The biggest countries in Europe in terms of population are Russia and Turkey which make up about 25% of UEFA.
II am a Wrexham supporter!! Got hooked on the Documentary they started five years ago. It was cool seeing the team get three straight promotions and almost making the Championship Playoffs last season. It's going to be harder this season as West Ham will be overwhelming favorites to get one of the two automatic promotions.
The Big Five leagues (especially EPL) receive more international money than the smaller leagues. When I lived in Malaysia nearly everyone had a favorite EPL team and wore the corresponding kit. When I first got there (1996), there were so many ManU kits but some of those were exchanged for Arsenal kits in 1998 after they won the EPL (= bandwagon fans). I had one student who was an Olympic Marseille fan and he and I would discuss the ManU obsession of the other students. Anyway, my point is that despite having a smaller % of the UEFA population, that league sees more money for the reach that the EPL has in places like Asia and Africa.
The Russian Premier League had the 6th highest revenue before the invasion. But revenue is almost entirely related to Champions League progress. The countries that are "under-performing" based on population besides Russia and Ukraine, are Turkey, Poland, Kazakhstan and Romania. The country that is way over-performing is Scotland (pop 5.5M)
Apparently approximately 90% of self-described Premier League fans are based outside of the UK. Man United's fan base is 80% overseas, 85% for Man City, and ~80% for Liverpool. For clubs like Sunderland and Leeds, 50-60% of support is domestic.
Its a finance thread. The league that is over-performing financially, taking into account population, is the SPL.
I just looked up the league's finances and have to say that it is pretty impressive. I did not know that Scotland has the highest stadium attendance per capita in all of Europe.
Match fixing at the World Cup? https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/kleine-voortekens-van-matchfixing-op-wk-adviesorgaan-licht-fifa-in https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7463768/2026/07/23/world-cup-betting-irregularities-fifa/ Two suspicious games involve the World Champion.
Andrea Pirlo's appointment as Italy national coach postponed due to ties with Russia The expected appointment of Andrea Pirlo as Italy's national coach appears to have become uncertain. According to various media outlets, concerns have arisen within the Italian Football Federation regarding the former international's ties to Russia and a Russian gambling company. https://www.ad.nl/voetbal/aanstelli...gesteld-vanwege-banden-met-rusland~a9fc3e7bc/