11 Apr 2013
Football provides '£300m a year' to greater Manchester economy
BY Aoife Dowling
Football provides Greater Manchester with the equivalent economic impact of an Olympic and Paralympic Games every four seasons according to a new report which outlines the financial worth of the game.
'Analysing the value of football to Greater Manchester' has been produced by the Sport Industry Research Centre and Cambridge Econometrics on behalf of a Greater Manchester partnership including Manchester City Council (MCC), New Economy, MIDAS, and Marketing Manchester.
It finds that football contributed around £330m in gross value added (GVA) to Greater Manchester's economy in 2010-11.
It is also estimated that the global profile that Manchester receives from football, particularly Premier League clubs - Manchester United and Manchester City United - could be worth over £100m a year on an advertising-equivalency basis.
The report predicts that if Manchester teams continue to perform well in the Premier League and Europe over the next 20 years, this could be worth in excess of £2.5bn to the conurbation.
The report was conducted to shed light on how the sector currently supports Greater Manchester's economy and to identify opportunities for development and growth.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of MCC, said: "It's clear that Manchester's two table-topping Premier League clubs and its host of other clubs make an enormous contribution to the life of the city. In a global environment where we are competing with cities around the world for investment and jobs, this is an enormous competitive advantage.
"As this report makes clear, football also brings a considerable number of visitors to Manchester so whatever your allegiances the success of our clubs is a big win for our economy."
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