25 years ago, England witnessed the birth of the Premier League, the country's top tier of domestic soccer. Fast forward to today, and the Premier League has become a huge global success story worth six billion US dollars a year. But is that growth sustainable? CGTN's Dan Williams reports from London.

 

The kick off to a new Premier League season A time of excitement for football fans across the country. The league itself is celebrating its 25th anniversary. During that time, the league has enjoyed tremendous growth.

 

KEVIN McCULLAGH SPORT BUSINESS GROUP "In its first season, it generated revenues of around 180 million pounds. But in 2015/2016, the most recent season for which there is figures, it was up to four point five billion pounds. So you are talking an increase of two-thousand percent plus."

 

The latest UK domestic deal was worth nearly four-point-three billion dollars which has been bolstered by further deals globally- according to global accounting firm Deloitte. A dedicated Premier League Channel broadcasts live matches and magazine shows across the world. Former players turned pundits are in no doubt as to how the English game has been radically improved.

 

DON HUTCHISON EX-PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER "Everything has changed. Everything has been a game changer since the early days. The pitches have changed, the quality of stadium has changed. There are more fans coming through the turnstiles. But more importantly, the quality of players has changed. You are seeing superstars now coming to the Premier League."

 

DAN WILLIAMS LONDON Over the last twenty-five years, the English game has been revolutionized. But there are questions as to whether the huge growth is sustainable and what would happen if the bubble burst. Despite the huge revenues, Premier League clubs suffered combined losses of 150 million dollars in the 2015/2016 season. A large part of that was because of the three billion dollars the clubs paid in wages.

 

DION DUBLIN EX-PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER "I don't know how far it can go. The amount of money that is being pumped into the Premier league now is phenomenal. And we are getting a good product. If the money keeps coming in, if the fans keep going, it will continue to grow. But for how long, I don't know."  

 

For now though, the English Premier League appears to be achieving its goal of being a huge commercial success. Dan Williams, CGTN, London