THE whole structure and ethos of domestic football is in danger and not because of the European Super League hovering in the background. The commoditisation of the game and attempts by broadcasters and corporates to take Europe’s best leagues and send them on tour, poses multiple threats to the stability of football.
It would be foolish to assume the Premier League totally “belongs” to England because it has so obviously become a global business, but the company’s product is English domestic football, which by definition is something that most certainly is part of the country’s sporting culture. The clubs may be owned by foreign investors, the teams may comprise a veritable United Nations of young men and the sponsors and business partners may be international, but no matter how “global” it becomes, the heritage, the cultural identity and representation is English. Britain’s football clubs are not franchises, they were largely formed out of communities from industrial heartlands. They have become as important as religion for many people, hence when they are under attack, the followers get very bent out of shape.
In modern business, companies are expected to have ambitious growth trajectories or they risk shrinking. For football clubs, their local audience is has a limit, so new markets have to be sourced. It may well be that a club’s natural client base has long reached saturation point, so footprints need to broaden outside traditional catchment areas. Hence, the big clubs aim to tap into markets where they can find new “fans” who don’t necessarily have to be visitors to the stadium. In the digital world, supporters can be secured who may never attend a game in their lifetime.
Furthermore, once a club has conquered or achieved pre-eminence in its own backyard, the next step is to access bigger, more lucrative avenues of income. The United States and the Middle East are the rapidly growing football emerging markets and they have hard cash. As well as trying to develop a football culture, they are also keen to invest in European football’s top leagues, such as the Premier.
There are aspects of American sport that do not fit comfortably with the Premier or the traditions of British sport. Football is a meritocracy, albeit one that has become very polarised and greed-driven. Promotion and relegation, while nerve-wracking and seen by many as end-of-the-world experiences, are part of the game’s natural life-cycle. Closed leagues, which have characterised American sports for decades, are unhealthy in many ways, while restrictions like salary caps are aimed at maintaining some kind of equality among clubs. It is not inconceivable that as the American influence on football grows, there may be pressure to introduce structures that protect the “investment” of US owners.
Taking the Premier League to the US may seem like a wonderful marketing idea by a TV firm, but it also goes against everything that the concept of “domestic football” stands for. Clubs sell season tickets and the loyal fans follow their clubs up and down the country. How can any club contemplate taking one or two of their fixtures to the US when they have been more than happy to rely on the loyalty of thousands of regular fans for years? In the age when matchday was the main source of income – as it is for lower league clubs today – the flat cap pound was essential for financial stability. Today, the money received from broadcasting is the sweet spot in all major clubs’ revenue streams. Given that TV is going to be the catalyst for sending Premier League football to the US, this will surely spark many arguments around the value of fans.
Basically, the Premier League really does not need to do this. It is already a global league that people watch all over the world. It is the most popular football league by a long stretch. Anyone who wants to compare it to American sports like the NFL must remember one basic fact – US sports do not have the global reach that football (soccer) has.
The fans have a lot of solutions in their own hands. It is undoubtedly time for Premier League supporters, and football fans in England on a grand scale, to demonstrate their disapproval so that it actually makes a difference. Ideas like sending top matches to be played abroad is simply another way to raise money in a competition that spends too much. Maybe it is worth trying to make the game sustainable rather than throwing money into the pit from unpalatable fund-raising attempts?
GAME OF THE PEOPLE 
One thought on “Premier League abroad is about money and business growth, not football”