The first numbers of the Professional Football Annual Report have been presented, in a panel with Miguel Farinha, Pedro Siza Vieira and António Saraiva

The Impact of the Football Industry on the National Economy was one of the subjects addressed on the Arena stage on the third and final day of the Thinking Football Summit. The panel was used to present some of the figures of the sixth edition of the Professional Football Annual Report, developed by the consultancy Ernst & Young, whose official release will take place this Monday.

Miguel Farinha, head of EY's Strategy and Transactions area, presented some impacting figures. "This is the sixth edition of the Annual Report and it shows how the transformation of Football is impacting the Economy. In 2021-22, the impact on the Gross Domestic Product was €617 million, 0.3 per cent of GDP. We have registered growth compared to 2019, the pre-pandemic year," explained Miguel Farinha.

The panel, moderated by journalist Francisco David Ferreira (CNN), included the participation of Pedro Siza Vieira, former Minister of Economy, and António Saraiva, President of the Portuguese Business Confederation (CIP). Both agreed on the increasingly important role of the Football industry in the national economy and that the future will involve the internationalisation of the brand.

"The path to growth lies in no longer looking at the national market, but at the global market. We have to promote Portugal's positive visibility. We need notoriety and this contributes to the sustained growth of the economy. How Tourism provides the revaluation of assets", said Pedro Siza Vieira.

"The Economy has to meet three objectives: scope, internationalisation and innovation. That mark is on each player, but we need to create the right frameworks and strategies. We have to work hard, to develop all the conditions for the brand to be internationalised", said the president of the CIP.
Miguel Farinha did not leave the panel without talking about the importance of the Centralisation of Media Rights, legislated for 2027-28, and about ways to reduce the differences in income between clubs. "We need to have a more competitive football, to invest more in infrastructures. We have, for example, the subject of the distribution of tax revenues from sports betting. Thirty per cent goes to the clubs and the rest to the Federation. This money should be invested in the Clubs and in improving the experience of going to a football match", concluded Miguel Farinha.