The government pays for and

However, with the legalization of cannabis anyone in possession of cannabis wouldn’t end up in jail. Roughly 80,000 less dealers in operation would no longer end up in jail because of weed. The government would have more space in the prisons and less people would be in jail.

The view that cannabis should be for legal use has gained traction over the years as people largely agree that it would become safer to consume. An estimated 36%of adults under the age of 50 and remarkably 1 in 5 adults above the age of 65 indicated their approval of the legalisation of weed. Despite these views nomajor political party has yet adopted legalisation as a part of their manifesto. However, the subject of legalisation would have to be considered in parliament if a petition of over 100,000 signatories were submitted to Parliament.

How is the Premier League affecting the UK’s economy?

The Premier League is the biggest football league in the world, bringing in the most revenue in Europe’s top5 leagues. But how does this affect the UK’s economy? The league continues to grow in revenue and expenditure year on year bringing thousands of jobs to people in the UK, directly employed by the Premier League but also by external businesses that deal with TV and the clubs involved themselves. The league is the top division of English football, almost monopolising the elite football in England. The Premier League have a lot of economic activity through things such as: commercial relationshipsand supply chains, generating tax revenue, supporting tourism and creating employment opportunities. This contributestoagrandtotalof£7.6bntoUK economy in pandemic-struck 2019/20, benefiting society and the wider game.

Commercial relationships and supply chains

Movements between the league and the UK’s wider economy lifting economic activity can be seen through direct impacts that take place within the League itself. Also, in indirect impacts through the League’s supply chains which are driven by the employment income supported by the League and its supply chain.   Clubs in the Premier League continue to make investment in their stadium facilities. This includes new stands, refurbishments and improved accessibility and facilities for disabled people. The development in their stadiums shows large contributor of private-sectors revenue.

jobs across the UK in 2016/17. This represents a 30% increase since 2013/14. Mostofthesejobswereunderpinnedbythe League’s substantial supply chains, which accounted for 87,000 jobs both through indirect (52,000) and induced (35,000) impacts. Of the total employment impact, 90,300 was supported by Clubs, with the remainder supported by the Premier League (8,800).

Generating tax revenue

The economic revenue created by the League caused an estimated £3.3 billion total contribution to the government through taxes in 2016/17. This shows an increase of 50% since the 2013/14 season. Out of the contribution, £2.1 billion was a direct impact of the League itself, with the rest driven by activity supported indirectly by the League. The £3.3 billion is a large contribution to the UK’s government budget. The money contributed is equivalent to the annual salaries of over 86,000 police constables, or the funding of training for more than 42,000 new NHS nurses.

The players create a large portion of the League’s tax contribution. In total, players are estimated to support a tax contribution of £1.1 billion, 34% of the 2016/17 total contribution. Most of the contribution was made through the players income tax and national insurance.

Net VAT payments make the second largest tax revenue created by the league, supported to a large extent by the VATapplicable revenues of Clubs, including broadcast right agreements.

Supporting tourism

PeoplefromabroadwhocametotheUK in 2019 and watched a football match spent £1.4 billion in total when at games, an increase of 84% over 2011.  People did not just visit for the football matches themselves. Of the 1.5million who went to a fixture during their stay, 94,000 were business visitors through box sales etc. Football took the top spot in 2019 as the most popular live sporting event for international tourists to the UK.

Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston said:

"Our national game is a massive draw for visitors that want to come and watch topclassfootballfromsomeofthebestleagues in the world.”

“Football tourists boost local economies during the off-peak tourism season supporting restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues.”

"I will continue to work closely with VisitBritain, the Premier League and the EFL to keep up this momentum."

Visitors' most-popular stadiums (2019)

The activity of the League supported almost 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE)

Our Team:

Lucy Knox – Chief editor

Anatoliya Ageeva – Assistant editor

Iris Nuredini – Executive editor

Francesco Licheri – Media coordinator

Angel Madzorera - Author

Karen Kan - Author

Andrea Mastilo - Author

Ravi Durjun – Chief Researcher

Lance Edge – Editor

Jordan Walker – Sports coordinator

Lee Dunne - Reporter