Stefan Szymanski Q&A

[Pasquali]

Stefan Szymanski is one of the world’s leading football economists and co-author of the bestselling book Soccernomics. He is a professor at the University of Michigan and an expert on the financial and structural side of the global game, including topics such as promotion and relegation, governance, and football’s long-term sustainability.

This is your chance to ask Stefan your questions, whether it is about the impact of free-to-air TV, the economics of Australian football, or what priorities should come after promotion and relegation. He will be responding to selected questions over the next week.

 

[grazorblade]

Just a warning, he occasionally takes a few days to answer. But all questions recieved here in the next 7 days will be passed on and answered

 

[HappyGuus]

I'll copy/paste this from the other thread:

How do we go about getting these people (APL, Federations etc.) to relinquish some power for the betterment of Australian football? And if they don't budge, is the anti-competition legal angle a legitimate tactic?

 

[Decentric]

Next question.

How and why did you, SS, and Simon K collude to write Soccernomics?

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

I'd like to know if Stefan thinks a US college sports style system could work in a country like Australia in lieu of an AIS and Y league?

 

[BA81]

I'd like to know if Stefan thinks a US college sports style system could work in a country like Australia in lieu of an AIS and Y league?

I’d be interested to know too. IMHO, introducing that to ️ here would end up creating more problems than it solves long-term; if it happens, next thing we know the A-League’ll bloody introduce a draft-system…

 

[HappyGuus]

I’d be interested to know too. IMHO, introducing that to ️ here would end up creating more problems than it solves long-term; if it happens, next thing we know the A-League’ll bloody introduce a draft-system…

Frankly, I think the Victory deserve a priority pick.

 

[rebelliousfeminist974]

My question for Stefan is:

With the rise of the women's game in Australia, do you think that professionalisation should be a priority given football's current economic state and concerns surrounding its sustainability?

 

[BA81]

Frankly, I think the Victory deserve a priority pick.

Let’s not give the APL any dumb ideas(they’ve enough of their own as is) is all I’m saying

 

[szy]

I'll copy/paste this from the other thread:

How do we go about getting these people (APL, Federations etc.) to relinquish some power for the betterment of Australian football? And if they don't budge, is the anti-competition legal angle a legitimate tactic?

For the typical fan the only option is public protest - look how the English fans killed the European Superleague. Competition laws can work against leagues that engage in monopolistic abuses, but it's difficult to challenge federations - judges don't like to second guess their decisions.

 

[szy]

Next question.

How and why did you, SS, and Simon K collude to write Soccernomics?

So I wanted to write about some of the economic ideas I'd been working on because I thought they had wider applicability, but I also knew that journalists are generally better writers than academics, and Simon was/is the nest football journalists. So I ambushed him at a conference and whined about my idea until he gave in

 

[szy]

I'd like to know if Stefan thinks a US college sports style system could work in a country like Australia in lieu of an AIS and Y league?

Possible, but it would take a long time. The US collegiate system is more than 200 years old, and collegiate sports more than 150 years old. Americans have a strong sense of identity with their local college team. Nowehere in the world has been able to create anything on that scale.

 

[szy]

My question for Stefan is:

With the rise of the women's game in Australia, do you think that professionalisation should be a priority given football's current economic state and concerns surrounding its sustainability?

No necessairly a priority, but it should be an inevitability. Women's football is growing everywhere. I think Australia has the potential for a very successful pro women's league

 

[Son of Sam]

No necessairly a priority, but it should be an inevitability. Women's football is growing everywhere. I think Australia has the potential for a very successful pro women's league

In Australia we have an 'indigenous' game that is being led by a very powerful and aggressive group of people (AFL).

Australian soccer's efforts to make the women's club game relevant are being stymied somewhat by the AFL's push for their own game. We get wall to wall free to air coverage of their sport after the Men's season finishes (September).

Not too sure if you have studied how Soccer copes with other codes in Australia. And do you have any general views on this.

 

[Football us life]

My question for Stefan is about the relationship between football's super clubs, particularly those in Europe and the broadcast industry.

Will the current collective model of selling tv and broadcast rights by a league such as the English Premier League or Spanish La Liga, eventually be overturned in favour of clubs such as Liverpool or Real Madrid selling their own broadcast rights individually?

Or will the collective model hold out, at least for a while yet?

 

[zimbos05]

I'm curious if Stefan thinks the current system is sustainable. Wages, transfer fees, agent fees, price of merchandise etc is all going higher and higher, yet the wages of fans are not keeping up with inflation. Fans can't sustain their passion. Not to mention that to watch games now, you need 3 or 4 subscriptions. At what point does the bubble burst?

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Possible, but it would take a long time. The US collegiate system is more than 200 years old, and collegiate sports more than 150 years old. Americans have a strong sense of identity with their local college team. Nowehere in the world has been able to create anything on that scale.

Cheers for the reply Stefan. I was thinking more along the lines of Japanes football rather than the US collegiate system which I find bizarro world

All Japan High School Soccer Tournament - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Decentric]

So I wanted to write about some of the economic ideas I'd been working on because I thought they had wider applicability, but I also knew that journalists are generally better writers than academics, and Simon was/is the nest football journalists. So I ambushed him at a conference and whined about my idea until he gave in

Well done, Szy.

Soccernomics is one of the most profound football books I've read. I've read a lot of other Simon Kuper books too. I often quote things I've read in Soccernomics, or other SK books.

One is the differential between how French pro clubs are run and English pro clubs.

 

[Football us life]

Well done, Szy.

Soccernomics is one of the most profound football books I've read. I've read a lot of other Simon Kuper books too. I often quote things I've read in Soccernomics, or other SK books.

One is the differential between how French pro clubs are run and English pro clubs.

Agreed. Soccernomics was superbly written.