Football Partnerships

Wednesday’s Champions League final was globally the most-viewed televised football event of the year so far and will retain that position for 2009 bar a miracle. According to this research by SPORT+MARKT, a European fanbase of over 80 million people follow either one of the Champions League finalists, with Manchester United slightly less popular in 16 key markets.

However, despite the greater popularity of Barcelona in Europe, the Spanish champions attract less fans to their Camp Nou stadium, which has over 20,000 seats more than Old Trafford. In fact, Manchester United’s average attendance over the last three seasons has been higher. In relative terms, Manchester United reaches a stadium usage of 99 per cent while Barcelona fans only occupied 71 per cent of the seats this season.

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By TRIPP MICKLE

David Beckham helped kick up Major League Soccer attendances and TV ratings in 2007, but the league couldn’t build on that growth in 2008, reports Tripp Mickle. “This season the league suffered its first decline in average regular-season attendance and television viewership on ESPN2 in three years,” he reports.

Half the teams in MLS saw attendance decline in 2008, dragging the league’s average gate down by 1.8 percent to 16,459 a game. He quoted MLS officials as saying that the Kansas City Wizards’ decision to play in a 10,385-seat minor league baseball stadium played a role, “but excluding Kansas City from both years still results in a slight drop in attendance for 2008.”

“You always want to do better,” said MLS President Mark Abbott, “but we feel good, particularly in light of the current economic climate. A lot of people wondered what was going to happen with Beckham the second time around.” But he said there had been growth in L.A.’s road attendance, with the team attracting a record average 28,132 for its away games, slightly above the 28,035 figure from last year. Although it should be noted that Beckham was here for a whole season in 2008, not half a season as in 2007.

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