Football Business Market

FIFA’s Director of Marketing Division, Thierry Weil, believes India is a “sleeping giant” for the growth of football, and that the country is also an important emerging market for the sport commercially.

Weil is on an India visit to meet with prospective commercial partners as the country is gearing up to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup next year.

Research indicates that the commercial power is now shifting to Asia, and India and China are the key powerhouses…India is a sleeping giant for football. The Indian companies already understand that football is growing very fast in India.

But there is a difference between china and ISL, while china is attracting big names at their prime stages of 24-25years, ISL pulled of players who were at the later stages of their career.

Even in EPL during 1990’s small steps were taken which are giving fruits today. Football is a business, that’s the way you have to look at it. From football club to others, everyone wants to make money. That’s the world we live in and in football, more so. That’s never going to change and it will only get bigger.

Shearer agrees that the game had become a business, where players hold more power than ever before.

“Football some times is not in real world with regards to transfer fees. In 1996, when I was the costliest player at 15 million USD, people said no one is worth that much. When you compare that to what is happening in the China Premier League, it’s only a matter of time the world record (for player transfer) will be broken. That’s football. It’s only going to get bigger,” the 46-year-old said.

“It’s incredible and you can never ever justify it. There is very little loyalty in football, whether from players, from managers or from owners of football clubs. Loyalty and football don’t go along (together),” Shearer said.

source: scroll.in