English Premier League clubs are once again flying around the world on pre-season summer tours after three years of Covid travel restrictions.
Since restrictions have been loosened, many teams are returning to their biggest overseas market.
More than 50,000 spectators packed Singapore’s National Stadium earlier this month for a friendly match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of these excursions financially. Manchester United reported a loss in commercial income of over $56 million (£46.8 million) in 2021, and the club said that this was “primarily due” to Covid interruptions, which also included the postponement of the first team’s preseason trip to India.
These excursions are not very sensible from a sporting perspective. Long trips through various time zones, hot temperatures, and humidity are hardly the best precursors to the start of the English season.
GLOBAL ENGANGEMENT
Manchester United elected to travel to Thailand and Australia this summer, where they played Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
In the meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur travelled to South Korea, where their star striker Son Heung-min is from.
Executives this summer will feel justified by the high levels of demand they have observed in the area since the business case has clearly triumphed.
For the first time ever, according to new statistics released this year, the Premier League will make more money from foreign broadcasters than it will from local networks in the UK, where it is based. $1.4 billion is anticipated to come from Asia alone between now and 2025.
GAINS
Liverpool announced a new jersey sponsorship agreement with the Asian-focused bank Standard Chartered while they were in Singapore. The contract is said to be worth more than $240 million.
Football clubs may give sponsors access to ready-made data vaults of consumer information in addition to helping them increase their visibility on the international stage.
For instance, Manchester United calculates that the 50 million entries in their customer relationship management (CRM) database. Last year, they had 176 million contacts on social media.
Therefore, a brand and its marketing department frequently receive useful insights into the consumer behaviour of millions of supporters who have registered or interacted with the club in the past in exchange for its sponsorship money.
Conclusion
Other sports leagues, particularly those in Europe, have long envied the Premier League since it was the first to travel to Asia and forge business relationships in the 1990s.
The Premier League is the most watched sports league in the world, drawing in a combined audience of 3.2 billion people worldwide thanks to its fierce competition, distinct fan culture, and affiliation with the English language.
Despite games sometimes ending in the middle of the night, the Premier League claims that half of the world’s following and a quarter of television viewers are in Asia-Pacific.
It will be difficult to keep all of these admirers, according to experts, especially given the considerably greater selection of hobbies and lifestyle choices accessible to younger generations.
News From: CRUCIAL NEWS GLOBAL
Image Credits: Premier League
💫FOLLOW US FOR MORE UPDATES. ❌WE DO NOT HAVE IRRITATING AND SPAMMY NEWSLETTERS. ✅EVERYTHING IS AND WILL BE FREE FOREVER. SEE YOU AGAIN IN YOUR STORIES AND FEED 🙂
