{"id":1097,"date":"2022-09-08T10:41:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T10:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2022-09-08T10:41:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T10:41:24","slug":"30-years-of-the-english-premier-league-a-roaring-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/difference\/30-years-of-the-english-premier-league-a-roaring-success\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Years of the English Premier League \u2013 A Roaring Success?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Steve Greenfield<\/a>, University of Westminster <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hillsborough stadium tragedy on April 15th<\/sup>, 1989, led to the death of 97 football fans, 94 on the day and 3 subsequently after. The last of these was Andrew Devine who died in 2021<\/a> but was ruled by the Liverpool Coroner to have been unlawfully killed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a watershed for English football that had gone through numerous stadium disasters such as the 1985 Bradford fire that killed 56, and from the 1970\u2019s the \u2018English disease\u2019 \u2013 football hooliganism. Numerous inquiries made recommendations, but still the problems persisted as Lord Justice Taylor noted in his report: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a depressing and chastening fact that mine is the ninth official report covering crowd safety and control at football grounds. After eight previous reports and three editions of the Green Guide, it seems astounding that 95 people could die from overcrowding before the very eyes of those controlling the event.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

English football was in the last chance saloon and the \u2018solution\u2019 was a new beginning with all seater grounds and more fundamentally a shiny new League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The formation of the Premier League, by the Football Association, was opposed by the Football League who sought a Judicial Review of the FA\u2019s decision to set up the new competition at its expense. As Justice Christopher Rose noted \u201c\u2026it is no part of my job to decide whether the creation of a Premier League will or will not be a good thing for English football…\u201d<\/em><\/strong> The issue at stake was whether the FA had the authority to set up the breakaway competition. Rose determined the FA wasn\u2019t subject to Judicial Review by the Football League, giving the green light for the Premier League to commence in 1992. The driving force was the potential for new broadcasting income, with the first exclusive deal to show live matches signed with BSkyB for \u00a3304m over the first 5 years, growing to \u00a34.5bn by 2018. This approach was revolutionary and the start of a subscription based model that continues to this day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money has continued to roll in and in 2021 the 20 Premier League clubs shared some \u00a32.6bn between them with bottom club Norwich still receiving almost \u00a3100m. This was a far cry from the first year where the total pot was a mere \u00a335m with top placed Manchester United receiving \u00a32.4m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udc46 This is the 30th Premier League season, with clubs splitting \u00a32.6bn.

Here's what the first season looked like, when 22 clubs split \u00a335m. pic.twitter.com\/FTfUpJwCpS<\/a><\/p>— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) May 22, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>