Corporate governance in professional sport

Thursday, 06 December 2012 Author: Richard Barham

If I were to ask a sports fan for a classic example of mismanagement in professional sport (of which there are more than a few), they may well reply with the words “Leeds United….we lived the dream”. In 2001, Leeds United’s board of directors made the decision to borrow £60 million against future gate receipts based on the assumption of continuous qualification for the Champions League. The decision led to the club’s near financial collapse and relegation to the third tier of English football.

Eleven years later, more companies than ever recognise the importance of strong corporate governance but what do we mean by the term “corporate governance”? The Cadbury Committee’s definition is still the classic definition:

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Hits 28793 Posted in Sports | Blogs | Dentons

Tags: Corporate Law | Governance | The Cadbury Report

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Written by

Richard Barham

Richard heads both the London Corporate practice, and Sports practice, of Dentons.

Richard's focus is on M&A and corporate work. He is particularly interested in corporate governance issues, and regularly advises companies and other organisations on how they best operate to achieve good and effective governance standards.