Investing in Soccer

 

 

Semester & Location:	Spring Session 2026 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Finance, Accounting, Business
Prerequisite(s):	One university level course in economics and one university level course in accounting or finance.  Students who do not meet this specific criteria but can clearly demonstrate through their personal or professional background that they have had exposure to, and interest in, soccer and business will be considered on a case by case basis.
Faculty Members:	Neil Smith (current students please use the Canvas Inbox)
Time & Place:	Tuesdays (double session): 2:50 - 5.45pm. Classroom TBC

 

Course Description

Soccer has never been more popular. Both attendance and television viewing figures are high, and salaries and transfer fees seem to grow annually. The interest has attracted a whole new generation of majority owners from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds to American private equity, not to mention minority owners. These new owners do face one major restriction though, namely spending limitations under Financial Fair Play and Profit and Sustainability Rules.

This has led to far more focus on investing into soccer and the underlying business model than ever before. The course will look at why investors may want to buy football clubs and the valuation and funding process, looking at specific examples. To reach the valuation though, we need to understand the underlying revenue and costs. Therefore, we will look at the accounts of clubs, from the more conceptual idea of income split to the granular detail of how clubs book season tickets and transfer fees. We will also examine how clubs price seats and finance stadium developments and the corresponding investments available, as well as looking at how clubs arrive at player’s values, and transfer fees and wages. One of the major reasons for recent interest in investing is the spending limitations, and we will look at the rules and practical consequences in detail. Spending limitations and financing of purchases will involve extensive financial modelling. The class will also look at financial matters specifically impacting women’s soccer.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the class you should be able to (amongst other things):-

• Understand the accounts of football clubs;
• Understand the different revenue streams and why they vary from club to club;
• Have detailed knowledge of stadium investments and how clubs view them;
• Fully understand the markets for wages and player transfers;
• Have detailed knowledge of TV rights deals in the soccer industry;
• Be able to understand and make FFP/PSR calculations;
• Understand which profile of investors may be interested in soccer clubs and how they are valued.

You should also have:-

• Sharpened your financial and numerical skills in a different format;
• Gained extensive practice in framing detailed information in both oral and written form;
• Gained insight into the M & A world in general;
• Practiced negotiations in untraditional formats;
• Met interesting and knowledgeable individuals and organisations.

Faculty

Graduated from the University of Glasgow (Bachelor of Laws, 1999) and Diploma in Legal Practice (2000). Neil is based in Copenhagen as a Board Member and one of the owners of Nordeq Management A/S where he advises companies on structuring, international expansion and M & A.

With DIS since spring 2016, Neil also teaches International Financial Management and co-teaches Business Leadership. He has seen (literally) thousands of soccer games in person, and received an early lesson in how brutal the sport can be when his local team, Hearts, “lost” the Scottish Premier League in the final seven minutes of the 1985-86 season.

Readings

The class textbook is “The Price of Football: Understanding Football Club Finance” (second edition) by Kieran Maguire, published by Agenda Publishing on February 15, 2020

The class will otherwise make use of articles and podcasts from publications including the Financial Times and the Athletic.

Field Studies

Likely field studies are the following:-

FC Copenhagen, Parken – Visit the richest and most successful club in Denmark to hear about their financial setup, and (calendar permitting) stay to see a game. https://www.fck.dk/en 

FC Nordsjælland, Farum – Hear about the “Right to Dream” multi-club model with FC Nordsjælland, San Diego FC and academies attached to both clubs and in Africa.  https://www.righttodream.com/ 

Guest Lecturers

Guest lecturers for the course will include:-

Anders Lindegaard – former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper. Since retirement Anders has been working for UBS (a large Swiss bank) in their sports investment team. Anders will provide the player’s view, particularly with regard to wage structures and transfers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Lindegaard

Alex Green – director at Burlington Green Partners, a real estate investor. Alex was heavily involved in the building of Arsenal’s 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium in North London. He will use his experience to present on the Emirates project and recent issues in stadium development. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-green%F0%9F%8E%97%EF%B8%8F-b3bb691/?originalSubdomain=uk

Approach to Teaching

The class is intentionally interactive. Each class will start with a student prepared presentation on a topical news story within the world of football investing and finance. Whilst the first part of the double class may feature short lecture-forms, there will never be long in between interactive brainstorming sessions.

The second of the two classes will often involve students being placed in teams, investigating a specific case and then presenting on that to the class.

DIS Accommodations Statement

Your learning experience in this class is important to me.  If you have approved academic accommodations with DIS, please make sure I receive your DIS accommodations letter within two weeks from the start of classes. If you can think of other ways I can support your learning, please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you have any further questions about your academic accommodations, contact Academic Support academicsupport@dis.dk

Expectations of the Students

"Engaged participation" requires student to have done the reading (or listening or viewing) in advance of the class and to be active in the (many) group discussions and presentations.

As well as mini-presentations within each class, the work well consist of a written mid-term exam (open book), 3 case study assignments (to be completed in groups) and 1 news presentation.

Evaluation

Students are expected to be engaged throughout the class.

Graded work is expected to include an understanding of the business and financial theory, applying the theory to the case in hand, and elements of original thought.

Grading

Grades will be awarded as per below

Assignment	Percent
Active class participation	20%
Individual mid-term take home exam where students will answer questions on the issues raised in the first half of the class	20%
Group presentation of a recent stadium related project, including the business model and financing   Group presentation and report on a valuation and potential purchase of a particular European club. The students will need to both: a) give an oral presentation to the class; and b) prepare a written memo to clients (the potential buyer).    Group Financial Fair Play/Profit & Sustainability Rules exercise. Students will be in groups to calculate a club’s profit/loss according to the two regimes.	15%     25%       20%

General Course Policies

Academic Honesty: Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment - DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others. Academic dishonesty will result in a final  course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home universities will be notified.

DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software. See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

Specific Comment on Artificial Intelligence (AI): In this course, we recognize that AI can be a valuable tool for researching topics and is increasingly used as a tool to save time in the workplace. Thus, appropriate use of AI is permitted.

It is also the case, though, that answers given by AI are imperfect and often lacking in nuance, particularly at the level of detail expected in this course. As such, AI should never be used uncritically or as a substitute for considering matters from first principles.

When using information from AI as part of an answer, the same rules should be used as when quoting from traditional sources i.e. the work should be attributed, multiple sources are better than one, and where the base source is referred to in the text, you should consult the base source. In other words, if an article is referred to in an AI answer, then responsible use of AI would be to read and refer to the original article, rather than the AI summary.

Breaches of the above procedure, most notably the unattributed use of extended AI answers, will be considered a case of academic dishonesty. We encourage questions if there is any doubt about the appropriate use of AI.

Attendance – You are expected to attend all DIS classes when scheduled. If you miss multiple classes the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs will be notified and they will follow up with you to make sure that all is well.  Absences will jeopardize your grade and your standing at DIS. Allowances will be made in cases of illness.

In particular:

 - An unexcused absence is any absence not due to illness AND not notified/agreed with the instructor in advance of class.

 - A late arrival is any case where you are not ready to start class at the designated time (i.e. coming through the door as the class starts will count as a late arrival).

Your participation grade will be docked 10% for two unexcused absences and 10% for each additional unexcused absence. Your participation grade will be docked 5% for 2 late arrivals, and an additional 5% for each subsequent late arrival.

Academic Regulations

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code

 

Detailed Curriculum

All classes are double classes where we explore the same topic in the double class.

 

Classes 1 & 2 - Introduction and basic concepts

Introduction to class and each other; details around basic concepts in the P & L and balance sheet of a football club; the general profile of owners of clubs and their general interests.

Some key questions are: Why might an investor want to buy a football club? What are the main categories of income and cost for a football club, and how are they booked (season tickets, transfer fees etc.)? What are the main balance sheet entries and what are the consequences (depreciation on stadium etc. and liability management)?

We will also discuss some of the major Danish clubs in advance of the field studies later in the semester.

 

Classes 3 & 4 – Basic Finance Concepts in Practice

We look at how a club's P & L and balance sheet vary according to size of club, and which league they play in.

Some key questions would be: Why do clubs in different leagues differ in finances? Why do clubs in the same league often differ? What are the fundamental differences in accounts and income/expenses split between big clubs in small leagues like Ajax (Amsterdam) or (Glasgow) Celtic or clubs in bigger leagues.

In the second of the double class, groups would be allocated two different clubs to compare differences in financial perspective. This will involve looking into accounts of specific clubs in detail.

 

Classes 5 & 6 – Investing in Stadiums

We look at what drives ticket and hospitality pricing models, how clubs finance stadium developments and what associated investment opportunities for financiers may be available.

The first part of the class will be a guest lecture given by Alex Green, who was part of the team dealing with the construction of Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Alex will speak about the project, his career and some of the trends he sees in modern stadiums. He will also have time for a Q & A session with students.

Following this we will look more broadly at the issues. Some key questions would be: How is revenue from stadiums structured? What are the options when a club wants to re-develop/build? How is a stadium development typically financed? What are the unique problems in Italy which mean that Juventus are one of the few clubs with a modern stadium? Why has stadium building become more expensive in recent years? What are the business models behind lenders who finance the development?

This will involve a deep dive into recent stadium projects, like Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Barcelona and Everton. Finally, teams will be allocated for presentations on a recent stadium development; these presentations will be graded and will be given in class 5.

 

Classes 7 & 8 – Media Rights

We investigate why media rights vary so largely between leagues and how these deals are structured in practice.

Some key questions would be: How do the various leagues split up and sell their media rights? How are these valued?  How do leagues split media rights revenue between clubs? Why have (English) Premier League rights become much more valuable than other countries? What difference does UEFA Champions League TV money make to clubs? How do media rights companies earn back the money they spend? Is Direct to consumer a viable option for clubs?

The second class will involve a deep dive into the deals for the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, (Spain’s) La Liga and (Germany’s) Bundesliga. It will also involve a role play where one “league” would negotiate the TV rights with a media company.

 

Classes 9 & 10 – Presentation on Stadium Re-development plus starting for Investing in Players

The first class will consist of the group presentations on the stadium projects (see also class 5).

In the second class we will start looking at investing in players, including the basic principles behind how transfer fees are calculated and how wages are structured.

 

Classes 11 & 12 – Investing in Players

We continue to look at how players are valued and how their wages are structured.

The first class will involve a guest lecture by Anders Lindegaard, the former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper. Anders will provide the player’s experience of transfers and contracts, including choosing clubs and the process involved. He will also have time for student Q & A.

We will then look at the topic more generally. Key questions would be: What drives transfer values? What data is used in that situation? How are wages decided and structured? What is an appropriate wage to revenue ratio for a club?

In the second class we will do a workshop into specific recent transfers and wage negotiations and why they ended the way they did. This will involve a role play where a club negotiate a contact with a player/their agent.

 

Classes 13 & 14 – Multi-Club Ownership

We look at the concept of multi-club ownership and how it works in practice.

We look specifically at why multi-club ownership is currently so popular and what the advantages and practical challenges are. We look specifically at City Football Group, Red Bull, Textor group (Lyon, Botafogo), and Right to Dream (FCN, San Diego).

 

Classes 15 & 16 – Structures of ownership and Acquisitions

We look at different options including fan ownership, private equity, state-backed funds and what these options mean in practice as to a decision to invest.

Some key questions would be: How are clubs valued? How does Germany structure its fan ownership model and what practical difference does this mean for the clubs? Why are Middle Eastern states interested in football? Why do private equity funds buy football clubs and how do they finance their purchase? The class will be focused on majority ownership and clubs outside the multi-club model.

Towards the end of the class, groups will split to discuss and prepare a presentation (to be given next week) with appropriate financial modelling of a recent purchase or investment in a football club, with potential candidates being AC Milan, Everton, Newcastle United or Chelsea.

 

Classes 17 & 18 – Presentation on Acquisitions and Minority Investments

The class will present on the M & A presentations they have prepared.

In the second part of the class, we will look at the process of taking a minority interest in a club, how rights can be protected in these circumstances and the differences in valuation and process compared to taking a majority stake.

 

Class 19 & 20 - Spending limitations (PSR/FFP)

We examine salary caps and spending limitations in general, and the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) in particular. We go both deep in looking at the calculations and accounting behind the rules and broader in terms of the impact of the rules on owners and potential investors.

Some key questions would be: How are the salary caps calculated? How does PSR and FFP differ? What costs are exempt? How do we deal with related party costs/revenues? Why were spending limitations introduced in the first place and what has this meant to the market to control football clubs? We will look specifically at live examples, for example Manchester City (asking why they are facing charges for 115 breaches of PSR) or why Barcelona have had issues in registering certain players due to spending limitations. This class will specifically involve excel work to run through a number of calculations.

 

Class 21 & 22 – Women’s football

We look at the finances of women’s football and how they differ from the men’s game. To do this we will particularly look at leading women’s clubs like Barcelona and Lyon and examine their accounts in detail.