Football Clubs in Europe

DBRS Ratings Limited (DBRS) published a commentary on European football clubs.

Football clubs’ business model evolved from a pure matchday revenue generator model strongly correlated with on-pitch performance into a more diversified model. The value of sports franchises and football clubs has increased significantly as teams have monetised their brands.

DBRS believes that in future clubs will raise more capital in many forms (public equity and debt issuances) as a consequence of football’s growing economic importance and clubs’ more sophisticated business models. DBRS views the popularity of the league and the strength of a team’s brand as fundamental in assessing credit risk, as it drives strong, contractual revenue streams during periods of on-field underperformance.