Football has not been completely recession proof, as our story below on sponsorship shows. But it has survived the recession much better than many other sectors which is perhaps not so surprising as this is just the sort of time that people want entertainment that is associated with controversy and excitement and offers an escape from everyday chores. There might seem to be a strong contrast between the £110,000 a week said to be earned by Fernando Torres and the £479 average wage in Liverpool (for those who still have a job).
Football has not been completely recession proof, as our story below on sponsorship shows. But it has survived the recession much better than many other sectors which is perhaps not so surprising as this is just the sort of time that people want entertainment that is associated with controversy and excitement and offers an escape from everyday chores. There might seem to be a strong contrast between the £110,000 a week said to be earned by Fernando Torres and the £479 average wage in Liverpool (for those who still have a job). But though the sight of footballers from poor and/or ethnic minority backgrounds earning fabulous wages may cause the readers of ‘middle England’ newspapers to splutter over their cornflakes, the fact is that something in very scarce supply can command a high price. This is as true of a talented striker as it is of a rare painting. In both cases there is an element of subjectivity in the assessment of worth, although aids like ProZone are making it easier to arrive at precise estimates of a footballer’s performance.
There has been some price cutting. Only three clubs have raised prices, one of them Manchester United, but its season tickets have sold out. The lounges have taken a particular hit with Chelsea advertising hospitality packages that would normally cost £700 with lunch, drinks and the best seats in the house at £150 for less attractive matches. A dozen Premiership clubs have increased season ticket sales while four clubs have seen them fall (Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth and West Ham: in Villa’s case, Midlands manufacturing has been hard hit by the recession, but there has also been some discontent at the failure to replace key players). Even in the less glamorous Football League, the opening day saw the biggest attendance for 46 years, almost 450,000. Mark Roberts, senior consultant at the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said, ‘Demand is still there. The pound in the pocket might be stretched but it seems that fans cannot give up their fix of football. The clubs has been aware of what is going on and they have responded, and that has kept the numbers up. Football really is unique in the way it has kept above water during the recession.’
One should also never underestimate the global appeal of the Premiership. English football is the most watched in the world, not least in Asia where it is seen as a reliable and uncorrupted basis for making bets in countries where gambling is deeply rooted in the culture. Games are beamed into 600 million homes in 211 countries. Negotiatons are under way to sell the overseas television rights and experts believe that the price for the next three years could far exceed the current record figure of £625m.