Aston Villa Owner Calls for an Overhaul in Premier League Spending Rules

Fans of football know that there is a lot of money in the sport, especially at the heights of the Premier League. To keep things fair, there are a lot of rules surrounding team spending, but now one owner of Aston Villa, Nassef Sawiris, is preparing to launch a formal complaint that they are too far-reaching and anti-competitive.

The Premier League is Changing

Sawiris’ plea for change comes at a time when sports viewership is shifting. The most-watched league in the world added Amazon Prime Video as an official live broadcaster in 2019, breaking tradition by welcoming a streaming service into the fold. Viewers are increasingly watching content online over terrestrial programming, as surrounding businesses like sportsbooks have also moved their business to the internet.

This is a trend in entertainment at large, arguably started by iGaming websites in the early 2000s. Those sites offer casino games, including video slots and digital roulette wheels, and live-streamed interactive table games. Today, fans can go to blackjack at Paddy’s and play casino games from home, through a variety of sites or apps. That same transition has hit watched entertainment, first with fictional shows on video-on-demand platforms. Now it’s happening in sport, as we see streaming services take more interest in the world’s biggest sports events including Premier League games. They’re willing to spend a lot for those rights, so organisers and clubs should be ready for an influx of spending coming into their sport.

This is because platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have realised sports presents a great opportunity. By acquiring exclusive rights to games, they gain a competitive advantage over other streamers in the space. That’s why Netflix is buying up games in the NFL, and Amazon is doing the same with the NBA. Outside the States, Amazon has recently sublicensed streaming rights for even more match coverage of the Premier League.

Sports viewership is changing, and some managers expect it to have an impact on how the league functions behind the scenes. The sports streaming bidding war is just one facet of a larger conversation, the management of money in top-tier football. As more money flows into the sport, we can expect more managers to voice support for or criticism of existing rules set by the FA. For billionaire co-owner of Aston Villa Nassef Sawiris, “the rules do not make sense and are not good for football”.

Sawiris’ Comments on Team Spending

Alongside American private equity magnate Wes Edens, Sawiris acquired a controlling stake in Aston Villa in 2018. Together, their management led to Aston Villa making it back into the Premier League after their historic relegation in 2016. Since 2019, the pair have become Aston Villa’s sole owners and have plans to renew and expand Villa Park to an over 50,000-seat venue. Besides honing their talent on the pitch, the pair are dedicating a lot of investment capital to make the Birmingham club dominant again.

This is the context for Sawiris’ recent comments in an interview with the Financial Times. Sawiris contends that the rules have “resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport”. He continued by adding: “Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter, rather than looking at what your team needs”.

Sawiris’ statements may sound like they’re opposed to football’s biggest outfit, but the League has already acknowledged the need for spending reform. They recently decided to try new player spending caps that have riled Aston Villa, along with other top teams like Manchester United and Manchester City.

The spending trial will apply for the 2024-25 season, at which point it may be reassessed by the League. When that time comes, there’s no doubt that the public statements from some of football’s biggest clubs will be considered.