Football Economics is an independent research organisation formed to provide insights to the football world.

We undertake research and analysis into the issues and opportunities facing football and aim to provide evidence to improve decision-making and understanding in governing bodies, the media, clubs and fans.

With the rising availability and complexity of financial and other data, there is a growing need to understand that information and its implications for the game, both within governing bodies like FIFA, UEFA and the FA but also for leagues, media, supporters groups and clubs.

We apply innovative techniques to shed light on a range of issues: from measuring the success of youth development policies; to improving competition design; to looking at the pros and cons of different financial structures.

Our independence is important – with football dominated by strong opinions and powerful commercial interests we provide objective advice and analysis.

We are a network of economic, finance and analytical professionals across the public and private sectors. Our current projects are led by:

Ian Mitchell – Director

Ian’s Background is as a senior government economist advising on strategy and policy issues. He has also worked as a consultant at Ernst and Young and as head of public policy analysis at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Grant Davies – Senior Economist

Grant is an expert in modelling and quantitative analysis. He has extensive experience advising and forecasting in both the public and private sector.