England, football and love | Sports affairs

England and football

Messi and Ronaldo may get the big trophies and shine in tuxedos when the best player in the world is crowned, but the English Premier League is the most lucrative in the entire world with a total club revenue of £2.48 billion and no other league comes close to the same. Popularity when you include the TV viewers and souvenir buyers of the world. The Premier League is shown on television in more than 200 countries, and in Asia interest is huge, with TV viewers in China reaching between 100 and 350 million when the big matches are played. However, when UEFA ranks football nations – a statistic based on European cup results in the last three years – the English Premier League has to settle for third place behind La Liga and the German Bundesliga.

Power is transferred

The big change in conservative English football is a structural shift – not least in terms of ownership and foreign capital – that has moved the big clubs and the power over them away from the people and into the hands of rich oil states and oligarchs. , American financiers. It wasn't pain-free. Football was an opportunity for working-class people to change their paths and lives, but there were always roots, and opportunities for members to feel involved and identify with the general public. Now TV contracts are astronomical and capital is being pumped at levels no one even knows about anymore. Stunning stadiums in luxurious form, elite players at an unattainable level; It's less kinship and love, and more pure entertainment for those who can afford it.

First line of advice

English football still tickles the footballing nerve even if our eyes and attention have been elsewhere for a while. Not least Spain, where the best football is played, or Italy and France where Zlatan remains. But the English Premier League and its classic club names have been instilled in us since the introduction of tip coupons. Sweden's love affair with English football began as early as 1934 when Tipsgant started. On the evening of Saturday 20 October 1934, the first correct line in the history of Tipsgant was published when the twelve Premier League matches had finished:

12x1x2111111

Thus went the historical line, and by means of tip vouchers, English towns and league teams were imprinted on the consciousness of the Swedish people.

Donald Duck for men

There was real momentum when Lars Gunnar Bjorklund launched Tipsextra on Gothenburg Television in 1969. Football matches are broadcast live on TV on Saturday afternoons. The men's equivalent of Donald Duck on Christmas Eve.

Bosse Hansson, Björklund, Oldsberg and Belfrage did everything they could with their enthusiasm to overshadow what were at times Roth's kicks on muddy pitches, the rough and tumble players, the runs, the crosses, the sweat, the honest fighting. We liked it even if we suspected that the beauty of football lives on somewhere else where Swedish TV cameras aren't welcome. It was a carefree time followed by the 1980s with low standards, dilapidated arenas and hooliganism. England lags far behind Spain and Italy in terms of audience and revenue. The best English players began moving abroad. Banning English clubs from participating in European Cups for five years due to quarrels, scandals, football hooligans and terrace tragedies. There was a crisis in the homeland of football.

Manchester U is richer

The turning point came in 1992 when the Premier League was formed as a limited company, separate from the 104-year-old Football League. Now English football is not quite English anymore, and in terms of money, five of the Premier League clubs are among the ten most valuable clubs in the world. Real Madrid leads with a value of $3.26 billion and annual revenues of $746 million. Barcelona II (3.16 billion respectively 657 million). Manchester United is the third richest club in England. It is valued at $3.1 billion ($703 million in revenue). For many years the club was the club that sold the most match shirts in the world. Also on the list among the most valuable are Manchester City (fifth with 1.37 billion or $562 million), Chelsea (sixth with 1.37 billion or $526 million), Arsenal seventh (1.30 – 487), Liverpool eighth with just under a billion. There were EU fanatics who believed that only EU countries were allowed to play in European cups. Are you wondering if Brexit would have happened at all if it meant England were out of the Champions League?

It is no longer English

Today's English Premier League is far from English; Rather, it is a melting pot of all the football talent and temperament that the world can offer. Instructors can come from Germany, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands. This would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. But despite everything; There is a spirit of English football and a playing character that is still recognizable

note. The person who introduced Sweden to English football is definitely Roy Hodgson, who won the Swedish league title twice with Halmstad, and five times with Malmö FF. Feel free to listen to Sveriges Radio Play for his beautiful declaration of love for football on his summer programme. He was impressed by his rich Swedish language. With a crystal clear self-portrait and sarcasm. He moved on thirty years ago and played Bob Lindemann of Hasse & Tage with pleasure. Wonderfully.

Brief facts about the English Premier League

Sweden in the English Premier League:

Sixty-one (61) Swedes played in what is today (since 1992) the English Premier League. Most matches contain:

1. Sebastian Larsson (Arsenal, Birmingham, Sunderland) 282

2. Frederik Ljungberg (Arsenal and West Ham) (241).

3. Olof Melberg (Aston Wella) 232,

4.Jonas Olsson (West Bromwich) 201

Champions of the last five years:

2012/13: Manchester United

2013/14: Manchester City

2014/15: Chelsea

2015/16: Leicester City

2016/17: Chelsea

The five best shooters of recent years:

2012/13: Robin van Persie, Manchester United.

2013/14: Luis Suarez, Liverpool.

2014/15: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City.

2015/16: Harry Kane, Tottenham.

2016/17: Harry Kane, Tottenham.

Clubs in the English Premier League 2017/2018:

Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Huddersfield, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Southampton, Stoke, Swansea, Tottenham, Watford, West Bromwich, West Ham.

This year's new arrivals:

Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield.

Largest arenas:

1. Wembley (Tottenham) 90 thousand

2. Old Trafford (Manchester United) 75.643

3. Emirates (Arsenal) 60432

4. Olympic Stadium in London (West Ham), 60,000 spectators

Major club rack manufacturers and shirt sponsors:

Arsenal – Kit Puma – Emirates Shirt Sponsor.

Chelsea – Nike – Yokohama.

Liverpool – New Balance – Standard Chartered.

Manchester City – Nike – Etihad Airways / Nexen Tire.

Manchester United: Adidas – Chevrolet.

Tottenham – Nike – AIA.

the first show:

11/8 Arsenal – Leicester City

12/8 Chelsea – Burnley

13/8 Manchester United – West Ham