According to a report by ECO: “Liga Portugal and Sociedades Desportivas generated €792 million euros in turnover, which translated into a contribution of around €550 million to the Portuguese GDP (0.25%) in 2020-21, recovering values pre-pandemic, despite the absence of fans in the stadiums”, stresses the report.

Although there was a drop in box office receipts, due to the complicated pandemic context in the country, there was an increase in income. A situation that, according to the same report, was due to “income from television rights (47 million euros variation) and from the presence and performance in European competitions (11 million euros variation), namely the presence of FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals”.

With a turnover of 792 million euros last season, professional football produced more than 192 million euros in taxes for the Portuguese State, which means an increase of 2.5% compared to the previous season (187 million euros). An amount that was essentially supported by Liga Bwin, which contributed around 177 million euros, equivalent to 92% of the total estimated tax impact.

Employment

It is also reinforced in the report that Liga SABSEG and Liga Bwin were directly responsible for the record number of 3,729 jobs, which represents an increase of 4.2% in the employability of the industry compared to the previous season.

“The Sports Societies of Liga Portugal Bwin are responsible for most of the jobs created. They employ 2,946 people, of which 1,155 are players, 267 coaches and 1,524 employees assigned to the areas of support, management and administration," is explained in the Football Yearbook, where it is also noted that "athletes are the sports agents with the highest remuneration, earning a total value added in salaries of 238 million euros, followed by employees and coaches”.