The History of Investing in Football and Factors Affecting Stock Price of Listed Football Clubs

Abstract

Historically, investing in stocks of football clubs has been equal to high risk, low return, and losing money. In this article, we will present the recent financial development in European football, the clubs’ introduction to the stock exchange and their history as investment objects. By performing a systematic review of the literature, we will explain the typical behavior of football clubs and their shareholders, and which factors that might affect the pricing in European football stocks. In other words this paper provides a state of the art on the economic development in European football, shows its significance on financial and sporting performance, evaluates the behavior of clubs and their shareholders, and studies what affects the stock price of listed football clubs. The paper also reviews different ownership structures in nowadays football, the impact of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play, and the history of investing in football clubs. Ultimately, it highlights the increased attractiveness of investing in football stocks given the recent years’ growth in corresponding stock price.

Keywords: Football, History, Investment, Stocks

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