!
I picked up something interesting at the European Cup Football forum. I do not remember seeing this linked to here.
Page 26 has league sizes
http://www.uefa.com/...45_DOWNLOAD.pdf
Borys

[the jambo-rocker]

Thanks Borys, made for a cracking read. Points that stood out for me:-

I like how it says two or more relegation places in the top league is a fundamental aspect of a european sports aspect...

IT seems that only five other countries in the whole of europe have oneor less relegation spots

Interesting to note that only germany, spain, russia, england, france and holland have higher average attendances than us.

We also seem to have a larger income than most of the larger countries also, and interesting a relatively sound level of wages handed out (57%).

[Borys]

Ahoj!
Glad to be of service
Borys

This post has been edited by Borys: 16 March 2010 - 11:24

[False Light]

That's a very interesting document, cheers for posting it. 

[HibeeJibee]

I had seen a paper copy of that report at a meeting I was at very recently Borys, thanks for posting. It is full of useful information. In relation to a series of recent debates on league size, relegation structure and winter/summer football... it's good to see facts presented by myself and Captain Sensible etc. re-iterated in a document from UEFA. Btw Borys... are there any stats existing anywhere on TV income for the different leagues of Europe?

What should strike us most if that the average football attendance in Scotland remains the 6th highest in Europe: higher than all nations bar the "Five Giants" and larger than many nations of great size, prestige and populace (including the Netherlands, Turkey, Portugal, Belgium, Russia and Greece). Also on page 44 we can see that the income generated by Scottish football lies only behind the "Five Giants", the Netherlands and Russia.

Then notice on page 46 that Scotland ranks 9th highest for club equality... behind Latvia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Serbia, Estonia and Liechtenstein. Meaning that again, of major nations we are amongst the most equitable. Data on debt and sustainability are also encouraging.

Note too (in the Appendix) that Scotland is one of only 3 nations to be applying minimum standards licensing to its 4th tier (alongside Georgia and Slovenia), and that we are one of few nations to be applying these to all clubs in our system, and we have a very large total for our population too.

We truly are living in a quite golden age of Scottish football.

This post has been edited by HibeeJibee: 16 March 2010 - 14:44

[flyingscot]

HibeeJibee, on 16 March 2010 - 14:41, said:

We truly are living in a quite golden age of Scottish football.

That is a bit worrying giving our standard at the moment- golden age of financial standing if not sporting approach! I wonder if it adds credence to the fact that our league would be better standard over all in the money we took in was more equally spread....

[HibeeJibee]

flyingscot, on 16 March 2010 - 14:57, said:

That is a bit worrying giving our standard at the moment- golden age of financial standing if not sporting approach! I wonder if it adds credence to the fact that our league would be better standard over all in the money we took in was more equally spread....

It is more equally spread... see my above post, only minnows and Ukraine spread it more equally. And our standing is good: attendances are higher than any nation outside of the "Five Giants" with their rich leagues and 55M-80M populations; our UEFA Co-efficient outranks all other small nations.

We truly are living in a quite golden age of Scottish football.

This post has been edited by HibeeJibee: 16 March 2010 - 14:59

[Borys]

Ahoj!
I suppose such data is there "somewhere".
What I found quickly:

http://goliath.ecnex...-interview.html

Quote

Europe-Big-5 football leagues (conferences):

* UK ($2.8 billion), Italy ($850 million), Spain ($700 million), Germany ($ 600 million), France ($950 million) per year = an impressive $ 5.9 billion (TV Sports Markets) in total for the Big-5

Not sure what date this concerns, though ...
Borys

[HibeeJibee]

I found this - but it is 5 years old. http://kassiesa.com/...wtopic.php?t=49 ... I know that SPL TV money rocketed in the latter half of the 2000s (but has not continued to: Setanta having collapsed, and Sky-ESPN money staying level with previous amount). Nevertheless, quite an eye-opening stat to see that in 2005 our league was getting MORE money from TV companies than a major, populous, quality nation like Portugal who had just come off the back of hosting a European Championships, had seen Porto winning the UEFA Cup and Champions League, and so on.

Quote

Country - TV income of the highest league in one season
England - approx. 870.000.000 EUR (590m GBP)
France - approx. 600.000.000 EUR
Italy - approx. 570.000.000 EUR (estimated)
Spain - approx. 500.000.000 EUR (estimated)
Germany - approx. 300.000.000 EUR
Turkey - approx. 118.000.000 EUR (139m USD)
Holland - approx. 70.000.000 EUR
Belgium - approx. 34.600.000 EUR
Greece - approx. 16.000.000 EUR
Austria - approx. 13.600.000 EUR
Scotland - approx. 13.000.000 EUR (8.75m GBP)
Portugal - approx. 11.000.000 EUR
Romania - approx. 6.800.000 EUR (8m USD)
Switzerland - approx. 4.300.000 EUR (6.6m CHF)
Bulgaria - approx. 600.000 EUR
Ireland - approx. 115.000 EUR

[fishtrunkAKA]

HibeeJibee, on 16 March 2010 - 14:58, said:

Then notice on page 46 that Scotland ranks 9th highest for club equality... behind Latvia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Serbia, Estonia and Liechtenstein. Meaning that again, of major nations we are amongst the most equitable. Data on debt and sustainability are also encouraging.

It is more equally spread... see my above post, only minnows and Ukraine spread it more equally. And our standing is good: attendances are higher than any nation outside of the "Five Giants" with their rich leagues and 55M-80M populations; our UEFA Co-efficient outranks all other small nations.

We truly are living in a quite golden age of Scottish football.

You've analysed this chart incorrectly. It shows we have the 9th least equitable top division.

[Gaz]

Surely any attendance figures for Scotland are skewed unfavourably by the Glasgow Bigots in a way that doesn't happen in other leagues?

[dave258]

Gaz, on 16 March 2010 - 16:33, said:

Surely any attendance figures for Scotland are skewed unfavourably by the Glasgow Bigots in a way that doesn't happen in other leagues?

My thoughts exactly.

[Borys]

Gaz, on 16 March 2010 - 16:33, said:

Surely any attendance figures for Scotland are skewed unfavourably by the Glasgow Bigots in a way that doesn't happen in other leagues?

Happens elsewhere.
Portugal.


The Netherlands and Greece probably look very similarly.

EDITED:
a newer list:
http://en.wikipedia....Portuguese_Liga

Top 10 for the last 5 years:
http://www.footballe...2005-06-2008-09
Borys

This post has been edited by Borys: 16 March 2010 - 17:04

[Loki]

A good read indeed. However when reading it I thought of a great philosopher who once said "Statistics are just like mini-skirts, they give you good ideas but hide the most important thing."

[craigkillie]

Gaz, on 16 March 2010 - 16:33, said:

Surely any attendance figures for Scotland are skewed unfavourably by the Glasgow Bigots in a way that doesn't happen in other leagues?

Most countries have a handful of clubs with huge attendances who drag the national average up.

Why shouldn't Rangers & Celtic be included anyway? Their supporters still attend Scottish football matches and put money into the game in this country.