Tests of the convergence hypothesis using annual gate revenue data for English professional soccer clubs for the period 1926 to 1997 are reported. The distribution of gate revenues among clubs is found to have widened markedly, and there is no evidence of convergence for the period as a whole. However, a sequence of tests for 5-yearly subperiods shows evidence of convergence during long subperiods: specifically, up to the late 1950s and between the mid-1970s and late 1980s. These features of the data inform an analysis of the social, economic, and historical development of English professional soccer.
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