Board Characteristics in Football clubs: Evidence from the Greek Superleague 2005-2014

Football corporations in continental Europe are the biggest athletic companies. Millions are spent for transfers and the creation of a stronger image. However, in many cases scandals such as the FIFA's corruption case and the Greek football scandal in 2015 and Italian football scandal in 2006 have blemished this glamourous industry. Particularly, in Greece the poor financial state of many football teams lead to the pilling off debts to the state, which have never been paid back. This study examines the board of directors of 31 professional football clubs between 2006, the introductory year of the Greek Superleague, and 2014 with monthly observations, providing a better understanding of the people that run these corporations. The study, unique in its field, among others focuses on the following elements: the board configuration, the board size, the CEO duality, the tenure of the board and the directors and the gender diversity. Starting by analysing the relevant literature and with the use of secondary data from the football clubs, the present study provides us with interesting outcomes. One of the most interesting findings is that the average tenure of the board is 23.8 months, whilst the average board size fluctuates between 7.6 and 10.2 directors without a specific trend.