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Who was the first black female MP in the House of Commons?

BY GARETH REES

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The Tate Modern on the South Bank is one of London’ s most popular attractions. What was it before it became an art gallery?

There are six London men’ s football teams represented in the Premier League( 2026 / 27 season). Name them.

What was London SPACE’ s“ Great Stink”?

What tube station would you use as the nearest to Lord’ s cricket ground?

Who is the editor of City A. M.?

Which United Nations specialised agency has its HQ on the Albert Embankment on the south side of the Thames?

Which world statesman visited Brixton at the end of a four-day state visit in 1996?

Which celebrated playwright and poet was the victim of homophobic abuse at Clapham Junction railway station in November 1895?

Find the answers on page 69

For the last decade, football has been dominated by the sky-blue of Manchester City. They’ ve won league titles, domestic cups and even achieved Champions League glory in 2023. Yet despite this success, a rather large elephant has remained stuck in the room.

Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 of 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations relating to financial reporting, sponsorship arrangements and breaches of spending limits, which allowed City to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs.

City strongly deny any wrongdoing and have appealed the decision, meaning the final whistle still hasn’ t blown on this case.

Potential financial consequences

If the appeal is unsuccessful, City are staring at considerable sanctions such as substantial fines, points deductions and even expulsion from the league. In terms of City’ s owners, if the guilty verdict stands, will they stand by the club or could they even end up being forced to sell up by the Independent Football Regulator( IFR)?

Expulsion from the league will result in substantial reductions in broadcasting revenue, sponsorship income and commercial opportunities. City’ s squad possesses world class players on substantial contracts which are unlikely to contain any relegation clauses. This will make it difficult for City to restructure its costs position and demonstrates the need to retain financial backing from wealthy owners.

The wider football industry

Other clubs across the football pyramid will be taking legal advice on

potential compensation claims for lost revenue or missed opportunities, particularly where league positions determined European qualification or relegation. My own club, Swansea City, are estimated to have suffered £ 63.1m financially mainly resulting from our relegation from the Premier League in 2018.

The City case ultimately comes at an interesting time for football finances. A recent report from the IFR flagged that 94 % of clubs across the top five divisions are making losses with more than 60 % of these clubs technically being insolvent.

Similar to City’ s position, the report demonstrated clubs’ reliance on continued owner support without which the IFR found that 66 % of clubs could not survive for more than 90 days, while 29 % had less than 30 days. A further concerning point was that 68 % had no contingency plan should their owners walk away.

Whilst the City case continues to send shockwaves through the game, it shouldn’ t distract from the financial tightrope English football is already walking. Ultimately, survival matters just as much on the balance sheet as it does on the pitch.

Gareth Rees is a Director and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner at Menzies LLP.

grees @ menzies. co. uk + 44( 0) 3309 129 864 www. menzies. co. uk