The 2019 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup Finals - Media Portfolio - Case Study Example

Assignment title: Sports and the media Tutorial day and time: Name and Student Number: Chosen event The 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Finals Word count: 2569 Introduction Asian cup confederation (AFC) Asian cup was founded in 1956 by the football confederation of Asia. The tournament usually consists of 24 teams, with Japan being most successful team, gathering a total of 4 titles. The current champion is Australia, which won the 2015 tournament. It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa America. The winning team of these championships automatically qualifies for the FIFA confederations cup. The Asian cup used to be held only once every four years from the 1956 edition in Hong Kong until the 2004 tournament in Meiland China. Just like any other sport, AFC Cup attracts the media attention from every corner of the world. Sports and media are one and the same thing in the sense that they need each other and they are co-dependent. This means that one cannot exist without the other (Barrett, 2015). Sports-media management is very important in the world which we are living today. There are many reasons as to why we should manage sports media, some of them being increase in its complexity, growth of technology, need for globalization and commercialization among others. As we all know, fail to plan is planning to fail. In this portfolio, we will look at the sport-media management tools, which will be related to the AFC Asian cup. We will look at the media plan, the fact sheet, the media release, the media guide as well as the media advisory. We shall discuss in detail each of these concepts, basing our argument on the 2019 AFC cup. Section 1: Media Plan The 2019 AFC Asian cup will be the biggest tournament held in Asia and probably in the whole world. There will be several media opportunities which would in return generate public interest and revenue. The opportunities are summarized by the table below. These opportunities can be broadcasted through the media like radio stations, TV stations, facebook as well as through YouTube. The main objective of media planning is to ensure that the broadcasting of events of a certain sport is according to the laid down time limits and though the appropriate channels. The second objective is the media plan ensures that people get correct information. MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES MEDIA OUTLETS TIMELINE Media Outlet 1 Media Outlet 2 Media Outlet 3 Media Outlet 4 Use of Newsletters An organization can write either daily or weekly articles in form of newsletters and they can be made available to public You tube Radio stations televisions News papers Use of social media An organization can post events and links of events in social media for public to access them. Facebook You tube Instagram Twitter Advertisements Media can use this platform to broadcast important events which happen during the tournament. News papers Facebook Radio stations Televisions Use of Subscriptions Public can subscribe to view a certain match or events which occur during the tournament You tube Internet Twitter Facebook Justification This media plan is appropriate for this event because most viewers use the above said outlets to get information. Most viewers of sports are the young people, so the media by using the above said channels can be able to reach its target population. This is supported by Briggs & Burke, 2015, pg 25 who argues that the media can use internet to reach the young generation, since 80% of the youth are able to access at least one of the social media platforms. Section 2: Fact sheet Event overview: The AFC Asian Cup is the second oldest confederation football championship behind South America’s Copa América and the tournament winner automatically goes on to represent Asia in the FIFA Confederations Cup (Australian Broadcasting Authority, 2011). Australia left the Oceania Football Confederation almost a decade ago to join the AFC and in only their third appearance, the Socceroos won the 2015 Asian Cup. The 2019 AFC cup is the 17th edition of the AFC cup of Asia, which is the quadrennial international men’s football championship of the Asia organized by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation). The host country of the event is the United Arab Emirates, which will be held in there venues. The total number of teams participating is 24, which are all from one confederation. This is the first time the tournament cup will be contested by 24 teams. This is an expansion from the 16 team format which has been in use since 2004. The United Arab Emirates was announced as the tournament’s host on 9th march 2015. At the moment, Iran was the only remaining bidder which had the right to host the 2019 finals. This is the second time that the United Arab Emirates has held the event after the 1996 finals (Barnett, 2010). The defending champions will be Australia, which will automatically be going into the tournament, having won the previous competition in 2015. The winner of the 2019 AFC cup will earn the ticked to participate in the next 2021 FIFA confederation cup which will be hosted by a country yet to be determined by the Asian Football Federation association after the 2022 FIFA world cup host, Qatar, lost the rights. Event location: As stated above, the 2019 championship will be held in United Arab Emirates. The capital city of this country is Abu Dhabi, where most of the matches will be conducted. The largest city is Dubai. This is where most of the players, officials and media personnel will be staying. Here, the official language is Arabic. United Arab Emirates is located in the southern end of the Arabic Peninsula (Barthes, 2012). This is on the Persian Gulf which boarders Oman to the east and south Arabia to the south. It shares sea boarders with the Qatar and Iran. It has n estimate population of 9.2 million people, where 1.4 million are emirates citizen and 7.8 million are expatriates. The cities where the tournament will be held is served with a good transport system, given then all the cities are along the sea and they all have international airports (Australian Broadcasting Authority 2011). The selected stadiums are Zayed Spprts City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It can hold a total of 63,578 people after it was upgraded. Hazza Bin Zayed stadium will also be used. This stadium is found in Al Ain and can hold a capacity of 25,965 people. We also have Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa international stadium in Al Ain and Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. There is also a new stadium which is being constructed in Dubai, and it is expected that by 2019 will be ready for use. Event athletes The 2019 AFC will be Iran, Japan, Maldives, Vietnam, Lanka, South Korea, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Myanmar, United Arab emirates, Afghanistan, Qatar,. Thailand, Oman, Jordan , North Korea, China, Syria, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore and Iraq. The qualification structure is as follows: the first round we will have a total of 12 teams which will play home and away over two legs. The six winners will advance to the second round. The second round will have a total of 20 teams which will be divided into 5 groups of 4 teams which will play home and away. The remaining 8 teams will enter the playoff round to contest the remaining 8 spots in the third leg of the Asian Cup Confederation. Event statistics During the 2015 qualifications, the following teams won. These are India, Yemen, Timor-Laste, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei and Bhutan. The team which won with most goals is Timor-Laste, which won with 5 goals against 1 goal for Mongolia. The team which finished with most points was Saudi Arabia with 4 points, followed by United Arab Emirates with 4 points, Palestine with 5 points, Malaysia with 5 points, and Timor- Leste with 5 points. It is important noting that the match between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia was abandoned during the 87th minute after a group of fans threw objects into the pitch. At that time of the abandonment, the score was 1-2, with Saudi Arabia leading. On 5th October 2015, FIFA met and decided that the match to be forfeited and the results to be declared as 0-3 loss to Malaysia. Event Partners The main partner of this tournament is Toyota, which is a Japanese Car Maker. It stepped up its sponsorship of the Asian Football Federation to include all the governing body’s major club competitions. Toyota will also support the organizations club program which will include the top-tier AFC Champions league, the second tier AFC futsal tournament for the next two years Blain (Boyle & Donnell 2013). Justification of the fact sheet. This fact sheet is appropriate for this event because it shows the events which has happened in the past, associated with the AFC Asian Cup. It includes event overview, event location and dates, event athletes, event statistics and partners. This is supported by Boyle & Haynes, 2010, pg 89 who argued that the facts and history of an event can be used as a way of knowing and predicting the future of the same event. This fact sheet can be used by the management of the 2019 tournament to help them plan efficiently. Also, the public can use the same fact sheet to predict the outcome of particular events. Section 3: media guide A cover page: Logo Name: 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Host: United Arab Emirates (UAE). Number of teams: 24 Year: 2019 Table of contents Key contacts Welcome letters from the Chief Executive or major sponsor Background to the event Player/team biographies A Schedule of Events Venue information Competition rules or format A Schedule of Events The participating teams will be Iran, Japan, Maldives, Vietnam, Lanka, South Korea, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Myanmar, United Arab emirates, Afghanistan, Qatar,. Thailand, Oman, Jordan , North Korea, China, Syria, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore and Iraq. Below is a table containing the time and date each team will play, together with the venues. . 5th September 8th September 9th September 11th September 12th September 15th September 17th September Zayed Sports City Stadium Iran Vs Japan Maldives Vs Vietnam Syria Vs Australia Hazza Bin Zayed stadium Lanka Vs South Korea United Arab emirates Vs Afghanistan Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium North Korea Vs China Tajikistan Vs Uzbekistan Sheikh Khalifa international stadium Singapore Vs Iraq Yemen Vs Myanmar Al Ain and Dubai International Cricket Stadium Saudi Arabia Vs Malaysia Oman Vs Jordan QatarVs Thailand Justification This media guide is suitable for this event because it provides all the events happening in the tournament. In addition, it provides the breakdown of day by day activities with their venues and objectives. This is supported by Boyle & Donnell, 2013, p.62 who has argued that the media should be well informed in everything happening in the world of sports for that event to be successful. Section 4: Media Release The following is one of the major media releases for the AFC Cup 2019 to be held at the United Arab Emirates. It outlines the details of the regulations during the tournament. The responsibilities of the AFC Committee will be to determine and plan all the matches and the schedules, to chair and supervise all the preparation during the competition, to appoint the match officials including the referees, to report any disciplinary cases to relevant Disciplinary committee and lastly to tackle the issues of cancelled and abandoned matches and give reports to the relevant bodies. It is also passed that all members and fans must observe all the set rules of the game and are expected to comply with the FIFA rules accordingly. They should also abide to the principle of fair play. The winners of this tournament will automatically qualify to participate in the FIFA confederation cup of 2021. It is also required that all the matches to be played at the specified time and venues to avoid unnecessary confusions. Also, a match will take 90 minutes, with break of 15 minutes after the first 45 minutes. Extras time can be awarded by the referee. Lastly, a match can be cancelled if any incident of indiscipline occurs. Justification This media release is appropriate to this event because it tries to disseminate key information to the media. This is supported by Bell 2011, pg 6 who urges that the best media release should include headline which reflects the content of the release and includes a date while key facts are also outlined using a paragraph structure. He also says that the release should also be in a ready-to-publish form and it summarizes the most important information regarding to who, what, when, where and why. This release satisfies all the above requirements. Section 5: media advisory The media has also not been left aside in these championships. There will be several interview opportunities during the event. Also, there are several accreditations done in the year 2015, which were meant to helping the media get enough information. These include the Media Accreditation for the AFC championship China 2015, the Media Accreditation for the AFC Futsal Club Championship IR Iran 2015 and lastly the Media Accreditation for the 26th AFC congress 2015 which is now open in Media Hotel. This means that the media can use these platforms to get the information they require. The attendees Kelly Slater – the coach to 2012 world AFC Asian Cup champion, four time world champion, 2006 top there in the rankings. Andy Irons – the coach to 2005 world number 2, three time world FIFA champions Mick Fanning – coach to the 2015 world AFC number 1, 2001 FIFA champions. Trent Munro – 2015 world FIFA number 1, defending champions of AFC cup 2014 Nathan Hedge –coach to defending champions of AFC 2012 The schedule 2nd August 2019 at 10.00 a.m. – Kelly Slater, Trent Munro and Nathan Hedge to meet with AFC staff at Herm Hotel for 2 hours 10th August 2019 10.20 a.m. – Andy Irons and Trent Munro to do a 30 min shark dive with the famous FIFA and AFC trophies. *GREAT PHOTO/FILM OPPORTUNITY 12th August 2019 10.40 a.m. – Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, Mick Fanning, Jimeoin and Nick Barker to meet with FIFA staff at the Melbourne Aquarium Hotel 18th August 11.00 a.m. – American Group Media Conference, hosted by AFC commentator Neil Ridgway (AFC Marketing Manager) *GREAT PHOTO/ FILM OPPORTUNITY Justification This media advisory is suitable for this event because it provides an excellent attempt to alert the media to a potential opportunity. This is supported by Becker, 2009, pg 85 who has argued the media advisory should outline the following elements: a brief introduction, location, attendees, schedule and contact details. He also says that media advisory should describe the photographic and video opportunities available. This section provides all the above mentioned requirements. Conclusion As stated above, it is clear that sports and media are one and the same thing in the sense that they need each other and they are co-dependent. This means that one cannot exist without the other (Barrett, 2015). Sports-media management is very important in the world which we are living today. There are many reasons as to why we should manage sports media, some of them being increase in its complexity, growth of technology, need for globalization and commercialization among others. As we all know, fail to plan is planning to fail. The AFC has already planned all its events, and it is expected that all will go well. 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