Žilina dominates on the field. Slovan in business

The club owned by businessman Ivan Kmotrík has once again become the highest-earning team in Slovakia for the sixth time. Last year, its revenue reached €8.48 million. On the field, it was a different story: the team with the most wins this season—eleven—and the most goals scored—33—is Žilina, which is currently playing the best football in the country. The team from under Dubňa is the dominant leader of the top division. But when it comes to financial figures, both Žilina and the other Fortuna Liga participants trail behind Slovakia’s most famous club.

Slovan Bratislava topped the earnings chart for the sixth year in a row. For the accounting period from January to December 2015, the club owned by Ivan Kmotrík reported revenues of €8.48 million, according to the Bisnode agency. For comparison, that’s more than double the amount reported by AS Trenčín, the second-place team in the Economic Daily’s ranking of the highest-earning clubs. “The largest portion of our income has long come from sponsorship deals. These account for about 60 percent,” said Slovan’s vice president Petr Kašpar for the Economic Daily.

.Successful even without fans
It’s a paradox that Slovan—despite having one of the lowest home attendance figures in the league—succeeds exceptionally well in “selling” football by Slovak standards. Last season, their matches were watched by an average of just 1,432 spectators, with only Podbrezová, Skalica, and Zlaté Moravce drawing fewer fans. “Ticket sales represent one of the smallest revenue streams. Apart from sponsorship income, we also earned money from our participation in the Europa League and from several profitable player transfers,” Kašpar notes. He did not specify the transfer fees for players such as Branislav Niňaj, Karol Mészáros, Dávid Hudák, or Samuel Štefánik. “But we played three qualifying rounds in the European competition, and with TV rights sales and UEFA prize money, that could have brought us around one million euros,” said Slovan’s vice president. However, in next year’s ranking, Slovan’s income from European competitions will certainly drop, as the team embarrassingly exited in the second qualifying round against the average Latvian side FK Jelgava. Furthermore, Slovan may lose its top spot as Slovakia’s highest-earning club to champion AS Trenčín or possibly Žilina, both of which made several million-euro player transfers abroad this year.

Club revenues are growing
Looking at the combined revenue of all twelve top-flight Slovak clubs reveals an interesting growth trend. Six years ago, total income was €17.42 million. Three years ago, it had already grown to €25.99 million, and last year it hit a record €27.41 million. “There are several factors behind this growth, from increased player transfer income to the favourable economic climate in the country. Another important factor is that league football is now regularly broadcast on television,” said Jozef Tokos, sports analyst and football agent, for the Economic Daily. According to him, Slovak football currently benefits from a combination of positive trends, and there is a strong likelihood that club revenues will continue to grow in the coming years. “Another important factor is the success of our youth national teams whether it’s the under-21s, under-19s, or under-17s,” Tokos added.