Key Topics
Brexit
Coronavirus
Economic Impact
International Events and Fan Engagement
IP Protection
Permitted Standing
UEFA Article 48
VAR
Brexit
The Premier League has held a range of conversations with Government and stakeholders regarding the impact on British football of the UK leaving the European Union.
We currently operate rules that limit the number of non-homegrown players clubs can have in senior squads, while also working with clubs to operate a world-leading player development system which delivers for England teams at every level.
This was demonstrated by the many Premier League club Academy and senior players whom FA coaches moulded so well into Under-17 and Under-20 FIFA World Cup winners and men’s FIFA 2018 World Cup semi-finalists.
There is no evidence that stronger quotas than exist now would have a positive impact on national teams.
We approach this matter in the interests of British football as a whole and have held positive discussions with the EFL and the Scottish Professional Football League, who both agree that Brexit should not be used to weaken playing squads in British football, nor to harm clubs’ ability to sign international players.
The three league bodies also recognise that the development pathway for young British players needs to be further enhanced and are committed to finding ways of achieving this across all professional clubs.
Away from playing squads, it is important to recognise the global interest in the Premier League and in our clubs when they compete in The FA and Carabao Cup competitions, and the wider positive impact on the UK of having a successful Premier League.
Our competition is watched in 188 countries, 700,000 visitors to the UK per season attend a match, Clubs employ 12,000 full-time staff and Premier League football generates £3.3billion per season in taxes.
We have a positive working relationship with The FA and will continue to have constructive discussions with them, and other stakeholders.
Coronavirus
The Premier League suspended its competition on 13 March 2020 in the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
It worked closely with the whole of professional football in England, as well as with the Government, public agencies and other relevant stakeholders, to resume the season.
The first step of the Premier League’s “Project Restart” was Stage 1 of the “Return to Training Protocol”, where small-group training by players was allowed from 19 May.
Stage 2 began on 27 May, allowing clubs a resumption of contact training.
Finally, the 2019/20 season was able to resume on 17 June, with matches taking place behind closed doors (BCD).
Apart from a brief period in December 2020, when some clubs were able to welcome a limited number of fans back into their stadiums, matches behind closed doors has continued for the 2020/21 season.
The strict medical protocols put in place for training and matches were developed in consultation with the clubs, players, managers and were in line with the guidelines set out by the Government.
During the pandemic, Premier League clubs have been helping those in their local communities most in need.
In March, the League committed £20million to support the NHS, communities, families and vulnerable groups. This included a direct financial contribution to the NHS and funds to enable the clubs to refocus efforts and develop significant outreach programmes to help communities, including those most in need.
Many clubs had already been working closely with their local NHS Trusts, providing support such as logistics, facilities, mental health advice, food provisions etc.
Furthermore, in April, the Premier League clubs unanimously voted to advance funds of £125million to the EFL and National League because of the severe difficulties clubs throughout the football pyramid were suffering as a result of the pandemic.
The League also committed to provide a further £200,000 to help The National League deliver its end-of-season playoffs and to give financial support to aid the safe restart of the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship next season.
Economic Impact
The importance of the Premier League to the UK economy has been confirmed by a study that reveals the Premier League contributed more than £3.3billion in tax and, with its clubs, supported almost 100,000 jobs in the 2016/17 season alone.
EY’s Economic and Social Impact Assessment also found the Premier League contributed £7.6billion to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product.
Since its inception in 1992/93, the Premier League has established a strong global reputation for high-quality and entertaining football, as shown by the clubs’ stadiums being occupied consistently at least 95 per cent, the highest of any major European League.
The Premier League has also enjoyed substantial growth in broadcast revenue and in its popularity around the world. In 2018/19, 860million homes globally had access to Premier League coverage.
Such growth has been mirrored by the growth of the Premier League’s contribution to the UK economy.
The EY report found an increase of 50 per cent in tax contribution to £3.3billion in 2016/17 since its last calculation was made three years earlier. This includes £1.1billion in taxes paid by players and £1.2billion in VAT collected by clubs and their associated supply chains in that season.
"The Premier League is a globally recognised brand, built upon high-quality football," Mark Gregory, EY’s Chief Economist, said in the report. "The League’s global success feeds into its capacity to generate economic and social returns within the UK.
"The strength of the Premier League broadcast offering, which is based on a committed global fanbase, is key to its success. The Premier League has also become an active member of the global community, presenting many commercial opportunities for the UK.
"Our latest report clearly shows a successful Premier League is good not just for football but for the country as a whole."
Since 1998/99, the EY report found the economic impact of the Premier League on the UK has increased by more than 800 per cent, or by nine times.
"Gross Value Added impact from the clubs has grown from £0.7billion in 1998/99, to £7.6billion in 2016/17, an astounding increase of 800 per cent in cash terms and a compound annual growth rate of 13 per cent," added Gregory.
The report also found in 2016/17 the Premier League supported almost 100,000 full-time equivalent jobs across the UK. Most of these jobs were underpinned by the League's substantial supply chains.
This accounted for 87,000 jobs, both through indirect (52,000) and induced (35,000) impacts.
Of the total employment impact, 90,300 was through the Premier League’s clubs, with the remainder supported by the League itself.
"The EY report shows how the Premier League contributes to all levels of football and beyond," Bill Bush, Premier League Executive Director, said.
"It is a simple model: many of the best players in the world playing for some of football’s finest clubs in a compelling competition in front of passionate fans, broadcast here and around the world.
"Great football gives us the economic success to invest in our own competition and provide unparalleled support to the EFL, youth development, the non-league system and community football.
"The national economy benefits from over £1billion in overseas earnings and over £3billion in tax because our clubs strive so hard to get the football right."
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP called the Premier League "the definition of a great British export".
Fox added: "These latest figures show just how much it positively impacts our economy, generating jobs and putting money in the bank.
"I’m delighted to see the Premier League continually go from strength to strength, with it fundamentally changing how people across the world watch and even play football.
"My international economic department and the whole of the UK Government stands ready to support in any way possible.”
International Events & Fan Engagement
Since 2007, the Premier League has committed to engage with its millions of fans around the world through a series of international events.
Premier League Asia Trophy
The Premier League has centrally run Premier League Asia Trophy tournaments every two years from 2007, featuring Premier League clubs in pre-season competition.
The tournaments have been held successfully in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
As well as the football, these tournaments have been accompanied by the Premier League looking to develop football in these countries, through programmes designed to promote youth and referee development, to knowledge-sharing by the League and its clubs with their local counterparts.
The most recent edition of the Premier League Asia Trophy featured Manchester City, West Ham United, Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers playing in Nanjing and Shanghai in July 2019.
Premier League Live
The Premier League has hosted a number of fan parks in South Africa and India to bring the Premier League experience and atmosphere to fans in those countries.
As well as big-screenings of Premier League matches so fans of clubs can come together to watch their heroes in action, the thousands who have attended have enjoyed meeting club legends, taking part in interactive games involving the clubs, as well as music concerts.
Premier League Mornings Live
After the success of the Premier League Live events, the Premier League teamed up with NBC Sports, its rights-holder in the United States, to celebrate the dedication of American fans of the competition, as they wake up in the early hours to watch matches on NBC.
Held at venues in Washington, DC, New York, Boston, Austin and Miami, the Premier League Mornings Live events have brought the regular matchday NBC Sports studio show out to the fans, showing them the matches on big screens, and giving them star names, great opportunities and club mascots to enjoy at first-hand.
International matches
There are no plans to play Premier League matches internationally.
IP Protection
The strength of the Premier League’s broadcast offering, which is based on a committed global fanbase, is key to the Premier League's success.
The legitimate investment in the Premier League from our rights holders across the world underpins the ability of clubs to acquire and develop star players, build great stadiums and support the sport at all levels
To protect the copyright of the League and its clubs a significant anti-piracy programme has been implemented in a range of countries.
The Premier League has been at the forefront of protecting its content, and the investment made by media companies in its rights with a holistic anti-piracy programme including blocking orders, investigations into suppliers of illicit streaming devices, and private prosecutions against illegal businesses that rip off its content.
In the UK, a High Court order was granted in July 2018, which has enabled the Premier League to disrupt and block illegal streams of its content across the whole of the current season.
Some 175,000 illegal streams were blocked in the UK during the 2018/19 season as a result of this.
The UK element of the Premier League’s anti-piracy work is long-established, but the global nature of its operation has grown significantly. It works with law enforcement authorities and Governments all over the world to protect its rights.
This includes recently supporting Spanish police and Europol in operations in Europe, working with Thai authorities in their raids against a network of illegal websites, and successfully obtaining a blocking order in Singapore in relation to eight prolific pirate websites.
In February 2019, the Premier League took its global programme a step further by opening its first international office, in Singapore, with the principal role of IP protection and supporting the efforts of its rights holders across the region to combat unauthorised access to the Premier League, whether via the sale of streaming devices or through pirate websites.
If fans know a business is showing Premier League matches via a foreign satellite system or through an unauthorised website, or if someone has tried to sell them a foreign satellite system, they can report this directly to ID Inquiries.
See idinquiries.com/premier-league
Permitted standing
Premier League clubs have considered the merits of the possible introduction of standing on several occasions over the past few years, and the League has discussed the matter with supporter groups and conducted research to poll fans on the subject.
From our research we know most fans would like standing to be available as a choice, that many like to stand and sit at different times during a match, and that only a small number wish to stand for an entire match.
There is further work and consultation to carry out, and there are legal matters for the Government to consider.
Taking all of that into account, the view expressed by clubs at the Premier League Shareholders meeting of June 2018 is that, in principle, it should be for clubs, in consultation with their local statutory authorities, to choose an option that works best for them, taking all reasonable safety requirements into consideration.
Further analysis is required to ensure the interests of all fans are considered and the Premier League supports the idea of an evidence-led approach.
We will continue to discuss this matter with Government, fan groups, and conduct further research to consider how standing areas might impact the management of stadiums on a matchday, the overall fan experience and safety standards.
Premier League research demonstrated:
- Five per cent of fans wish to stand throughout and entire match
- 70 per cent of attending fans agree in principle with standing to be offered as a choice
- 25 per cent of fans wish to stand at certain times during a match
See: Premier League research on standing
UEFA Article 48
Article 48 of the UEFA statutes grants member associations to prevent live football matches being shown during specific hours.
Article 48:
- UEFA and the member associations shall have the exclusive rights to broadcast and use, as well as to authorise their broadcast or use by picture, sound or other data carriers of any kind (including data carriers that have yet to be developed), matches which come within their jurisdiction, either live or recorded, in whole or as excerpts.
See: UEFA website on blocked broadcasting hours
No football matches are televised in England and Scotland on a Saturday between 14:45-17:15 under The Football Association’s “Closed Period”.
This is primarily designed to protect match attendances (both at a professional and amateur level) and promote grassroots participation in football.
This closed period applies not only to the live broadcast of domestic matches but to those of other nations as well as non-live broadcasts and includes all platforms.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
The 2019/20 Premier League season was the first in the competition to feature Video Assistant Referees (VAR) after clubs agreed to the introduction in November 2017.
As it is practised in other competitions, the VAR constantly monitors the match but will be used only for “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents” in four match-changing situations:
- Goals
- Penalty decisions
- Direct red card incidents
- Mistaken identity
There will be a high bar for VAR intervention on subjective decisions to maintain the pace and intensity of Premier League matches.
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