The Formation of the English Professional League of the Football Clubs - Essay Example

How does Barclays Bank benefit from Sponsoring the Premier League financially SUBMITTED BY ID INSTITUTE A REPORT ON Arsenal Football Club BY Name : SUBMITTED TO: Faculty Guide Name: Abstract In this project I have discussed on how Barclays Bank benefit from sponsoring the Premier league financially. I have started the project by talking about the origin of the premier league in 1991, when a proposal was sent for the formation of the English Professional League of the football clubs. The Barlays premier league is one of the world's most watched football leagues. It is a competition between the 42 football teams who compete with each other on the same platform. The premier league is a corporation which is run by 20 shareholders who invest in this league in variable proportion. The season for the premier league starts from the month of august till may. It is one of the most lucrative leagues as it is attracting all the top players all over the world to its teams. In the year 1992, the premiere league was sponsored by Carlings. This was followed by the sponsorship of the premiere league by the Barclays card. "A history of the premier league". In the year 2001, the Barclays started complete sponsorship to the premiere league and from there on it came to be known as Barclays Premiere League. Today, people recognise the English premiere league by the name of Barclays. The sponsorship to the league started in the year 1992, it was first sponsored by Carlings and later on by Barclaycard from 2001-2004, Barclays 2004-2007, Barclays premier league finally 2007-2010. The total number of teams competing in the Barclay's premier league is 40 clubs. Out of the 40, 4 have already won the title of Manchester united, Blackburn rovers, arsenal, Chelsea. I have also discussed the competition format for the 20 clubs in the premiere league. About Barclay Bank, the bank has its headquarters in London alongwith Barclays Group Chairman is Marcus Aguis, and the Group Chief Executive is John Varley. They also function in all over the world, offering their customers with the suitable products and services. The company is listed on the London stock exchange. The bank also complies with the UK combined code on corporate governance. Barclays bank has a history of 300 years old. In all these years the bank has grown to offer its customers the required and the right product and the serices, suiting their requirement. The bank has its services in the field of financial services; they are also into retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management services al over the globe. The bank has its extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. The Barclays bank operates in more than 50 countries and has its total employees of approximately 155,000 people. Now, the question arises as why did Barclays bank tie up with the premiere league The premier league laid down the following objectives and they were the ones that compelled Barclays to sponsor the premiere league. They were to be regarded world's best football league off and on the field, to promote the accessibilty to live games and enough media exposure and generate traffic to the media channel where the league is forecasted. To generate sufficient revenue so as to strengthen the future events of the premier league and its clubs as also been the main aim of the premier league. Football is the main domestic sport of the people there. They thought that this is the best way to advertise and promote their products and services. As the traffic is already generated by the fans, so they thought of doing innovative marketing and promotion of their products and services. They contributed to the premier league right from the year 2001 till 2010. Obviously, if Barclays is sponsoring such a big event then it would definitely change the preception of the people regarding Barclays banking. They are commited to make real and long term cotribution to this sport of football in the entire country. They have special offer for the fans, they have Barclay's football card, Barclay's spaces for sports community programmes. They also give away monthly awards to the players, fans and managers. All this would definitely leave a huge impact on the minds of the people. This will result in positive image and perception of its products. SWOT Analysis of Arsenal Football Club Arsenal football club is a very famous club based out of England. It is located in North London and has a very huge fan following. It is also known as the Gunners, the club has gone from strength to strength. Arsene Wenger is the present manager and he has done a fantastic job at the club. The club used to play at Highbury earlier but they have invested a lot of money in building a new stadium "Emirates Stadium". The club does not shell out big money in the transfer market and still finish in the top four more often than not in the Barclays Premier League. Arsene Wenger has made some very sagacious signings off late, Arshavin was bought from Saint Petersburg Russia and he has been a sensational signing for the club. Other major signings include Gallas who was bought from Chelsea, Thomas Vermaelen who was bought from Ajax. Strengths Emirates Stadium: The new Emirates Stadium is one of the biggest strengths of Arsenal Football Club; the revenue generated is huge from the tickets and other exhibition events that take place at the stadium. The club can invest a little more in the stadium so as to accommodate more supporters, this will fetch more money through tickets and the club will end up making more revenue. Players: Some of the players who play for Arsenal are world class players and the club should capitalize on the same. A lot of money can be generated through merchandize, football is a global sport and it is watched and played by billions across the globe. Arsenal football club must capitalize on this opportunity. Manager: Arsene Wenger is amongst the most respected managers across the globe; he is astute and knows what is required of him. He has played a pivotal role in bringing up several young players, Theo Walcott for instance became a prominent player under Wenger's watchful eyes. He is the right man for the job and Arsenal will only get better under his guidance. Fan Following: The Gunners are amongst the top four English Clubs, this goes to show that the club is a very big club. The fan following is huge and this is another strength of the club, the revenue generated by selling tickets and by other activities is important for the proper functioning of the club. Weaknesses A Barren run Arsenal is yet to win major title in 6 years, this will have a direct impact on the fan following. The revenue and the TV rights might get affected should they fail to win a title this year. It is high time for them to win a major title. This is one of the biggest weaknesses of Arsenal football club. Squad: Arsenal is a team made up of youngsters; they need to spend more money in the transfer market. They must buy an experienced player who can support and instill confidence in the team. This will help them win more titles and this will also help the loyalty and the financial position of the club. Marketing: The marketing strategy of the club is still far behind the other top three clubs in England, the club needs to sort out its marketing strategy only then can they become a genuine powerhouse. Opportunities Global Reach of Football: Arsenal football club must try and maximize its fan base, football is a global sport and it reaches out to countless people across the globe. Arsenal must capitalize on the reach of the sport. This can only be done by winning major titles and to do so they require good players. They must make good signings in the transfer market so that they can win more trophies. Private Hands: Arsenal is the only football club in the top four clubs that isn't owned by a private owner, the other three clubs namely Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are all owned either by an individual or by two people. The club can invite bids so that more money can be invested in the club, this will ensure the availability of funds which can be well spend in the transfer market to buy good players who can win the club more trophies. Threats The other Big Clubs: Manchester United and Chelsea are the biggest threats to Arsenal, even Liverpool football club is a very genuine threat to Arsenal. These clubs have much more money than Arsenal to spend. Manchester United is in debt so they might not spend money in the next few months. Chelsea and Liverpool may spend money, this will strengthen their current squad and it will give them a better chance of winning major titles. Arsenal need to ensure that they ward off these threats. Manchester United: Manchester United is the most popular football club in the world; it is the biggest threat to Arsenal. The club has won three premier league titles on the trot. This goes to show their dominance in the Barclays Premier League. The fan following of Manchester United is much better than that of Arsenal football club. This dominance is the biggest threat for Arsenal; they need to win trophies in order to put this dominance to an end. It again comes down to buying good players, performance on the field is everything in football and a team who performs well will get everything at the end of the day, be it money or be it an increased fan following. Arsenal must ensure that they start winning games consistently; there is no room for error at the highest level. Once Arsenal can start winning back to back games they can become genuine powerhouse of Europe. This needs a lot of planning and restructuring, the most important thing required at the moment is performing on the field. Good performance will maximize the chances of Arsenal winning the league, they must go all out in order to ensure that they win the Barclays premier league this year. The other clubs will give Arsenal a run for their money. Read More