By David Gold
June 13 – Tottenham Hotspur executive director Donna Cullen, who will be speaking at the Inside World Football Moscow Forum next week, claims Russia’s Premier League has the potential to become one of the best in Europe.
Cullen, who is also a trustee of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, will be speaking on a discussion panel looking at how Russia can develop its Premier League in the years leading up to its hosting of the 2018 World Cup.
She reflected on the success of the Premier League since its inception in 1993 and said that Russia had the potential to join the leading football leagues in Europe in the coming years.
“The success of the Premier League is two fold, firstly is the quality of the product; we play football that the rest of the world enjoys watching,” she said.
“And the fact that it’s popular around the world means you can develop revenue streams, most importantly broadcast revenue.
“The Russian economy is very exciting at the moment, and with the World Cup about to turn the world’s focus onto the country it has the perfect launch pad for its league,” she said.
“Russia has this real opportunity with the World Cup going there to work collectively to present a league to the outside world that can have the appeal that other top leagues have.”
The Tottenham executive also discussed Tottenham’s success in balancing their books whilst remaining competitive at the top of the Premier League, emphasising the importance of investment in the first team squad.
“It is important to invest in the first team so that you can attract match related revenues whilst at the same time recognising that you need to balance the books to ensure financial stability for the club.
“It is about managing your growth.
“Now that we have invested in the first team, increasing the stadium capacity is the next stage in our growth plans.”
For more details on the Inside World Football Moscow Forum, please click here.
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