It’s hard to believe that football has not always been the huge international force it is today. There is barely a nation or territory in the world that is untouched by the beautiful game. But it’s not just that it is played everywhere, the fact is that it is a massive industry everywhere. Football has long since ceased to be a mere sport and that is not going to change anytime soon. Modern-day football is a huge global industry, but how did it go from being just another sport to being this huge global industry.
Shirt Sponsorship
We take it completely for granted these days that football shirts have a sponsor’s message on the front as well as the club crest and the manufacturers logo. But this was not always the case, as before 1976 there was no such thing as shirt sponsorship in football until Kettering Town put the logo of local company Kettering Tyres on their shirt. This was not a roaring success in itself as the English FA banned the shirts and threatened a £1,000 fine, which was a lot of money to a football team in those days! The footballing authority relented though and allowed the practice in the following season, although Kettering themselves could not attract a sponsor that year. This practice has been a constant in football finances ever since and the English Premier League clubs bring in over £200 million per year this way.
TV Money
TV money brings in billions per year to English football these days and it is safe to say the phenomenal success of the Premier League would simply not be there without it. There has been football on TV for decades, but it was the introduction of satellite television in the early 90s that started the multi-million contracts that grew into the billions we know of today. Top teams can attract top talent from all over the world this way and the top teams are even looking to get more of that share of the pie.
Betting
Huge betting companies worldwide such as Unibet in India take wagers on everything in football, and you can see many of these companies advertising on shirts, on clubs websites and everywhere else surrounding football.
International Tournaments
Big international tournaments are big money spinners and this is true of ones for national teams such as the FIFA World Cup as it is for club competitions such as the UEFA Champions League. You often hear of the Champions League being touted as bigger than the World Cup, but the numbers don’t back this up the only concession to this being that the World Cup is every 4 years but if you look at the numbers by the game it’s no contest.
Foreign Ownership
Once the big TV money, sponsorship, etc. came in it was no surprise that foreign investment started flowing in and this has led to the rise of foreign owners such as those at Manchester City. But this has started to be an issue as we see the Financial Fair Play breaches that City are now facing.