Football sponsorship grows

Sponsorship of football in Europe continues to grow at an inflation busting rate of 40 percent according to a new report.

The sport now accounts for 38 percent of all sports sponsorship spend in Europe, a figure which is worth EUR 1,872 million per year. This is up from EUR 1,115 in 2000 when the survey was last undertaken and shows that the sport is as popular as ever among major global corporations.

The 390 page report, Driving Business Through Sport 2007, published by International Marketing Reports, analysed more than 2,000 of Europe's top sponsorship deals.

Report author, Simon Rines, points out the biggest growth has actually been for the very large deals.

"If you look at the rights fees for the World Cup, the Champions League and big clubs such as Juventus and Real Madrid, this is where the really big percentage increases have come about. Juventus' current €32m deal with New Holland is worth roughly twice its Tamoil contract, signed before the club was relegated. Similarly the annual cost of being a FIFA World Cup sponsor is now $40m per year for the top tier partners, up from $12.5m in 2000, although there are now fewer sponsors in the top category."

Rines believes, however, that there is a polarity emerging in sponsorship fees that is not necessarily justified in terms of what is delivered.

"If you take Manchester United in the English premiership, it earns a reported £15m a year from AIG. Despite the club's global recognition and fan base, it is difficult to argue that it delivers 15 times more value than some of those premiership clubs that receive only around £1m per year. It really shows that many clubs are failing to market themselves professionally and that brands do have the money and willingness to spend it when they see value."

The biggest investor in football in Europe is Deutsche Telecom which spends an estimated EUR 70 million per year on the German and Austrian Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, West Bromwich Albion as well as having numerous secondary deals with clubs and federations.

Key findings in the report:
Europe's sponsorship industry is worth EUR 7,785 million

Sport accounts for 86 percent of the expenditure (EUR 6,695 million), with arts and broadcast sponsorship taking 7 percent and 5 percent respectively (other is 2 percent)

Football is Europe's biggest recipient of sports sponsorship income on EUR 1,872 million (38 percent) Motorsport is second on EUR 1,558 million (32 percent) Sailing and Cycling are third on EUR 190 million and EUR 184 million respectively (4 percent) Other sports include Rugby Union on EUR 161 million (3 percent)

Germany is Europe's biggest sports sponsorship market with estimated expenditure of EUR 2,600 million (33 percent) of the market The UK is the second largest market on EUR 1,395 (17 percent).

Europe's biggest sponsor is Deutsche Telecom, which spends an estimated €90m per year on sponsorship rights fees in Europe

Britain's biggest sponsor is Vodafone, which spends an estimated €45m per year in Europe

International Marketing Reports analysed 2,157 sports sponsorship deals across Europe in 2007

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.