Assessing the Financial Performance of the Greek Football Clubs

Abstract

This study evaluates the financial performance of seven major football clubs from the top division of Greece over a period which spans from season 2015-16 to season 2021-22 with correlation and regression analysis. Financial performance is expressed in three alternative ways, i.e., the return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and profit margin, which is computed as ratio of the profit before tax to total operating revenue. Purely financial factors are considered as determinative variables of performance including the size of the clubs, their liquidity, leverage, efficiency and cash flow efficiency. The results reveal indicate that the clubs under investigation are highly leveraged and have poor liquidity, while they present extensive annual and accumulated losses. On the factors that can affect the financial performance of the Greek football clubs, our analysis accentuates that the size of the football entreprises, along with the degree of liquidity, leverage, efficiency and their ability to use their assets to generate cash can affect financial performance, either in a positive or a negative way.