As Britain prepares for its first steps outside the EU, Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sports Enterprise at the University of Salford Business School, looks at what the impact may be on the business of sport in the country.
Professor Chadwick said: “The effects will be felt from the top-level right down to the grass roots of sport. Although the trickle-down effects of adverse Brexit effects will inevitably cause more problems for, for example, grassroots football than for the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
“Football seems particularly exposed, though Formula 1 would seem to be highly vulnerable given the location of many teams and their reliance on cross-EU border just-in-time supply chains. At the moment there is little or no clarity on how the logistical changes created by Brexit will impact on sport. As far as I am aware, no specific instructions have been issued to the sport industry.
“Unless the government gives sport special dispensation from more general rules, one worries that Britain will lose its competitive advantage in some sports. The problem is, successive British governments really haven't shown any inclination towards creating sport focused policies and strategies. With Brexit looming, maintaining this position could become problematic for sport.
“In the short to medium-term I think there will be impacts on Britain’s place in the sporting world. In the longer-term perhaps Britain will rebuild and strengthen again. However, economically and politically I think Britain and its sports industry is in for a bumpy sporting decade ahead.”
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