GOVERNING THE BEAUTIFUL GAME: THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL IN CIVIL SOCIETY
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
The Premier League is the most commercially successful football league in history, the self-proclaimed 'best league in the world'. But success has come at a cost, unbalancing the English game to a profound and damaging degree. In this presentation, leading economist Mark Gregory, will update the analysis presented in his 2021 book More Than a Game: Saving Football From Itself, and draw on his experience in giving evidence and advice to the Fan-led Review to explain why he believes the game is in more danger today than at any time since the 1980s. He will outline why he believes a more substantial reform of the game’s governance and a greater focus on economic regulation are essential to create a sustainable future.
Mark Gregory spent ten years as Ernst & Young's chief economist in the UK. In a career spanning over three decades he has advised governments and businesses in over forty countries on economic policy issues, specialising in the liberalisation, regulation, and commercialisation of the communications sector. Prior to joining EY he held international roles at IBM and PwC. He founded and led EY's sports economics practice, which has advised the Premier League, the ECB, the Union Cycliste Internationale, and the Rugby World Cup on the economic issues affecting their sports. He gave expert evidence on economics and regulation to the Fan-led Review of Football Governance. He is a Visiting Professor of Economics at Staffordshire University, a member of the Advisory Board of Keele University Business School and has just chaired a commission reporting to the Labour and Co-operative Party on community ownership. He was previously a member of the UK Government Covid Strategy Taskforce and a member of the Trade Advisory Group on investment. He is a lifelong Stoke City supporter.
Contact name:
Sean Hamil