GLOBALL FOOTBALL
& Suggestions for Propagating it
in India
‘Football is
not just a game, its more than that; it’s a way of life'.
Football, in
today’s world has become a huge source of entertainment and a big business
across the globe. It has attracted millions of spectators and supporters from
different countries, for many years now. A few decades back, this game was only
established in the continents of Europe, Africa and South America, but after
the increase in exposure and awareness through media and technology, this game
has become a very popular sport in the continent of Asia as well.
The continent
of Europe has many countries that love this sport and enjoy it. Football in
these countries is a religion, a passion, a way of life. These countries
include England, Spain, Germany, France, Holland, Portugal, Italy, Greece etc.
The English play a game which is high on stamina and strength, whereas the
football played in countries like Spain and Italy is more to do with skill and
flair. The football played in France and Holland is more to do with the
technique and style of play. The weather conditions also play a very important
role in determining the way the football is played in these countries.
The major
clubs in England are Arsenal (Emirates Stadium), Chelsea (Stamford Bridge),
Liverpool (Anfield), and Manchester United (Old Trafford), these four clubs are
known as the ‘Big Four’, followed by Manchester City (Etihad Stadium),
Tottenham Hotspur (White Hart Lane), Newcastle United (St. James Park) etc.
Clubs like Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester City have come up recently
breaking in to the top four positions of the premier league in the previous few
seasons. All these clubs play in the English Premier League (EPL) sponsored by
Barclays Bank. They also play in the FA Cup sponsored by McDonalds and Eon.
FC Barcelona
(Camp Nou), Real Madrid (Santiago Bernabeu), Valencia (Mestalla), Villarreal and
Atletico Madrid are the big clubs in Spain that are well-known across the
world. Real Madrid got the award for being the ‘Club of the Century’ from FIFA,
in 2001 because they won the UEFA Champions League a record 9 times and won the
FIFA Club World Cup a record 4 times. But in recent times, FC Barcelona has
been more successful and popular. FC Barcelona won the Champions League twice
and the La Liga thrice in the past 4 years.
The major
clubs in Germany are Bayern Munich (Allianz Arena), Borussia Dortmund, and
Werder Bremen. Bayern Munich is the biggest football club in Germany, in all
aspects, however the Bundesliga and the Deutscher Pokal (German League Cup) was
won by Borussia Dortmund last season (2011/2012), showing the growth of other
major clubs as compared to Bayern Munich.
The major
clubs in Italy are AC Milan, Inter Milan who share the San Siro as their Home
Ground, Juventus, in Turin and AS Roma, the club in the capital city of Italy.
The league is called Serie A.
The major
clubs in France are Lyon FC, Olympique de Marseille, Lille FC, and AS Monaco.
Lyon FC has dominated the French league (Ligue1) for quite some time, and is
the biggest club in France.
The companies
that have big sponsorship deals and stakes in these football clubs are
Emirates, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Carlsberg, Bwin.com, Samsung, DHL, Barclays Bank,
Vodafone etc. These companies have long term sponsorship deals with these top
European clubs, and are recognized and easily identified all over the world,
partly thanks to these football clubs.
The UEFA
Champions League is the biggest club football tournament in the world, where
top teams from all the European national leagues, come in to claim the prize of
being the best football club in Europe. Only the top 4 clubs from every
European national league (EPL, La Liga, Serie A etc.) can qualify for the UEFA
Champions League.
The other major football tournaments are the Copa Liberatodore, played in South America; it is similar to the Euros played in Europe, wherein countries of the same continent play against each other, to be crowned champions of that continent. The MLS (Major League Soccer) is the football league in USA, which has clubs like LA Galaxy, New York City Red Bulls etc.
The other major football tournaments are the Copa Liberatodore, played in South America; it is similar to the Euros played in Europe, wherein countries of the same continent play against each other, to be crowned champions of that continent. The MLS (Major League Soccer) is the football league in USA, which has clubs like LA Galaxy, New York City Red Bulls etc.
The transfer
of players happens only twice during the year, when the transfer window is
open, once between June to August i.e. before the start of the new season, and
the second time in the month of January, during the mid-season. Clubs put in
bids for players they wish to buy. They have to pay a price only if the player
is under contract with another club, to buy him from that club, if the player
is a free agent i.e. he is not owned by any club, and then in that case they only
have to pay his salary but no fee for buying him.
If the club
does not wish to buy the player, but still wants him to play for the club for
only one season, they can then take the player on loan from the club the player
presently plays for, subject to the approval of the parent club.
Many clubs in
today’s football world look for home grown talent from their youth academies.
This is a very economical, effective and natural way to improve the squad and
also bring in fresh new talent, improving the domestic football in a country
and giving more chances to youngsters to flourish. Major clubs like Arsenal and
FC Barcelona follow this strategy very well. FC Barcelona has a very famous and
fantastic youth academy known as the La Masia, which has produced legendary
footballers like Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, and Gerard Pique etc.
Whereas,
clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid like to splash the cash,
they like to buy proven players, superstars, at exorbitant prices. The latest
addition to the list of big spenders is Manchester City, who were bought over
by wealthy Sheiks from Abu Dhabi, and since then they have spent around 350
million pounds only on players. These clubs however have huge debts and are
owned by a single person or a business house.
After the
approval of the UEFA financial fair play rules, the business side of football
will have a drastic change. Once these rules are implemented, i.e. in the
winter of 2012, all clubs under UEFA will be able to spend only as much as they
earn. The clubs will not be allowed to spend audacious amounts of money if they
cannot afford to spend. They will firstly have to earn and show their wealth as
a club and can only then spend that money on transfers. This rule is brought in
to curb the act of over-spending, beyond one’s means and making sure that clubs
spend their own money, have minimal debts, and all those clubs in debt at
present, will have to first clear their debts and make sure that the club is run
in a sustainable way and is self-dependent.
The
well-known managers in today’s world of football are Sir Alex Ferguson
(Manchester United), Sir Arsene Wenger (Arsenal), Roberto Mancini (Manchester
City), Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid), Pep Guardiola (FC Barcelona). These
managers have earned the highest accolades and reputation of being world-class
managers over the years. They have successfully led teams to glory and have
been some of the finest managers in the history of football.
The
number and frequency of European Clubs coming to India has increased over the
years, though even today it is not the desirable level. There is tremendous
talent in India, as we see from various talent shows on the TV today. We need
individuals and companies to come forward (most importantly political will,
which is probably, currently busy in trying to govern the states and the
country properly).
In
contrast to our country, even poor and slow developing nations in Africa, like
Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal etc. produce outstanding
runners and footballers like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Nwanko Kanu,
Gervinho, John Obi Mikel etc.
We
need to create football clubs in India (like in Cricket IPL) and aggressively
advertise and promote the clubs and the league, with big budget sponsorships
and promotions. We need to have one club for every major city India, like they
did in IPL, for players to get a chance to play for their home city and so that
many youngsters also get a chance to showcase their talent.
Brands
like Pepsi, Adidas, Airtel and Nike have taken steps to promote and improve
football in India. Pepsi, with their new marketing campaign, ‘Change the Game’,
have done a fabulous job of engaging football fans in India, promoting the
game, and have also managed to bring in the famous African footballer, Didier
Drogba to India. They have done a lot of innovations by merging the two sports
- Cricket and Football in a very interesting format known as ‘T20 football’,
giving something new to football fans in India. They created a lot of buzz with
their new ad featuring Ranbir Kapoor, and the second ad featuring the Indian
Cricketers with Footballers from Chelsea FC. Airtel has also jumped into this
initiative of improving football in India, by launching a campaign to send
young footballers from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to play at Old Trafford,
the home ground of Manchester United. This campaign is a very exciting prospect
for many young and talented footballers who have the determination to play the
sport and excel in it, and Airtel have given hope to their dreams, by launching
this campaign. Pepsi and Airtel have taken these necessary steps outside their
usual approaches to marketing and advertising, and have done a lot of good to
the society and to the game of football in India.
Abhinav
Rai
