Bundesliga scores as most profitable football league

Germany's Bundesliga has become Europe's most profitable and best attended football league and and its clubs are better equipped to cope with the economic downturn than their counterparts in England's Premier League, according to a new report.

Despite poor media revenues and a shortage of star players, the Bundesliga is in a strong position to overtake the Premier League and become European football's biggest commercial success.

The conclusion reached by management consultants AT Kearney runs counter to the view shared by the Premier League's media partners that it is "the greatest league in the world", having attracted a new breed of club owners, and in turn the world's best footballers, because of its economic strength.

While the Premier League's €2bn a year puts it far ahead of other European leagues, operating profits are in decline and the ratio of wages to turnover is at a record high, while debt levels are unsustainable for most clubs.

In contrast, AT Kearney said the Bundesliga had fed off the €1.4bn stadia development triggered by Germany's hosting of the 2006 World Cub, which has driven attendances and the commercialisation of the league.

Significant increases in women and children at games have helped give the Bundesliga the highest average attendances in Europe, rising 5 per cent a year on average since 2000, although revenues per spectator are below Spain and the UK.

Commercial revenues – around €600m – are on a par with its English counterpart. Bundesliga sponsorship deals are now bigger than those in the Premier League, the consultants said, despite certain restrictions.

Corporate hospitality spending is well distributed across Germany, helped by the even spread of economic conurbations, creating a wider and more solid platform for clubs' profitability. In England, much of the corporate hospitality spend is biased towards London.

Emmanuel Hembert of AT Kearney said: "Bundesliga clubs have a much stronger economic basis to get through the downturn, while in England there is some risk of bankruptcy and owners leaving their clubs."

The Bundesliga's licensing system, which is linked to profitability, protects clubs from financial risk, he added.

The Bundesliga's weakness is in media rights, despite being in Europe's largest media market. Legal issues restrict pay TV deals and annual revenues of around €450m are the lowest in the so-called "big five" European leagues.

While the German league lacks star players and ownership rules prevent foreign investors acquiring more than 50 per cent of clubs, Mr Herbert said the opportunities far outweighed its weaknesses.

He believes its economic base will enable Bundesliga clubs to follow the pattern of success on the pitch enjoyed by their English rivals.

"The Premier League dominated Europe in economic strength and attendances in the mid-1990s, but it was not until the mid-2000s that English clubs started to dominate the Champions League. In five to 10 years' time, Bundesliga clubs might dominate."

Mr Hembert said Italy's Serie A, in contrast, suffered from poor stadium infrastructure and the taint of past corruption, while the model of fans owning Spanish clubs made it difficult for Spain's La Liga to extract greater revenues. Revenue from media rights are skewed towards the bigger clubs, which negotiate TV deals individually.

France failed to take advantage of hosting the 1998 World Cup, Mr Hembert added, and most of the clubs in Ligue 1 suffer from the economy being centralised around Paris.

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