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Today, football is a 1.8 billion dollar global industry, but research at the 91�պ�AV is unravelling just how unstable the books are of clubs in the UK.

In the latest episode of the Life Solved podcast, Christina Philippou and Dr Adam Cox share insights into financial mismanagement and its impacts on people in football.

Christina has a background in accounting and in the past has led investigations into fraud for big industries. But when she came to academia, she was able to unite this with her love of sport. She continues to coach today but is keen to be a part of cleaning up the historic bribery and corruption that has dogged football and its finances.

She says that the misplacement and mismanagement of funds mean that development and grass-roots schemes can suffer.

Where it might seem that there’s plenty of money to go around in football, it seems that it’s not necessarily going to all the right places. Christina’s been working with Dr Adam Cox to analyse the balance sheets of Premier League clubs across the last 30 years. They were surprised to see that despite increasing broadcast and rights revenues over time, there still existed a debt of £1bn!

Adam says a heavier reliance on broadcast revenues and the competitiveness of player spending is behind the overspending that leaves clubs financially unstable. He says the same problems are present in smaller clubs and those lower down the leagues. Even if clubs are sold with debt and saved, the suppliers and aligned services still lose out, and those relying on income face hardship.

What’s more, Adam suggests that clubs in a stronger financial position will be able to better support community activities.

Christina’s background in governance and regulation has also led her to look at the systems and processes that can make a sporting association fairer. She’s also looked at the International Tennis Federation and says that transparency and accountability are key, from publishing up to date accounts to making stakeholders aware of how money is being spent and what decisions are being made. She says that monitoring and audits can also help deter fraud and other corruption.

It’s not to say that recent strides haven’t been made to increase financial controls and increase transparency in the game, but Adam says more research needs to take place to find out what’s truly happening at all levels of the league. It’s hoped that this will help decisions and actions take place to make a fairer game for all.

To listen to the full podcast, search for “Life Solved” from the 91�պ�AV on your podcast app of choice, and why not share this story with a friend who might be interested.