Abstract:

The present paper aims at achieving a thorough analysis of the football phenomenon in Romania, assessing the sporting and financial performance of six football clubs (Astra, Cluj, Dinamo, Mediaș, Steaua and Viitorul) over a period of 5 years, between 2011 and 2015. In Romania, football clubs are organized either as joint-stock companies or NGOs, with strict rules and regulations for their organization. 
The research we conducted shows that most football clubs recorded impressive turnovers and significant expenditure at the same time, which resulted in low or no profit or even in bankruptcy and insolvency. The only football clubs that recorded outstanding sporting and financial performance are the private ones, which have professional managers. However, if football clubs are organized as NGOs, thus being financially-based on donations form public budgets, they are not sustainable on the long term, facing financial problems and thus affecting the sporting performance.