The world of sports can give and take away in equal measure. The English Premier League team, Brighton & Hove Albion, was days away from going out of business 25 years ago. The mismanagement of the club threatened their status as a professional team and resulted in buckets being used to collect money to keep the club running. Less than 25 years later, Brighton & Hove Albion sit in the top four of the English Premier League, the richest competition in world soccer. The question fans are asking is how the club went through such a speedy turnaround.
Chairman Tony Bloom is a professional gambler who has spent money on infrastructure instead of transfer fees. Alongside the decision to employ the best executives, Brighton’s owner invested in the Amex Stadium. The 31,000-capacity stadium is a state-of-the-art home for the Premier League team that is located on the South Coast of the U.K. The impressive stadium gave fans a reason to hope, with a $30-million investment in a training ground adding to the feeling of a club on the up.
Bloom sees the success in the Premier League as a sign of his own decisions about the direction of the club being successful. Despite their relatively lowly status, Brighton managed to attract Dan Ashworth from England’s Football Association. Ashworth oversaw the improvement in English soccer that resulted in impressive performances from the national team at the latest editions of the World Cup and European Championships. Ashworth moved to Brighton to become the Technical Director and control the future of the playing side of the club.
Graham Potter has led the team to the top four of the Premier League and Hope Powell has topped the Women’s Super League with Brighton. Potter agrees with owner Tony Bloom that spending for the best players in the world would be of little benefit for the club. Brighton’s coaching staff and technical Director work together to find players who have yet to reach their potential and push them to achieve as much as possible. Having a squad filled with impressive players with millions more than they paid for their players shows the success they have achieved.