Risk to Nou Camp redevelopment project
Barcelona fans have to vote today on whether they want the project to redevelop the Nou Camp to go ahead. However, its approval is at some risk after the recent bad publicity enjoyed by the club.
Article Taxonomy: Marketing
The club owned by a state
Some of the most reflective and in depth football writing today is to be found in the Financial Times. This is particularly the case when Simon Kuper writes one of his in depth pieces as he did in Saturday’s Weekend Magazine that accompanies the Pink ‘Un. He took an in depth look at Paris Saint-Germain.
Can football take hold in India?
Can football make headway in the most fanatical cricket nation in the world, India? The Indian Super League is modelled on the Indian Premier League cricket competition which, despite some recent problems, has been a commercial success.
Business figures ranging from steel billionaire Saijan Jindal to Bollywood film mogul Shahrukh Kahn are expected to enter franchise bids for the new eight club, two month tournament which kicks off in September. Owners will be expected to bid at least Rs1.2bn ($20m) for ten year franchises.
Arsenal watch may be cheap at the price
When I turned the page of the Financial Times and was confronted by a full page advert showing four Arsenal players engaged in a goal celebration, my first thought that was that Arsene Wenger had chosen an unorthodox route to publicise his conviction that Arsenal were still in the title race.
United can survive lack of Champions League football
There is a big risk of overstating the effect of one poor season on Manchester United’s commercial income. This piece, which is a balanced as a whole, says that sponsors could get twitchy, but that is on the assumption of an absence of two or three years which seems unlikely. It also has to be remembered that the contracts are long-term ones.
Competition for United kit deal
Some pundits have been quick to forecast the demise of Manchester United, drawing comparisons with Liverpool in the early 1990s. However, this overlooks the strength of United as a global brand and the sophistication of their marketing team. This leads to strong competition for the most prized sponsorships and interest in the more unusual ones. This in turn means that the club will have all the financial firepower it needs in the summer transfer window.
Everton renew shirt sponsorship
Everton has today confirmed an extension to its shirt sponsorship with Chang in a deal that could be worth in excess of £16 million – the most lucrative in the Club’s 136-year history.
The deal, which gets underway at the start of next season, runs for three years until the end of the 2016/17 campaign and remains the longest-running shirt sponsorship in the Barclays Premier League.
Aseem Allam confirms that he will walk
With Hull destined to retain the ‘common’ name of City rather than take a distinctive name that makes them sound like a rugby league or hockey club, owner Asseem Allam has reiterated that he will ‘walk away’ from the club.
FA set to reject Hull name change
It looks as if the Football Association are ready to reject the change of the name of Hull City to Hull Tigers, a move strongly opposed by Hull fans. The campaign against the name change was led by the highly professional City Till We Die fans group. City fans insisted that they were a club not a brand.
United head ‘likes’ league
Manchester United’s season may be going from bad to worse, but at least they head the ‘likes’ league for English clubs on Facebook. This may seem scant consolation, but the way in which they have brand recognition and a big followership across the globe helps to explain the success of United’s commercial operation.