Football remains by far the UK’s most popular spectator sport, not just among consumers but for the brands wishing to reach them too.

In the FIFA World Cup year of 2014, the sport has enjoyed further growth in public popularity, while clubs at the top of the professional ladder at least have benefited from significant growth in broadcast revenues and have begun to explore a widening range of commercial opportunities around the game and through the digital media platforms on which it continues to gain in prominence.

This report examines the ways in which adults follow football through match attendance and the media, assesses the ways in which they enjoyed the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and explores football betting habits and attitudes towards sponsorship of the sport.

This report concentrates on the professional football industry in the UK, quantifying admissions by volume and value, and examining other revenue sources, such as sponsorship and broadcasting rights fees.

The main focus of this report is English professional football and the Premier League in particular, although it also includes discussion of and data on the Football League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup where appropriate. Accompanying figures make clear the competition to which each relates.

This report draws on information gathered by Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance (June 2014), which is sourced where shown.

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