The sustainability rating agency Standard Ethics (SE) has launched an index that is made up of 15 European football clubs that are listed on the Stock Exchange and that will be active from next March 28.
The agency has indicated, in a statement to which Europa Press has had access, that the index will be calculated at the close of the markets on March 25 and will be updated every six months in September and March. The aim of the launch is “to provide an overview of sustainability in the football sector and community, and to monitor the steps that European clubs are taking in this area.”
The weight of the constituent securities will be derived from the Standard Ethics Ratings (SER): the higher it is, the higher the weight of the security in the index.
The securities have been selected for their economic size, although Standard Ethics has also considered other factors, such as the availability of ESG data, financial and extra-financial information, the quality of disclosure, and the availability of documentation in multiple languages.
En concreto, estos son el Borussia Dortmund, Juventus Football Club, AFC Ajax, AS Roma, Manchester United, Galatasaray Sportif, Besiktas, Olympique Lyonnais, Celtic Football Club, SS Lazio, Benfica, Brondby, Fenerbahce Football, Trabzonspor y Sporting CP.
The firm’s analysis highlights the low level of disclosure of the large listed clubs in terms of sustainability. Only two stocks have structured, sustainability-oriented policies and standard extra-financial information, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus Football Club.
In the case of Rome and Ajax, analysts detected a movement in this direction, although less than these. At a general level, these securities do not provide quality public information and rarely offer a full English translation.
Standard Ethics has highlighted that the main sustainability instruments, such as ethical codes and ESG policies, are not widely used in this sector, with few exceptions.
In the future, the agency will assess whether to extend its own analysis to non-listed football companies, with a special focus on France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain.
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