Tag: Brand Finance

Another accolade for Bayern Munich: The world’s strongest football brand

BAYERN MUNICH may have just clinched their ninth consecutive Bundesliga title, but they have also been named as the strongest football club brand in the world by Brand Finance, leapfrogging no fewer than four clubs in securing the top spot.

Bayern also has the number one enterprise value at € 3.6 billion, coming ahead of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United in the € 3 bn-plus category. Bayern’s position is not only a reflection of their on-pitch success in 2020, but also endorses the club’s structure and its place as a standard bearer for the so-called 50+1 ownership structure of German football.

Bayern were not one of the 12 European Super League (ESL) rebel clubs and, ironically, they are the only club in the top 10 to see their brand value increase in a difficult year for elite football. Generally, the ESL project is seen as having a negative effect on club brands, Brand Finance estimated that € 600 million was wiped away from brand values – but it could have been far worse.

Hugo Hensley, head of Sports at Brand Finance, commented: “The origin and demise of the European Super League is a story of branding – the 12 clubs considered their brands too strong and attractive to be sanctioned by other associations, and above the football pyramid that validates their success. However, the communication, promotion and positioning of the project were poorly executed, fuelling a backlash from all stakeholders, leading to the dissolution of the group, and resulting in painful brand damage.”

Although the damage to brands has been limited, there could be more to come. The aborted attempt to divide football has left a sour taste which could lead to lower matchday spend and commercial revenue in the long run, but the litmus test will come when football crowds return to stadiums. “For the ESL founding clubs, the prize seemed obvious, but this ignored the huge risk that fans would not follow, and neither would the money. There was outrage in the home markets from fans and leagues alike, the effects of which will be felt for months to come,” said Richard Haigh of Brand Finance.

In terms of brand value, Real Madrid retained their top position despite losing 10% of their value. They did increase the gap with their fierce rivals Barcelona, however, which had closed to just € 6 million in 2019 but has increased to € 10 million in 2020. Manchester United remain in third spot after losing 14% of their brand value and are now just € 12 million in front of their neighbours, Manchester City.

Despite the fact that six Premier League clubs were part of the ESL dozen, the English league has the leading presence in Brand Finance’s Football 50 – 17 clubs from the Premier are among the most valuable brands. The combined value of the Premier clubs amounts to € 7.5 billion, averaging € 394 million. The fastest growing brands were Aston Villa and Leeds United, who grew by 28% and 26% respectively. 

The fatest growing overall, though, was Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg, whose brand value increased by 35% to € 135 million. Zenit, Russia’s biggest club, recently won their third consecutive Russian Premier League title.

Buro Happold provided rankings on stadiums and for the second year running, Tottenham Hotspur’s new arena was placed at number one.

Bayern Munich have long been a club that is admired, replicated and envied across the European football landscape. The 50+1 supporter shareholding model kept them out of the ESL fiasco and bodes well for the future in terms of future sponsorship and commercial activity. The 2021-22 season will see them attempt to win the Bundesliga for a remarkable 10th successive year – the question is, who can stop them?. 

To see Brand Finance’s Football 50 2021, click here

Another accolade for Bayern Munich: The world’s strongest football brand

BAYERN MUNICH may have just clinched their ninth consecutive Bundesliga title, but they have also been named as the strongest football club brand in the world by Brand Finance, leapfrogging no fewer than four clubs in securing the top spot.

Bayern also has the number one enterprise value at € 3.6 billion, coming ahead of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United in the € 3 bn-plus category. Bayern’s position is not only a reflection of their on-pitch success in 2020, but also endorses the club’s structure and its place as a standard bearer for the so-called 50+1 ownership structure of German football.

Bayern were not one of the 12 European Super League (ESL) rebel clubs and, ironically, they are the only club in the top 10 to see their brand value increase in a difficult year for elite football. Generally, the ESL project is seen as having a negative effect on club brands, Brand Finance estimated that € 600 million was wiped away from brand values – but it could have been far worse.

Hugo Hensley, head of Sports at Brand Finance, commented: “The origin and demise of the European Super League is a story of branding – the 12 clubs considered their brands too strong and attractive to be sanctioned by other associations, and above the football pyramid that validates their success. However, the communication, promotion and positioning of the project were poorly executed, fuelling a backlash from all stakeholders, leading to the dissolution of the group, and resulting in painful brand damage.”

Although the damage to brands has been limited, there could be more to come. The aborted attempt to divide football has left a sour taste which could lead to lower matchday spend and commercial revenue in the long run, but the litmus test will come when football crowds return to stadiums. “For the ESL founding clubs, the prize seemed obvious, but this ignored the huge risk that fans would not follow, and neither would the money. There was outrage in the home markets from fans and leagues alike, the effects of which will be felt for months to come,” said Richard Haigh of Brand Finance.

In terms of brand value, Real Madrid retained their top position despite losing 10% of their value. They did increase the gap with their fierce rivals Barcelona, however, which had closed to just € 6 million in 2019 but has increased to € 10 million in 2020. Manchester United remain in third spot after losing 14% of their brand value and are now just € 12 million in front of their neighbours, Manchester City.

Despite the fact that six Premier League clubs were part of the ESL dozen, the English league has the leading presence in Brand Finance’s Football 50 – 17 clubs from the Premier are among the most valuable brands. The combined value of the Premier clubs amounts to € 7.5 billion, averaging € 394 million. The fastest growing brands were Aston Villa and Leeds United, who grew by 28% and 26% respectively. 

The fatest growing overall, though, was Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg, whose brand value increased by 35% to € 135 million. Zenit, Russia’s biggest club, recently won their third consecutive Russian Premier League title.

Buro Happold provided rankings on stadiums and for the second year running, Tottenham Hotspur’s new arena was placed at number one.

Bayern Munich have long been a club that is admired, replicated and envied across the European football landscape. The 50+1 supporter shareholding model kept them out of the ESL fiasco and bodes well for the future in terms of future sponsorship and commercial activity. The 2021-22 season will see them attempt to win the Bundesliga for a remarkable 10th successive year – the question is, who can stop them?. 

To see Brand Finance’s Football 50 2021, click here

Football’s experts and influencers – some of the people we listen to

ONE OF the big changes in the football business world has been the recognition that the most popular sport on the planet now carries far greater weight than ever before. Admittedly, the game is dismissed as being the most important of the unimportant things in life, but in terms of contribution to the economy, social relevance, employment and community, football can no longer be regarded as trivial.

The rise of football as a business sector has, quite naturally, given birth to agencies, consultancies, intermediaries and commentators who earn a living on the back of global football. Equally, these companies and individuals also provide intelligent insights and interpret the economics, politics and data that gets produced.

While many fans care little for anything other than the game of football itself, understanding the background, financial structures and key elements of reporting allows people to understand why a club is successful or unsuccessful.

Game of the People  has worked with many of the key players in this industry and has provided editorial content for a wide range of reports and papers. The following is a list of some of the people we consider to be important and influential in this field. The list is not in any order and represents a selection of our most used sources. Needless to say, the list is being added to by the week. We welcome suggestions and recommendations.

UK Media: We see the Guardian as having the best stable of journalists when it comes to football – away from match reporting, writers such as David Conn and Jonathan Wilson are not only excellent scribes, but they lay a level of intelligence and sophistication to their work that is unmatched. David Conn has a strong business element to his writing but also understands the culture of the game, witness his coverage of the Hillsborough disaster trials. Jonathan Wilson, as well as being an incisive historian, has the ability to explain how football is played and how it has evolved down the decades. And there are others from the Guardian deserving of praise and respect, including women’s football expert Suzy Wrack and Italian football authority Nicky Bandini. The Athletic has lured a number of writers away from newspapers, such as Amy Lawrence and Raphael Honigstein while the Times has the likes of Henry Winter and Alyson Rudd (who was named GOTP’s top journalist in 2019). 

Swiss Ramble: This gentleman, a Brit living in Switzerland, provides possibly the most accessible and lucid explanation of football club accounts. His analyst-level content is football finance 101 for journalists, clubs, agencies and anyone with an interest in the game’s economics. And it is quite possible that he gets nothing for his considerable work. There are countless reports that reference Swiss Ramble and plenty who take his content and give no credit to the Zurich-based Arsenal fan. He is, without a doubt, social media’s foremost analyst.

KPMG Football Benchmark: KPMG’s Football Benchmark team is based primarily in Budapest, but it’s an international group led by Andre Sartori, a Juventus-supporting Italian. They came to the game after their corporate rivals Deloitte, but their European Elite report has become one of the “go-to” papers on football club evaluation. KPMG also produces a rolling player valuation tool and are regularly interviewed on TV.

Inside World Football: Experienced journalists form the backbone of this news portal which covers a broad range of topics and geographies. The site has a number of well respected writers including Mihir Bose and Andrew Warshaw. As a reference tool, Inside World Football is invaluable.

Soccerex: An events-driven company founded by Don Revie’s son, the late Duncan Revie, which stages conferences in various parts of the world. Soccerex published its third Football Finance 100 earlier this year, a report on the financial health of the top clubs.. Soccerex’s events are great networking opportunities and invariably have some top notch speakers.

Brand Finance: Brand Finance are based in the City of London and evaluate brands across many sectors and geographies. Included in their very considerable portfolio is the Football 50, which has been expanded to take the form of an annual that includes expert opinion, data and research findings. Their publications are backed by sound methodology and industry viewpoints.

Deloitte: Deloitte’s Football Money League is really the product that started the ball rolling in football finance. Although Deloitte’s research is primarily based around revenues and the elite end of the game, rather than other contributory factors, the presentation, editorial and format provides a clear snapshot of a club’s strength. Deloitte also produces an annual review of football finance, which is equally interesting and informative. These are the people that other companies aspire to emulate.

CIES Football Observatory: The Swiss-based CIES are the data gurus of the football world, producing reports that range from basic information about performance, player values and demographics to some quite obscure topics. So strong is their offering that other companies aim to partner with CIES to make use of their skills. We live in the data age and CIES are at the heart of football’s transition to a more scientific game.

Soccernomics: If Deloitte were the groundbreakers in producing club analysis, then Soccernomics , the book written by Stefan Szymanski and Simon Kuper, provided the ultimate text book. Soccernomics is more than a tome, though, it is arguably the most intelligent volume written about the game. Soccernomics is also an agency, comprising Kuper, Szymanski and Ben Lyttleton. They advise clubs, federations and businesses across the football landscape. The book, though, is what sells Soccernomics, it is an essential companion for anyone interested in how football works.

Academics: Kieran Maguire of the University of Liverpool’s Sports Business unit is one of the pre-eminent figures in football finance. He wrote The Price of Football  (if you can get hold of it) and has featured regularly on TV, in newspapers and websites. David Goldblatt, a larger-than-life character, has written some outstanding books, such as  The Ball is Round,  The Game of our Lives  and  The Age of Football. Also worth mentioning are: Simon Chadwick, Director of the Centre for Eurasian Sport Industry and Professor of Eurasian Sport Industry; Paul Widdop, senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University; Daniel Parnell of University of Liverpool; and Rob Wilson of Hallam University. There is a growing field of experts who have recognised the contribution made by football to society and the global economy. All of the aforementioned, who represent a far wider body of men and women from the field of academia, are worth listening to.

 

@GameofthePeople