British football clubs "could find it more difficult to buy summer targets" after the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union, an expert has warned, according to Keogh & Ornstein of the BBC. Salford University professor of sports enterprise Simon Chadwick said that transfer fees and wages "may rise." He said, "Clubs could suddenly find players are much more expensive because the pound is worth less." FA Chair Greg Dyke said that the decision could have "quite an impact on English football." Dyke: "It would be a shame if some of the great European players can't come here but I don't think that will happen. Whether the total number reduces will depend on the terms of the exit." Professional Footballers' Association CEO Gordon Taylor said that the decision could "give homegrown youngsters a better chance of breaking into the first teams of top clubs." Taylor: "These youngsters are not always having a chance. They are connected to clubs from the age of eight and then joining at 16 and some 500 out of 600 are out of the game by the time they are 21." Players' wages, the staging of big events and the Premier League brand "could all be affected, according to Chadwick." Chadwick said, "Our sport for several decades has been underpinned by European Union legislation. We are going to have to think about new rules and new ways of doing things through a period of uncertainty and I think incredible instability, and that could last anything up to five, possibly 10 years" (BBC, 6/24).
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| Greg Dyke |
POUND TAKES FALL: In N.Y., Ben Rothenberg wrote first, "the rain fell." Then, "the British pound fell. Harder." Those successive events, "caused by clouds and then Britain’s voting to leave the European Union," washed away "a chunk of the earnings of players who lost in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying." Play had been scheduled to finish Thursday, "but it was postponed to Friday because of persistent rain." Had the rain held off, allowing matches to finish as scheduled at the Bank of England Sports Grounds, the prize money, paid by Wimbledon in pounds, "would have been transferred into players’ foreign checking accounts at significantly higher rates." The one-day delay saw the pound fall from a Thursday average of around $1.49 to $1.37 on Friday. The plunge devalued a prize of £15,000 ($20,500) for the losers that, when converted into American dollars, fell from $22,350 to $20,550 (
N.Y. TIMES, 6/24).
TWO-YEAR WINDOW: In London, Ed Aarons reported Britain "will have a two-year window in which to negotiate a new treaty." According to Paul Shapiro, an associate at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, that means the real effects "could take some time to filter through, although he predicts a significant impact on various issues from the increased cost of transfers" to "problems with work permits for players from EU countries." West Ham’s €40M ($44.5M) offer to buy Marseille’s Michy Batshuayi was worth £31M ($42.4M) on Thursday but now "already equates" to more than £34M ($46.5M). Shapiro: "We will not know how significant this will be until we have a clearer idea of the terms the U.K. negotiates for its continued relationship with the EU." The Premier League "played down concerns that the competition could be adversely affected by the developments." The EPL said in a statement, "The Premier League is a hugely successful sporting competition that has strong domestic and global appeal. This will continue to be the case regardless of the referendum result." Of more immediate concern for Premier League clubs is the fact that Brexit "could also spell the end of the influx of teenage players from the European Union," who were previously considered as "homegrown" players who, irrespective of nationality or age, have been "registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday" (GUARDIAN, 6/24).
ECCLESTONE SUPPORTS MOVE: In London, David Stubbings reported F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has described Britain's decision to leave the European Union as "a good thing." He said that the Brexit vote "will make no difference to the sport." Ecclestone: "I have been a supporter of this all the way through. I think it’s the best thing. We should be ruling ourselves. If we’ve got something to sell, and it’s a good product at the right price, people will buy whether they are Chinese, Italian or German ... people will just get over this and get on with their lives." Ecclestone's views "are at odds" with McLaren Chair Ron Dennis, who wrote to the Times before the referendum highlighting the "potentially grave consequences." Dennis: "Remaining in Europe is fundamental to the prosperity of the McLaren business" (DAILY MIRROR, 6/25).
PLAYERS REACT: The AP's Rob Harris reported Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini "broke off from preparations for Monday’s game against Spain to provide a considered analysis of Brexit." Chiellini said, "The main concern should be about an eventual domino effect caused by this decision. This vote is the symbol of a general discussion that you can feel in Italy and all across Europe, but I think that discontent shouldn’t lead to a vote for disintegration." The Brexit does not "seem to be resonating among the England squad." Harry Kane of England said, "I don’t know enough about it to be concerned about it. And I don’t think the other players do as well." But players from continental teams "were more willing to talk, expressing trepidation about the impact of Britain’s impeding EU departure." Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said, "You always had such a feeling of unity (in Europe). It’s a bit of a shame that Britain ... doesn’t belong to it anymore" (AP, 6/25).
LA LIGA NOT HAPPY: FOOTBALL ESPANA reported La Liga President Javier Tebas admits that he "is not happy" with the Brexit and insisted Spanish football "will not necessarily benefit" from the Premier League "going wrong." Tebas "was disappointed with the potential loss of competition." He said, "I have a primary global vision and that is to wait and see what happens. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions because everything depends on the future model and relationships that the U.K. will have with the rest of Europe. ... It’s assumed that free movement would be lost, but we’ll see how everything pans out because [in England] football brings plenty of revenue and they’ll try to find solutions. But no, La Liga isn’t happy" (FOOTBALL ESPANA, 6/24).
NO COMMENT: Neither the NFL nor the NBA commented on the Brexit vote. Both U.S. leagues have been playing annual regular-season games in London since '07 and '11, respectively. The NFL also stepped up its efforts in the U.K. by signing two new stadium agreements with Tottenham and Twickenham, in addition to Wembley, which has hosted all NFL Int'l Series games since '07. An NBA spokesperson, however, told SBD Global that the U.K.'s decision to leave the EU "won't affect any potential games in the region" (HJ Mai, SBD Global).
