Football Partnerships

By Alex Kotler

Fox Soccer Plus gets Rowdy?

EPLTalk’s the Gaffer gives readers and viewers an inside look at Fox Soccer Plus’ new marketing promotion, which centers on the befuddling and confounding Rowdy character who ‘Will Have His Soccer’.

The post, which emerged just after Football Partnerships released its last Week in Review, walks consumers through the first response to the campaign. While the Gaffer leaves it to his audience to decide, our initial response is that it feels forced, contrived and borderline ridiculous.

In related news, but from an unrelated source, Fox Soccer Channel announced that Joshua Glassel was promoted to Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions.

What is your reaction?

Watch the walk-through

View the campaign

Read about the promotion

A partnership full of ‘hope’ for Spanish-speaking listeners

Futbol de Primera (FDP) proudly announced this week that radio station KTNO Radio Esperanza in Dallas-Fort Worth will serve as one of the 106 affiliated radio stations to broadcast the 2010 World Cup in Spanish.

Said Dion Mortenson, KTNO Radio Esperenza and Dallas Radio Group Manager: “With the excellent programming provided by FDP, we can deliver exciting content for listeners along with a valuable marketing opportunity for businesses in this market.” The operation will be overseen by veteran soccer journalist Jesus Padilla, recently named Director of Sports at FDP.

How will you experience the World Cup? Live, on television, by radio?

More on Futbol de Primera

The heavy hand of FIFA and ticketing

Williams Watts, a contributor to Marketwatch, has prepared an insightful look into FIFA’s entrepreneurship and its growing revenue streams.

Published after last week’s deadline, the article focuses on FIFA’s strategic shift, its response to the economic climate, the restructuring of partnership deals and its questionable handling of previous commercial relationships. Trying to figure out FIFA is like trying to ponder the universe without a telescope: If you can’t see it up close you can’t figure it out.

Meanwhile, FIFA today announced that 29 of the 64 World Cup matches are now sold out.

What are your thoughts?

Read the original article

On World Cup tickets

We’ve got the cash. Really.

Martin Broughton, the new chairman of Liverpool FC, is assuring fans that the club’s prospective buyers will be required to fund a new stadium without saddling the team with too much debt.

As reported in SoccerexBusiness Daily, the current owners are seeking a minority investor to inject upwards of £100 million into the club for a period greater than one year.

Is this possible?

A tad of self-promotion

Alex Kotler and Jason Ezzell, both of Football Partnerships, are pleased to share their parody of the hit song Soccer Fan, as played on air by the popular show World Football Phone In on the BBC.

Check it out!

Listen to Soccer Fan

By Steve Rosen

As one of America’s biggest professional soccer stars, Landon Donovan sprints, slides and even slithers his way across the field. He’s the captain of the U.S. national team, idolized by legions of youngsters.

Read the rest of the article

Europe’s top football clubs earnt an average of €38.45million for reaching the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, according to research commissioned by Official Sponsor, MasterCard.

For sides with the largest fan bases, such as Manchester United FC and FC Barcelona, the figure rises to €46.14million. The study also suggests the team which wins the final could make up to €110.35million in the process. These financial injections will come via a UEFA participation payment; UEFA prize money; a share of UEFA commercial revenues from the tournament (market pool payment); ticket sales; commercial and marketing revenues, including sponsorship and sales of merchandise, food and beverages; and increased squad value.

Professor Simon Chadwick, who conducted the research on behalf of MasterCard, said: “In uncertain economic times, sport’s universal appeal remains strong, making it one of the most lucrative industries to be involved in. The competition continues to be an important source of revenue and commercial activity for clubs, especially for those that qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.

Read the rest of the article

By Alex Kotler

George Weah, the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, is waiting for me at Soccerex 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Now a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Liberian politician - Weah lost the 2005 presidential election to Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson - he undoubtedly has no idea that I’ll even be at Soccerex. Neither do the other football luminaries there, like Glenn Hoddle, John Barnes, and Bryan Robson. But being a New Yorker, I’m accustomed to - and even sometimes enjoy - anonymity. However, by the end of Soccerex, I hope to be at least slightly more recognizable (but less irritating) than one of Nicolas Anelka’s hand-fluttering goal celebrations.

What is Soccerex 2008?
Soccerex is a business convention for the global football community. The event, which takes place from November 23-26 in Gauteng, South Africa, will provide over 4000 delegates and 300 exhibitors from over 95 countries with a forum in which to network and exchange ideas and services.

It’s one of those “anybody who’s somebody will be there” functions, and boasts the endorsement of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who hails Soccerex as the “…must-attend event in the football calendar.” Nevermind, of course, that he likened Cristiano Ronaldo’s $238,000 per week contract with Manchester United to being a “slave.”

Mr. Blatter’s reputation is underscored by his tendency to say the outrageous, yet Soccerex’s impressive lineup of keynote speakers and panelists suggests that he is spot-on this time. Its starting eleven includes Jérôme Valcke, General Secretary of FIFA; Gerard Houllier, Technical Director of the French Football Federation; David Dein, former Vice-Chairman of Arsenal FC; Horst R. Schmidt, Consultant for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; and former Argentina international, Ossie Ardiles - and these are only the names familiar to the general public.

Presiding over discussions about financing club ownership, developing and maximizing revenue streams of stadia, and identifying and cultivating new talent, are the mostly faceless names known to industry insiders: the chairmen, partners, commercial directors, business development managers, and technical directors of football brands and sponsors like AC Milan, Glasgow Rangers FC, Liverpool FC, VfB Stuttgart, and Ericcson, Gulf Air, Motorola, Satyam, and VISA. Also scheduled is a discussion on Brand Beckham, whose namesake is rumored to be making an appearance.

But why am I going and who gives a [Joey Barton]?

Who the heck am I?
Like you, perhaps, I’m a New York salmon swimming against the forceful currents of rising rents, stiff competition, and long Pinkberry lines. I’ve been in the city long enough to know not to get onto an empty car in a full train - because it’s either oppressively hot or putridly smelly - and I can remember when North 7th Street in Williamsburg was actually dodgy. I’ve worked more jobs in New York than Djibril Cisse’s had hairdos, including stints as a photo assistant, talent rep, travel agent, producer, bartender, barista, teacher, writer, graphic designer, and now - amidst the backdrop of a global economic crisis - an entrepreneur. (Thank goodness then that most salmon can navigate through brackish waters.)

As a footballer, I was fortunate to play on competitive travel teams throughout my youth. Though lacking exposure to the international game, I had an influential coach who brought foreign methods into our practices. By the 10th grade I had college scholarships waiting for me. But, a move in high school from the suburbs of New York to the suburbs Atlanta rattled my confidence on the pitch, I never adjusted, and I abandoned the sport senior year to work at Target. Expect More, Pay Less. Wrong.

After college, I returned to New York, which somehow restored my love of football, and I joined teams in the Cosmopolitan and Metropolitan Leagues. A few years later, I even launched a women’s team, Appletown FC, with a good friend and teammate. The venture was a success, although the timing for me was poor and so was my gage on how committed I was to being a spectator. I wasn’t, and ultimately I left Appletown to focus on other activities - namely my career as a graphic designer, the type of job that yields as much financial security as Bobby Zamora does goals for Fulham.

In 2006 I moved to Madrid to learn Spanish, but returned to New York later that year to complete my MBA - the sure path to landing a high paying job. Wrong again.

Working by day and schooling by night, effectively abdicating my social life for two years, I molded myself into a candidate for brand management and business development positions in the football industry - a more mature attempt to revive what I had started with Appletown. The condensed, Mel Brooks version of the outcome is that I finished and there were no jobs. So, I did what any prudent, recent graduate with student loans would do: I wagered my future on a business without a proven revenue model in the hopes of hitting it YouTube.

Football Partnerships in a few words
The less snarky version of my story is that following a conversation with a high-level manager at Major League Soccer, one of several people within the organization that I had been trying (unsuccessfully) to court for the better part of a year, I learned that without an established contact list I stood little chance at breaking into the industry.

So I sought to build one on LinkedIn, the online professional network. I leveraged relationships and soccer group memberships to connect to commercial directors and brand managers around the world. To find those seeking the same, I started my own group, Football Partnerships, and just one week on I attracted a big name: Stephen Constantine, former Head Coach of the Malawi, India, and Nepal National Teams and holder of a UEFA Pro License. Because he’s not a Premier League coach, he’s not well known by fans; however, as a FIFA-certified instructor, he’s well-respected within the football industry. Connecting with Stephen legitimized the Football Partnerships group, and I saw the potential of launching a business-oriented, football network and resource.

Since June, the group has gone from having a hack website attached to my personal portfolio to launching a dedicated URL, www.footballpartnerships.com, replete with original and republished soccer-business articles, job postings, event listings, and a private directory which lists the profiles of hundreds of members - including representatives from MLS, EPL, KNVB, FIFA, UEFA, adidas, Puma, Nike, and youth league administrators in places like Columbia, South Carolina and Torino, Italy.

Football Partnerships has also recently launched a podcast, available for download on iTunes and via the website, featuring interviews with influential members of the football community. Misha Sher, Director of Business Development at Soccerex and a member of Football Partnerships, appeared on last week’s episode. A frequent guest on World Soccer Daily, Misha and I discussed the interrelationships of various sectors of the football business, as well as the influence of foreign ownership on the game and the presence of women in the business of soccer. He also detailed what I, as a Soccerex 2008 delegate, have to look forward to in Jo’burg starting on the 23rd.

Taking holiday from my day job, I travel to South Africa and Soccerex to personally connect with existing members, to expand the Football Partnerships network, and to explore synergies with industry players from around the world. Monetizing this labor of love without exclusively relying on advertising revenue poses a great challenge - but one hopefully less difficult than getting George Weah to know who I am.

Follow my journey, from New York, New York to the land of Bafana Bafana, as I watch, listen, learn, and kick around Football Partnerships with the best in the business at Soccerex 2008.

By Alex Kotler

By the time this is in print, the United States will have elected its next president.

For the moment, though, polls suggest that it would take an injury-time comeback, circa that of the Turkish football team at Euro 2008 against Croatia (and the Czech Republic), for Senator John McCain to win the election. His running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has looked less a Nihat Kahveci, a game-winning goal scorer, than a Mario Gómez, an ambitious choice turned over-hyped liability.

The Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, goes in to the final stages with something resembling a 3-1 lead: comfortable but surmountable. As with Palin, his counterpart, Senator Joseph Biden, has looked at times a risky bet. Much like the Frenchman, Lilian Thuram, at the Euros, Biden – supposedly the experienced veteran – has looked a step slow, vincible, and unfit.

Politician-player analogies aside, the question at hand is, “Will the election of either party’s candidate have an impact on the soccer business?”

Writer Patrick Goldstein appeared to take a position on the issue in his October 31 article, titled Would Obama’s election make soccer a major league American sport? The piece, however, had less to do with the impact of the election on football in the US than it did with movie producer Joe Roth, a staunch supporter of Senator Obama and part-owner of the Seattle Sounders, a new MLS team, and his model for growing the business.

A quote from Mr. Roth, though, piqued my interest. He said, “If you took a map of America where Obama is strongest and laid it over a map of where soccer has its biggest appeal, you’d see an incredible overlap. The blue (Democratic) states on both coasts are very soccer-friendly as well as huge areas of support for Obama, whereas the center of the country is full of people who are the enemies of soccer and Obama – white, 50-and-over guys who listen to talk radio and only care about [American] football or basketball.”

While, on the one hand, an unfair generalization of Middle America’s political and athletic leanings, there may be some truth beneath his bias. And, within the context of the article, Mr. Roth is simply justifying his purchase of the Sounders and his promoting his political persuasion. However, it does suggest – whether accurately or not – that the election of Mr. Obama bodes well for Major League Soccer and soccerphiles.

Using CNN.com as a guide, below is a comparison of the candidates’ positions on several issues, followed by Football Partnerships’ analysis of each.

Abortion
Barack Obama: Opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v Wade.

John McCain: Believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned. Supports Supreme Court ruling upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Football Partnerships: Too controversial for comment; however, Football Partnerships wonders what Chase Hilgenbrinck, a former MLS player who retired to enter the priesthood, would think.

Cuba
BO: Would not lift the embargo unless Cuba releases political prisoners, starts instituting free press and takes other steps to democratize the island, but is looking to normalize relations at some point.

JM: Would keep the embargo in place and not allow economic aid to flow to Cuba. Would “press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media and to schedule internationally monitored elections.”

FP: Considering that seven Cuban soccer players have defected to the US this year, keeping the embargo seems the strategic route to ensure that the Americans never face a full-strength Cuban side.

Economy
BO: Supported the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package. Advocated a series of reforms for the financial sector that include new oversight of investment banks, more disclosure by financial firms, higher capital requirements for firms used to operating with a minimal cash backstop, and more consistent rules that apply to all financial institutions, not just regular banks.

Supported increasing the federal insurance for money deposited in personal bank accounts to $250,000. Advocates a $50 billion emergency economic stimulus plan. The money would go toward 1 million jobs for rebuilding infrastructure and schools, and helping local governments avoid budget cuts, the campaign says.

Said Congress should immediately extend unemployment insurance for an additional 13 weeks to help families that are being hit hardest by the downturn. Proposed existing businesses will receive a $3,000 refundable tax credit for each additional full-time employee hired during 2009 and 2010. Proposed raising the small-business investment expensing limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009 and eliminating all capital gains taxes on investments made in small business.

Called on the Treasury Department to suspend the required 401(k) and IRA withdrawals for retirees over the age of 70 1/2 years.

JM: Supported the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package. Advocated reform of the financial sector. Supported increasing the federal insurance for money deposited in personal bank accounts to $250,000.

Called for the creation of a Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust (MFI) to help companies avoid bankruptcy while protecting their customers. The money would also help consumers restructure loans so they can keep their homes.

Proposed that withdrawals from tax-preferred accounts — IRAs and 401(k)s — should be taxed at the lowest rate of 10 percent in 2008 and 2009. The policy would apply to the first $50,000 withdrawn from such accounts each year.

Proposed ending the taxation of unemployment insurance benefits for 2008 and 2009.

FP: Two sectors should be examined, that of the investor and that of the consumer. Club owners such as Joe Roth (Seattle Sounders); Tom Hicks (Liverpool FC); George Gillett (Liverpool FC); Randy Lerner (Aston Villa); Andrew Applby (Derby County); Phil Anschutz (LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo); and others with considerable liquid assets would find comfort in both candidates’ plans to federally insure up to $250,000. However, with the level of wealth these parties enjoy, $250,000 amounts to little more than a day at the stadium, two pints, pretzels, and souvenir jerseys for their kids.

Consumers, though, will appreciate having their money insured. A $50B stimulus plan and an extension of unemployment benefits (Obama) could result in a marginally increased level of disposable income, possibly meaning the ability or willingness to spend the extra money on attending attend a football match or buying a new Red Bull jersey. The same could be said for the reducing the taxation on withdrawals from tax-preferred accounts (McCain).

Education
BO: Advocated ensuring access to high-quality early childhood education programs and childcare opportunities, recruiting well-qualified and rewarding expert, accomplished teachers.

JM: Stated during GOP primary debates: “We need more charter schools. We need vouchers where it’s approved by the local, state school boards. We need to have, clearly, home schooling if people want that … We need to reward good teachers and find bad teachers another line of work.”

FP: There’s no clear-cut distinction between the candidates on education. The question to ask is, “Which candidate’s policies will provide a better means for underserved youth to have access to social development programs?” These specifically include those that use soccer as a vehicle to foster teamwork, cooperation and skill building, while also providing supervision of children within a secure environment. Creating this type of infrastructure will not only breed better footballers, but better human beings.

Immigration
BO: Supported Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

JM: Co-sponsored Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

FP: It would be farcical to suggest that Senators Obama and McCain’s 700-mile fence would prevent the free market transfer of players from Mexico from plying their trade in Major League Soccer. However, it’s worth asking whether either candidate’s policies would place different restrictions on the visa applications of foreign players, managers, and executives.

Taxes
BO: Opposed extending 2003 Bush tax cut law through 2010. Supported eliminating marriage penalty and extending child tax credit. Proposed a “making work pay” tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. Proposed eliminating income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 per year and eliminating all capital gains taxes on start-ups and small businesses.

JM: Voted against 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cut laws, but later voted in favor of extending tax cuts through 2010. Said he would keep the current rates on dividends and capital gains, and maintain the current income and investment tax rates. Said he opposes a proposal supporters call the “Fair Tax,” which would repeal income taxes and other taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue. Said he would double the child deduction from $3,500 to $7,000 and permanently repeal the alternative minimum tax.

FP: Would Obama’s tax plan aid small startups, like Football Partnerships, with the elimination of capital gains tax? Would McCain’s tax plan allow professional players and owners to keep a greater proportion on dividends received?

The truth is that political campaigning amounts to posturing, and whether the soccer-business community stands to be directly rewarded or punished based on the election’s outcome is debatable.

It is certain, though, that politics influence the football business: which cities are preferred candidates for MLS expansion clubs; which unions get which contracts to built which stadia; and which sponsors attach their brands to which causes. Surely, it’s easier to see the politics from the ground up by examining isolated decisions at the local level than by looking from the top down.

Regardless of whether it’s President Obama or President McCain, it will be fascinating to see how football is affected by the next Commander in Chief and Captain America.

How do politics affect football in your country? How is gaming regulated? Do political candidates align themselves with famous players to win popular appeal? Share your comments with Football Partnerships.