Transatlantic
dynasty...Manchester
United’s American
co-chairman Avram
Glazer (left) and his
brotherJoelforeign support with their overseas income escalating
since the Glazers took over with companies (usually foreign-
owned such as Audi, Airtel Africa and Singha) paying
£120m between them, including promotional activity,
simply to be commercial partners last season. Their
16 million Facebook followers are viewed as another
potential source of income.
It was this global reach – and the example of American
Football’s annual NFL match at Wembley – that drew the
Premier League into proposing a “39th game”, a round
of league matches played overseas. The idea was swiftly
withdrawn after a hostile response at home and overseas,
but there was no shortage of countries interested in
hosting a such a match.
However, this interest in the Premier League has
damaged the domestic game in many of the countries in
which it broadcasts. In several African countries, particularly
English-speaking ones such as Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and
Zambia, supporters are more interested in following the
Premier League than their local teams, even prompting
fixture changes to avoid clashes with televised games. The
sense of affiliation has reportedly reached such a degree
in Nigeria that drivers will give way to cars indicating
support for the same English team.
The late Olayiwola Olagbemiro, a former player, coach
and administrator in Nigeria, said a few years ago: “Hardly
can you get a soccer fan today who can name the line-up
of any team in the Nigerian league, but you will see many
who know the full squads of Arsenal, Manchester United,
Chelsea, Liverpool.”
In Singapore the allure is such that cable operator
SingTel paid £200m (£40 for every head of population)
for the 2010-13 TV rights. This tripled the previous figure
paid by StarHub, who had increased the price of their
sports package by 40 per cent after winning the contract.
The interest in Singapore, and some other parts of Asia,
owes something to the local enthusiasm for gambling. With
doubts about the honesty of many domestic league matches,
English football, which is easy to view and regarded as clean
from match fixing, is the gamblers’ favourite.
Another consequence of English football’s global appeal
and financial rewards (both current and potential) is the
growth in foreign ownership of Premier League clubs. The
butchers, Old Etonians and pools promoters of old have all
sold out to Americans, with Manchester United, Arsenal and
Liverpool now among five clubs administered from across
the Atlantic. Other owners last season hailed from India,
Abu Dhabi, Russia, Bahamas, Hong Kong and Egypt.
With the big English clubs now taken, and others looking
overpriced, international investors are starting to look to other
European leagues, hoping to replicate the Premier League
experience – whether for profit or glory. American Thomas
Di Benedetto has taken over Roma, Sheikh Abdullah has
bought Malaga and Canada’sJack Kachkar has flirted with
the acquisition of Marseille. It seems only the Bundesliga
clubs, 51 per cent of whose ownership must remain in the
hands of the membership, are off the table. Given that this
year’s Forbes’ List of the “most valuable” 20 clubs included
six apiece from England and Germany (United were top,
Real and Barca second and fifth respectively), would-be
Bundesliga owners must be frustrated.
In the long term it is not clear what the internationalisation of
the Premier League will mean, but the fact that the organisation
operates on a one-club, one-vote basis raises concern among
some English supporters that the growth of American owners
could prompt moves towards a closed shop, as is the case in
most US sports. Whatever the future, a preponderance of
non-native owners is unlikely to benefit England’s national
team, which is bitterly ironic as that was one of the
fundamentals behind its formation.
When those foreign owners deign to drop by their
investment they usually – the anti-Glazer protests apart –
enjoy a far more pleasant matchday experience than was
the case 20 years ago. Legislation, (the post-Hillsborough
tragedy Taylor Report) and rising income, forced and
enabled English clubs to make their stadiums the most
comfortable in Europe. This has encouraged more females,
football touristsand fewer spaces. Back in1991-92 the
average attendance in the old First Division was 21,622.
Last season it was 35,400, an average only exceeded by
the Bundesliga – and the Premier League, with its higher
prices and eager merchandising, makes more money from
those fewer spectators. While the atmosphere can still be
confrontational, much of it is posturing; real hooliganism
within grounds is all but eradicated while overt racism has
gone. In that respect England, which encountered many ofa