Only a few years ago professional football in England was in a state of serious decline. Attendances were falling, revenues were stagnant and the image of the game was marred by hooliganism. Academic economists and the business and finance community paid very little attention to the sector, and most of the publicity surrounding the sport was bad. Since the start of the 1990s, however, professional football in England and elsewhere has experienced an astonishing transformation. Player salaries have risen exponentially, television contracts yield revenues on a scale unimaginable only a few years ago, many football stadia have been completely rebuilt, the profile of commercial sponsorship and merchandising has increased beyond measure and a number of clubs are now floated on the stock market. The business side of football regularly makes headline news, and newspapers devote pages to coverage of financial aspects of the sport.

Football's importance, of course, is not only economic, but also social and cultural. The level of interest is reflected not only by the several million people who attend matches in person each season, but also by the millions more who watch matches on television and follow its fortunes through coverage in the media. The amount of welfare created by football is perhaps even larger than the revenues that are generated at the professional level would suggest. At grassroots level, for example, football's popularity as a participant sport generates benefits for the health of the population.