New marketing report casts bleak forecast for football

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A two-year marketing study by London-based International Marketing Reports finds that football fans are growing frustrated with ticket prices and that clubs are squandering millions a year because of mismanagement and poor planning. The 247-page Football Sponsorship and Commerce report is based on interviews and case studies of various clubs in Europe.

Among their findings is 68 percent of fans believe watching a game live or on pay TV is too expensive, while 79 percent believe footballers are paid too much.

The clubs are also failing to take advantage of the fans that do come to the games, the report says. Using Italy as an example, the researchers cite Italian stadiums as too large to serve their needs. "Italy, which rebuilt many stadia for the 1990 (FIFA) World Cup, is having to rethink its desire for monoliths and consider reducing their size to make room for increased corporate hospitality, catering facilities and banqueting," the report says. "Bigger is not always best; nor does it make economic sense."

The report also chastises clubs for spending too much on players on the hopes it translates to success on the pitch and, consequently, more money. "It is not a matter of buying players at inflated prices and gambling on success. More than one club has been crippled by ensuing wage bills," the report says.

The survey goes on to say that many clubs are not taking advantage of certain marketing tactics available to them, such as creating fan-targeted magazines, or fanzines, that would help develop a stronger connection between fan and club. "In an area when it is important to get closer to consumers, football is in danger of falling short of requirements," says the survey.

"During my research, I have come across lots of people in sports marketing who have tried to work with football clubs but have had little success and have ended up holding their heads in their hands in terms of how unprofessional some clubs are," Simon Rines, one of the co-authors of the survey, told uefa.com.

"I know of someone who was in a club chairman's office trying to persuade him to invest (EUR 70,000) in a marketing program and reaping the long-term benefits," he added. "Instead, the chairman gave the go-ahead to spending (EUR 3 million) on some east European winger. He didn't care about spending that on a player he had not investigated at all but would not even entertain the idea of developing a fan-based marketing proposal. Every company needs to know its customers, whether it's football or a supermarket."

Rines added that there is hope for clubs, but they must change their business strategies. "I hope clubs who see this report will start to run themselves as businesses which does not always happen," he said. "That's why so many are getting into debt. It's all short-term planning at the moment, on and off the pitch, and the fans are ultimately the ones who are suffering. If clubs were more successful in their general business activities, they could potentially bring down ticket prices and give fans a better deal."