Identifying Best Practice in Women's Football - FIFA/CIES ...

could benefit from a municipality-club agreement to fund their own stadium, and giving theirfans a place to call home. As noted, teams under the ownership of men’s clubs, often play inshared stadiums, so this may be a possibility for these teams as well. The city would have astable and prestigious tenant in the stadium, while the club could benefit from the betterfacilities and improved possibilities for income generation.4.4 Finances and OwnershipIn sporting organizations, there are many different types of organizations, each with itsunique challenges and opportunities. One type of structure, the association, is the mostcommon type for sports clubs, but it does hinder commercial investment into the club. 123However, this structure is beneficial for teams who incorporate a larger community effort andwant to be protected from the decisions of owners who are not compelled to consult themember/fans in any way. Some states give additional tax and rates benefits to associations. Inaddition, some leagues such as the Toppserien in Norway insist on clubs being anassociation. A co-operative has the similar benefits of an association, however its “one man,one vote” could prove to lack the efficiency of decision making that is necessary. The thirdstructure is the corporation, which is a commercial entity based on transferable ownership.This allows for owner investment and sometimes, easier access to finance for capitalintensiveprojects. 124 In an industry that seldom shows a profit, the ownership model does notoffer a serious return on investment except for the potential capital gain in future selling ofthe club, hence owning a football club is more of a status symbol than a shrewd financialinvestment.In the same way there are many structures in other sports, the finances and ownershipvary greatly in European women’s club football, which makes them almost incomparable.One item to note as well is the large discrepancy between the top clubs and those developingaround Europe. Budgets within the clubs analyzed range from Olympique Lyonnais Femininelisting in their financial statement in 2008 a budget of 2.8 million Euros, to the average Dutchbudget, including AZ Alkmaar, at 150,000 Euros. 125 There are two most common structures,""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""123 In an association, one cannot distribute dividends.124 Kuhn, Francois. New Forms of Organisation, Lecture given to FIFA Master. CIES. March 2010.125 Olympique Lyonnais, Annual Financial Report 2008/2009. Janssens, Interview, 10, May 2010.%8""