Why premier league teams are flocking to Asia
Why premier league teams are flocking to Asia: Vijay was born in Singapore, over 11,000km (6,800 miles) from Anfield. He’s been waiting since 2011 for Liverpool to visit.
not duplicate This month, more than 50,000 fans attended a Liverpool-Crystal Palace friendly in Singapore.
After three years of Covid travel prohibitions, English Premier League teams are touring again.
These travels are financially significant. Manchester United lost about $56m (£46.8m) in 2021 owing to Covid delays, including the postponement of a preseason visit to India.
Many clubs are returning to their top international market as restrictions ease.
Asia is Liverpool’s largest fan base, says CEO Billy Hogan.
“Someone told me you could stand at any airport and go on any plane to find Liverpool fans. A third of our global support is in Asia, and we see great potential.”
Global appeal
Manchester United played Liverpool and Crystal Palace in Thailand and Australia this summer.
Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Son Heung-native min’s South Korea.
These travels make little sporting sense. Long travels, high temperatures, and humidity aren’t great preparation for a new season in England.
Jurgen Klopp: “It’s not my favourite thing to do”
“I’m a coach first, so two weeks in Austria with twice-daily training would be ideal.”
“We have a large audience in Asia, so being close to them is great.”
In elite football, the discussion is over. The commercial argument won, and executives will feel vindicated by robust summer demand.
This year, the Premier League will collect more revenue from international broadcasters than from UK domestic channels. Asia will generate $1.4bn between next season and 2025.
Spurs’ exhibition match in South Korea sold out in 25 minutes. It was the most streamed athletic event ever.
In Bangkok, marketers priced a Manchester United-Liverpool friendly at $136. The cheapest tickets in Singapore are $107.
These costs are much greater than what English fans would spend for a competitive match, but they reflect the Premier League’s best clubs’ pull.
Liverpool received a flat sum and no share of ticket earnings, a spokeswoman told the BBC.
Asia’s profit
Analysts say the costs for these far-flung friendlies are unlikely to justify the travels alone, especially when travel and staff expenses are considered.
“Teams don’t generate a lot of money directly from pre-season games, maybe a few million each match,” says SportBusiness’ Asia-Pacific editor Kevin McCullagh.
“There’s a greater picture. This is about brand building and fan engagement in a market that can deliver bigger long-term broadcast rights and sponsorship deals with Asian brands and companies. There’s the actual money.”
Liverpool struck a $240m jersey sponsorship contract with Asia-focused Standard Chartered in Singapore.
Football teams may boost a sponsor’s global profile and give consumer data.
Manchester United’s CRM database comprises 50m records. They had 176m social media connections last year.
In exchange for its sponsorship money, a brand and its marketing department often gain significant insights into the consumer behaviour of millions of supporters who have registered or engaged with the club.
“Big businesses will want fan data first,” said McCullagh.
“Before investing, they want to know a club’s fan base, demographics, ages, number of men, number of women, income profile, etc.,” he said.
English football’s financial success is due to broadcast money.
Since the 1990s, other sports leagues, including European football leagues, have admired the Premier League for being the first to establish commercial ties in Asia.
The Premier League’s competitiveness, fan culture, and association with the English language have helped it become the most-watched sports league in the world, with 3.2 billion viewers.
The Premier League says half of its global following and a quarter of its television audience are in Asia-Pacific, despite games ending late at night.
Experts say it will be difficult to maintain all of these admirers, especially since younger generations have more pastimes and lifestyle alternatives.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez remarked “Football isn’t popular with teens. They have other distractions.”
This viewpoint, together with projections that media income will decline, convinced some top European football club executives that a new competition was needed to keep supporters involved.
Last year’s ill-fated European Super League was a ‘closed shop’ structure that would have included five English Premier League clubs. Millions of fans throughout the world, especially in Asia, prefer to watch elite clubs rather than middling teams.
After a global and UK uproar, it was abandoned.
European football clubs shouldn’t make assumptions about Asia, argues Simon Chadwick, a sports professor at Emlyon Business School in France.
“Smart, sophisticated, perceptive Asian consumers. Asian fans have disengaged from European football in recent years, so clubs shouldn’t be arrogant or stupid in presuming Asia is their golden goose.”
Premier League matches abroad, first proposed in 2008, are improbable in the short-to-medium term, but the subject will return.
Vijay reveals his back in Singapore. It’s covered in Liverpool tattoos and trophy years. He’s hopeful.
“My dad was a Liverpool fan, so I placed Liverpool shirts on my baby daughters.”