Manchester receives £330m football windfall

Football provides Greater Manchester with the equivalent economic impact of an Olympic and Paralympic Games every four seasons according to a new Sheffield Hallam report which outlines the financial worth of the game to the area.

Analysing the value of football to Greater Manchester has been produced by the Sport Industry Research Centre and Cambridge Econometrics on behalf of a Greater Manchester partnership including Manchester City Council, New Economy, MIDAS (Manchester’s inward investment agency), and Marketing Manchester.

It finds that football contributed around £330m in gross value added (GVA) to Greater Manchester’s economy in 2010-11.

In addition to this, it is estimated that the global profile that Manchester receives from football, particularly its Premier League clubs, could be worth over £100m a year on an advertising-equivalency basis.

If Manchester teams continue to perform as well in the Premier League and Europe over the next 20 years (as they have over the last two decades), this could be worth in excess of £2.5bn to the conurbation.

The report was officially launched last week at Soccerex European Forum.

Its purpose is to shed light on how the sector currently supports Greater Manchester’s economy and to identify opportunities for development and growth.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "It’s clear that Manchester’s two table-topping Premier League clubs and its host of other clubs make an enormous contribution to the life of the city. In a global environment where we are competing with cities around the world for investment and jobs, this is an enormous competitive advantage.

“As this report makes clear, football also brings a considerable number of visitors to Manchester so whatever your allegiances the success of our clubs is a big win for our economy."

Mike Emmerich, chief executive of New Economy, said: “To find we’re getting the equivalent economic benefit of an Olympics every four seasons is staggering. This is of course, backed up not just by Greater Manchester’s Premier League and Football League clubs but also by more than 700 amateur and semi-professional clubs in the region.

“With activity on this scale, there are many opportunities that fall beyond football’s popular realm. The report emphasises this wider potential and particularly the role football plays in raising the global recognition of the city, attracting not only visiting football fans, but students, investors, and skilled workers from sectors far wider than sport alone.”

Professor Simon Shibli, co-head of the Sports Industry Research Centre, added: "Our research on the value of football in Manchester portrays an industry that contributes immensely to the city’s financial, cultural and social capitals.  That football is woven into the fabric of Manchester society is no surprise, but it’s nice to have some compelling evidence to illustrate the point."

 For press information contact:Laurie Harvey on 0114 225 2621 or email pressoffice@shu.ac.uk