Research reveals Premier League football generates significant economic impact for the UK.
The Premier League and its clubs generated a total tax contribution of £3.3bn to the UK Exchequer in the 2016/17 season, according to EY’s Economic and Social Impact Assessment.
The EY assessment also reported that the league and clubs supported close to 100,000 jobs as well as contributing £7.6 billion to UK Gross Domestic Product.
The £3.3bn tax contribution represents a 50% increase since 2013/14 when the last calculation was made and includes £1.1bn paid by players and £1.2bn collected by clubs and their associated supply chains in VAT.
Mark Gregory, EY’s Chief Economist says: “The Premier League is a globally recognised brand, built upon high-quality football. 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 that a successful Premier League is good not just for football but for the country as a whole.”
Bill Bush, Premier League Executive Director, said: “The EY report shows how the Premier League contributes to all levels of football and beyond. 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 £1billon in overseas earnings and over £3billion in tax because our clubs strive so hard to get the football right.”
The activity of the League supported close to 100,000 fulltime equivalent jobs across the UK in 2016/17. The majority of these jobs were underpinned by the League’s substantial supply chains, which accounted for 87,000 jobs both through indirect (52,000) and induced (35,000) impacts. Of the total employment impact, 90,300 were clubs, with the remainder supported by the Premier League.
Mark Gregory adds: “GVA impact from the clubs has grown from £0.7billion in 1998/99 to £7.6billion in 2016/17, this equates to an astounding increase of 800% in cash terms and a compound annual growth rate of 13%.”
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