{"text":[[{"start":6.4,"text":"A knife-edge title race decided in the final week; a “spying” scandal; crucial results hinging on controversial video assistant referee-assisted decisions. The Premier League season concluding on Sunday has been a thriller. Highlighting the strength of the English club game, Premier League teams have reached the finals of all three major pan-European competitions. On Wednesday, Aston Villa lifted the Europa Cup; this week will see Crystal Palace contest the Conference Cup and new domestic champions Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Yet despite its on-field success and worldwide following, the league’s contribution to Britain’s economy can go under-appreciated."}],[{"start":49.25,"text":"The Premier League generates around £10bn a year in gross value added to the UK, including from ticket sales, merchandise and tourism. That represents a 14-fold increase since the 1998/99 season, according to Ernst & Young, and is broadly comparable to England’s entire agricultural output. Clubs and players — who earn on average over £4mn per year — contribute £4.4bn in tax revenue, equivalent to the salaries of more than 100,000 NHS nurses. Altogether, the league supports an estimated 104,500 jobs."}],[{"start":86.9,"text":"Since the launch of the top tier in 1992, when English football was recovering from a 1980s nadir of hooliganism and crumbling facilities, its quality and spectacle have fuelled a renaissance and attracted billions of viewers worldwide. In 2023/24, the league generated £1.7bn in international broadcast revenue alone, nearly equalling the rest of the UK television sector combined. The financial stakes of Premier League membership are now so high that even marginal advantages can tempt extreme behaviour: second-tier club Southampton admitted to spying on rivals’ training sessions. Last week, the club was punished with expulsion from the play-offs for promotion to the top league. That could cost it at least £200mn in potential revenues."}],[{"start":136.5,"text":"Rising income and prestige have made Premier League clubs increasingly attractive to international investors. This has strengthened the spending power of English teams, enabling them to attract elite foreign players and managers and remain competitive with Europe’s other top leagues. Ahead of this season, English clubs spent a record £3.1bn on player transfers — more than the Italian, German, French and Spanish elite leagues combined. The women’s game has experienced a surge in revenue and attendance too."}],[{"start":168.1,"text":"Many of the league’s wider benefits are hard to quantify. Investment in stadiums and grassroots football — from Brighton to Manchester — has supported urban regeneration and growth beyond London. English football is a formidable source of soft power, too. The Premier League is often more renowned globally than other iconic British institutions such as Oxbridge, the BBC, and even the monarchy. Surveys by Yonder Consulting suggest close to 90 per cent of international viewers say the league improves their perception of Britain."}],[{"start":199.45,"text":"English football is not without its problems. Fans complain of rising ticket prices. There are concerns about how wealthy investors govern clubs. Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City, a dominant force in the English game, faces over 100 charges of alleged breaches of financial rules. And despite the league’s success, the men’s national team has not won a major international trophy since 1966. Perhaps at the coming World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, it may finally end “60 years of hurt”."}],[{"start":230.79999999999998,"text":"Nonetheless, when Britain’s economic and cultural clout on the global stage appears to be waning, the Premier League is a rare rising asset. Britain is not good at celebrating its successes, but football is one that it should."}],[{"start":251.89999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779628097_4679.mp3"}