Risk in the activities of football companies on the example of Olympique Lyonnais and GKS Katowice

Grabowski Artur. Risk in the activities of football companies on the example of Olympique Lyonnais and GKS Katowice. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2022;12(5):273-283. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2022.12.05.021 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2022.12.05.021 https://zenodo.org/record/6574160 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 1, 2021. No. 32343. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 1 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe:Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2022; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 04.04.2022. Revised: 20.05.2022. Accepted: 23.05.2022. Risk in the activities of football companies on the example of Olympique Lyonnais and GKS Katowice Artur Grabowski Department of Economics, University of Economics in Katowice, POLAND, e-mail: artur.grabowski@ue.katowice.pl http://www. arturgrabowski.wixsite.com/ekonomiasportu, ORCID: 0000-0003-0558-452X Abstract: Purpose: The aim of the paper is to present the economic situation of two publicly listed companies: GKS Katowice (Poland) and Olympique Lyonnais (France). Both enterprises have different ownership models: Olympique Lyonnnais is a privately owned club, and GKS Katowice belongs to a municipal government. However, both clubs operate in the realities of different market economic system (Poland and France) and also at a different level of economic development. It is common that football companies function under uncertainty and risk. This is heightened by additional characteristic factors for this type of activity such as uncertainty of outcome in sports competition. The adoption of professional sport activities also automatically runs to the risk, but this is not the only problem that the company has to face. In addition, both clubs had to deal with new challenges: COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. The paper presented the functioning of both football companies during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Design/methodology/approach: The first part of this research study discusses some particular points of the business strategy and risk management in the context of football companies’ management. The economic and financial situation of two football companies is presented, namely: Olympique Lyonnais and GKS Katowice. The focus is on sports, economic and financial criteria to assess the standing of football companies. This paper combines the conclusions from secondary data analysis, content analysis of websites as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis. The study also employs a comparative analysis. Findings: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns have become a new reality for all football companies in Europe. It is thought that limiting basic financial sources of football companies might be a good lesson for future. Football companies need greater organizational efficiency and the search for modern forms to reach new fans with their message. The paper verifies positively hypothesis: the private model of ownership of a football club is more effective than the model of public ownership (municipal government). Research and practical limitations/implications: Football companies are in the need to take several actions: a) continuously search for new sources of financing and diversification of activities, b) conclude long sponsorship agreements. Building a solid financial foundation and looking into the future can help football companies get through times of various crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: Contemporary football companies need recommendations and guidance in the area of business management. The conducted research provides material that may be helpful in better understanding the risk and uncertainty for football companies. Keywords: competition, financial situation, football companies, revenue, risks