Scottish football before 1914: an economic analysis of a gate-money sport

Abstract

On the basis of data collected at club level, it can be suggested that most Scottish elite football teams were not profit-maximizers. The lack of price competition, the existence of free entry for some spectators, the playing of uneconomic friendly and minor cup fixtures, the relative under-utilization of ground facilities, and the employment policies and wage structures of clubs point to utility taking precedence over profits. Even if the clubs had been profit-maximizers, this would have required collusion at the Scottish Football League (SFL) level in order to produce uncertainty of results at both match and championship level, but the members of the SFL seem to have been willing to tolerate a high degree of inequality in playing success.