What Happened

With 19 league defeats so far this season, Ipswich Town aren’t going to win many accolades for their performances on the pitch. However, faced with the launch of their new kit, the Championship side demonstrated creative ability which should make any club sit up and take notice.

To publicise the kit launch, the Tractor Boys headed to Easton Farm to record a tongue-in-cheek viral that hugely entertained football fans across the country. In the film, goalkeeper Arran Lee-Barrett (who needs a bit of practice if their ‘goals against’ column is anything to go by) can be spotted diving around the farmyard and striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is filmed dribbling around milk containers. The club’s legendary attacker John Wark also makes a cameo appearance dressed as a farmer.

There’s obviously something in the East Anglian water, as their local rivals Norwich City took a similar approach in 2011, when they brought a bit of Italy to Norfolk with the launch of their Errea kit, through a viral that included Paul Lambert scanning the Gazetta dello Sport.

Why we love it

The football romantics amongst us will remember when kit launches were a rare event that would lead to genuine excitement. They’re now held on an annual basis, with most Premier League clubs producing three kits a year (has a third kit ever been worn?).

Despite plenty of opportunities to experiment, the majority of clubs still rely on a tried and tested way of getting mum and dad to part with their hard-earned cash. Chelsea recently displayed the usual activity undertaken by the majority of clubs, who rely on a photo with a handful of stars (normally including one who has been linked with a move away from the club) posing with the kit behind the club crest. Such launches usually incorporate a video, which in this case contains some particularly profound soundbites from Gary Cahill – “you’re used to seeing Chelsea in a blue strip innit” – and Juan Mata – “every team has a different kit.”

Ipswich Town haven’t taken themselves too seriously and have been willing for fans to have a bit of chuckle at their expense. The viral has been rewarded with over 124,000 views on YouTube to date with football fans quick to register their praise:

“Brilliant! Funny and engaging. Absolutely genius advertising and it doesn’t break the bank, very sensible of Ipswich. Well done!”

“I’m a Brighton fan, but I have to say this is quality!”

“Great idea and good to see a bit of humour instilled in football.”

The viral also received coverage across football forums and media outlets, with Ipswich Town’s retail manager Lee Hyde stating that it was another way to help the club interact with fans:

“It’s fantastic to interact with the fans through social media and social networking nowadays. The viral kinds of feeds from that.”

I won’t be heading to the Ipswich club shop anytime soon, but I definitely take my hat off to them and hope that one day my team Tottenham realise that marketing club merchandise doesn’t have to be quite so straight-laced.

By David Gerty on May 1st, 2012

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Football, Sales promotion, Sport, YouTube

1 comment

Last Tuesday night, as the majority of football fans were glued to Chelsea’s heroics (John Terry aside), Tony Evans (Football Editor of The Times) gave a rare and fascinating insight into the extreme pressure journalists are faced with when putting together the sports pages of one of the UK’s leading papers.

Tony posted regular updates throughout the day on Twitter from The Times sports desk, knowing that the result from the Nou Camp – not due until approximately 21.40 (or later if extra time or penalties were required) – would be the main sports story of the day.

Here’s a selection of the best tweets as one of the most dramatic nights in Champions League history unravelled:

Tony then repeated the feat on Sunday, showing how the football supplement The Game is put together. Fernando Torres was set to steal the headlines on Monday morning as a fairly routine Sunday afternoon passed with Chelsea and Tottenham strolling to wins against relegation-threatened QPR and Blackburn. Then, at approximately 7pm, The FA announced they were set to talk to Roy Hodgson about the England manager’s job.

Here’s Tony’s reaction, which would have been shared across all of the national papers:

A fascinating insight, and for anyone foolish enough to think the job of a sports journalist is a stroll in the park, have a look through Tony’s Twitter feed and that illusion will be well and truly shattered.

By David Gerty on May 1st, 2012

Tags: Media

1 comment

With Conference Premier football club Kettering Town FC on their financial knees and with their very existence at threat, there was only one place to look for redemption; to a time of bigger hair, shorter shorts and fatter ‘taches. I’m of course talking about the 1970s.

To celebrate Kettering Town’s status as the first English club to adopt a football shirt sponsor in 1976, Betfair threw ‘The Poppies’ a lifeline by agreeing a one-off shirt sponsorship deal and cash injection, just days ahead of their visit to the Royal Courts of Justice to face an HMRC winding-up petition.

At the home fixture with Stockport County on Saturday 31^st March, the struggling club agreed to wear a specially made retro playing strip, faithful to the original 1976 design and featuring vintage ‘short’ shorts. Betfair was also set to offer season-ticket holders unbeatable value with a rebate to attend the match for just £1 – the cost of entry in 1976 – with fans able to pocket the difference or donate it back to the club.

To get the Kettering squad in the mood for the fixture, we visited the club to undertake a transformation back to the spirit of the 1970s, as brought to life in this exclusive photo shoot. The players were enthusiastic and willing models, with player-manager Ashley Westwood and midfielder David Bridges proving more than a little comfortable in the ‘70s ensemble.

It’s impossible, however, to recall the nostalgia of 1970s football, and not bring to mind images of stirring broadcast coverage. In a tribute to the Dickie Davies-anchored ‘World of Sport’ and other such TV gems, we created “Betfair’s Big Match”, following hapless sports reporter Dave Mandelson as he visited the team in preparation for the crucial Stockport County fixture.

The story sought to raise awareness of Kettering Town’s financial plight, with football fans encouraged to back a campaign run by The Poppies Trust, looking to raise funds to safeguard the future of the club. National press were fully behind the move, with The Metro and Daily Mirror running stories on launch day, and the likes of DailyMail.co.uk, DailyStar.co.uk as well as football bloggers such as WhoAteAllThePies and 101GreatGoals running the video, in addition to local broadcasters ITV Anglia.

The surge of media interest caused quite a stir in the Football Conference, however, with league sponsors Blue Square Bet objecting to a rival betting brand operating within their apparent space. On Friday 30^th March, and just 24 hours ahead of the crucial fixture, Kettering Town were faced with the threat of possible league expulsion if they went ahead with the unique deal. In light of this development Betfair reluctantly withdrew the shirts from the match itself, whilst still donating the much needed cash to the club.

The club were delighted with the generous contribution, helping ensure a club with a unique role in UK’s football history lived to fight another day.

We’ll never know if those shirts would have inspired the team to victory, as sadly Kettering succumbed to a 1-3 home defeat, and face an uphill battle to remain in the division next season.

From all at Betfair and Synergy (and of course Dave Mandelson), we wish the club all the best.  “COME ON YOU POPPIES!”

By Donald Parish on April 4th, 2012

Tags: Content, Default, Football, Football Sponsorship, PR, Sponsorship, Sport, Viral Marketing, YouTube

4 comments

What Happened

Football, gaming and music became one in a brilliant piece of cross branded content from Umbro, the official kit supplier to the England football team. In conjunction with the Sony Xperia Play smartphone, the brand helped to facilitate a groundbreaking test into whether a football video game can actually be played out in real life.

Two 5-a-side teams were kitted out in Umbro branded strips and footwear, and led respectively by England striker Darren Bent, and Kasabian lead singer Tom Meighan. Darren and Tom controlled their teams using specially modified Sony Xperia Play handsets, to send commands to their players to run, pass, tackle or shoot. Check out the video yourself to see who came out on top.

Why We Love It

In the busy world of sports marketing and sponsorship, the battle is always on to deliver content that really affects the target audience. Successful sponsorship strategies are typically based around putting the consumer at the very heart of the campaign. How can we demonstrate true relevance for our customers? What can we give them to truly engage with our brand? Above all, how can we help them to actually care about our brand at all?

In previous editions of Synopsis, authors including Carsten Thode and Tom Gladstone have touched on how brands can use their audience’s passion points to really establish a compelling conversation.  The rationale behind this strategy is robust. Delivering content that is of genuine emotional interest to your target consumer will make them more receptive to absorbing your brand’s preferred messaging. It is a tactic employed by many a brand, but very few execute this as compellingly as kit manufacturer Umbro.

Unlike brands from other industries and sectors, clothing manufacturers don’t have to take quite the same leap to establish relevance in their chosen sponsorship market. Umbro, in common with Nike, Adidas and Reebok, are quite literally part of the fabric of sport. Fascinatingly, instead of resting on the laurels of those sporting credentials, Umbro repeatedly choose to go one step further by associating the brand with another major passion point – music. In this instance, they added a third layer through immersion with the video gaming world.

The history between Umbro and music runs deep, particularly over recent years. In 2010 the brand teamed up with British rock giants Kasabian once more, in an innovative launch of the new official England change strip, set to be worn in the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Appearing back onstage for an encore at their gig in Paris, the band emerged clad in the brand new strip, which doubled as the official unveiling of the shirt. It marked the first time Umbro had departed from a traditional football player based launch, and emphasised the positioning of the shirt as part of the culture of football fandom.

Continuing this fusion of football and music, Umbro was again in the news in the New Year. London rapper Tinchy Stryder recently revealed that his new record “Why always me?” was inspired by Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, who revealed a vest bearing the slogan after scoring in October’s Manchester derby. Umbro were quick off the mark to collaborate with the pint-sized musician, commissioning a special edition charity t-shirt featuring the now famous phrase, available exclusively at umbroteeshop.com.

Effortlessly finding executions that enable the brand to blur the lines between sport and popular culture, Umbro continues to deliver content that touches its audience on a number of levels.

By Donald Parish on January 25th, 2012

Tags: Content, Default, Music, Sport, Synergy Loves

No comments

What happened

The new adidas f50 miCoach is the first ‘boot with a brain’. The new boot integrates a miCoach Speed Cell into a cavity in the sole which captures and records 360 degree movements and key personal performance metrics.

The boots capture data including speed, average speed, maximum speed, number of sprints, distance, distance at high intensity levels and active training time, which it then transmits to tablets, PCs and Macs using a wireless link.

The miCoach internet platform allows players to upload, track, analyse and share their miCoach data. Once the sole preserve of sophisticated GPS systems, this allows any park player to monitor their performance, identify areas of improvement and compare their stats to those of their mates, teammates and the real professionals.

And as each player improves their performance on the real pitch, they reap the benefits on the virtual one.  ‘Avatars’ (virtual personas) take part in a new social football video game – and the only way to build your avatar’s skills and level up is by doing the work in the real world.  ‘Gamification‘ is a great way to engage this target audience and adidas have nailed it.

The brand has teamed up with Lionel Messi to launch the boots. He teased the new bright red and yellow f50 boot for the first time during Argentina’s friendly against Nigeria earlier in September but officially unveiled them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Colombia on 15 November.

Leading Premier League players, including Luis Suarez, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Ashley Young, Emmanuel Adebayor, Stewart Downing and Gareth Bale have put the smart boot to the test during training sessions in recent weeks before wearing them competitively for the first time this month.

Why we love it

This is the biggest innovation in football boots since adidas launched the Predator.  But, with its integrated digital and social elements, this will have a far broader and deeper impact.

For the first time, it gives every player the ability to analyse their own performance, track improvements  and compare themselves to not only their mates, but also some of the greatest players on the planet. It is this integration of both professional and amateur players and an accessible, easy-to-use platform, which incorporates social media, that creates a truly unique and engaging brand experience for the consumer.

By putting ‘performance’ at the core, adidas enhances their positioning as the world’s leading performance brand.  No matter what your ability level is from occasional 5-a-side player to Lionel Messi, there is always room for improvement and adi will help you get there.

This ‘boot with a brain’ creates engaging content and puts adidas at the centre of a global dialogue around performance. It has brought together football’s elite level with its grassroots in a way that pushes the thought that adidas enables you to be the best you can be.

What the brand says

The adidas vice president of global football, Markus Baumann, says ‘We have been working to develop a boot with a brain for some time and what we have produced will revolutionise the football industry.’ He goes on to say ‘What makes the boot unique is that for the first time you will be able to compare yourself to some of the best players in the world.’

By Mike Russell on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Celebrity, Content, Default, Football, New Product Development, Social Media, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

No comments

As a huge fan of both football and Twitter, I have followed the phenomenon of footballers using the social media platform to talk directly to fans with nothing short of delight (and indeed written, and no doubt tweeted, about it too). From Ryan Babel mocking-up Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt to Darren Bent allegedly telling Spurs owner Daniel Levy in no uncertain terms to sort out his transfer to Sunderland, the medium has contributed significantly to breaking down the barriers between player and fan, which, in this age of the sheltered millionaire footballer, I’m definitely not alone in welcoming with open arms.

However, this summer I made a new, and even more exciting, discovery – @Joey7Barton. With Barton’s tweet that “somewhere in those high echelons of NUFC, they have decided, I am persona non grata” attracting significant media coverage (in fairness, more for the revelation that Newcastle United were letting him go, than the flowery language), I was lured into his Twitter world. There I found Joseph Barton, the footballer philosopher, offering up daily quotes from Nietzsche, lyrical poetry from The Smiths, and reviews of his trips to London museums.



Surely this wasn’t the same player I’d seen drag Gervinho off the floor by the scruff of his neck during the first game of the Premier League season at Newcastle? And yet, whilst the red mist is still prone to descend, the rehabilitation of Joey Barton is in full swing, helped in no small part by his ability to create his own brand on Twitter. Yes, many remain if not unconvinced then at least a bit confused by his culture vulture social media persona, but there’s no doubt that without Twitter, he wouldn’t have been able to convey it to the world as he has done.

Of course, the phenomenon of sports, and in particular football, stars as brands in their own right is by no means a feature borne of the Twitter age. Remember, Twitter is only five years old, younger than brand Beckham and younger still than Gazza, Kevin Keegan and George Best. Indeed, footballers have been commercial entities in their own right for years (and see this amusing history of their attempts to cash in on this).

George Best lends his name to Best Potato Crisps

And yet I do believe that Twitter has brought something new to the party. It gives footballers a way to convey to the world who they want to be, no longer restricting their public image to that carefully defined by their club and publicist, or by the tabloid headlines. Whilst these were the channels through which a footballer’s brand would be built in the past, players are now able, in at least some small way, to bypass them, possibly defying an image crafted by a PR, or using Twitter to defend the on and off the field transgressions reported in the papers.

But whilst I may love the fact that Twitter allows footballers and famous individuals to talk directly to me (and, I accept, their thousands, or indeed millions, of other followers), the interesting question is whether using Twitter can significantly build a commercially successful personal brand. Will it impact upon the value and nature of sponsorship deals and endorsements? At the moment, not really. Nike terminated its boot contract with Joey Barton in 2008 after he was imprisoned for assault, and the deals have not exactly been forthcoming since then.

Twitter might be a good place to start building your brand (and a forum for – declared – advertising by celebrities), but it is most definitely not where it ends. A Twitter personality is still only one small element of a footballer’s commercial arsenal; the money follows skills on the pitch, good looks, big clubs and to a certain extent, the ability to stay out of trouble (though brands have shown themselves willing to stick by big names even when scandal has descended in the past).

However, that is certainly not to say that footballers should stop tweeting – mainly because without Joey Barton’s philosophical gems my days would most definitely be that little bit worse! Click here for a fun infographic of sports stars on Twitter, and try the following for some insights/hilarity from some of our favourite footballers:

Jack Wilshere: @JackWilshere

Rio Ferdinand: @rioferdy5

Kaka: @KAKA

Wayne Rooney: @WayneRooney

Darren Bent: @DarrenBent

By Jessica Enoch on October 10th, 2011

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Celebrity, Default, Football, Newcastle United, Twitter

No comments

This season Synergy was tasked to create a half time activity campaign using Betfair’s two football assets Manchester United and FC Barcelona.  With two of the world’s most famous clubs it surely wasn’t going to be hard to create an ultimate sporting experience…

In September every £10 football bet placed on Betfair offered their customers the chance to be entered into the Betfair Penalty Champions competition. Through Betfair’s sponsorship of Manchester United and FC Barcelona, customers who were entered would have the chance to walk onto the pitch at half time at both Old Trafford and the Camp Nou and take a penalty representing their team.

October saw ten Manchester United fans and ten FC Barcelona fans headed to their clubs’ training grounds for a training day with club coaches and ex-players, followed by the filming of their very own penalty. For MU fans it was Carrington with Dennis Irwin and Andrew Cole and for Barca fans it was at Joan Gamper with Roberto Bonano.

With all twenty penalties posted online for the public vote, it was not long before two teams would be announced and preparing  for the first leg at Old Trafford, before heading to the Camp Nou for the second leg. The winners – with over 87,755 votes between them – were Darrin Crawford, Brendan Doherty and David Snell (representing MU) and Israel Sanchez, Eduardo Rubio and Jordi Vila representing Barca.

December bought both snow and Manchester United v Arsenal at Old Trafford. With all winners finally making it to Old Trafford despite some snow-diverted flights at half time our six winners and their glamorous escorts (Caroline me in beautiful yellow Betfair Jackets, below) stepped out onto the hallowed turf at Old Trafford. As if stepping out in front of approximately 80,000 fans wasn’t daunting enough, the Chilean Miners and the one and only David Beckham had also decided to make an appearance at the match!



The crowd immediately got behind their Red Devils, encouraging the MU boys to an early 3-1 lead over the Barca team, leaving MU with what should have been an easy win at the Camp Nou…or maybe not…

After the Christmas break it was time for Betfair’s six winners (oh, and me again) to start the New Year in style by flying to Barcelona and following in the footsteps of some of today’s greatest players, Messi, Iniesta and Villa, by walking onto the pitch at the Camp Nou at half time of Barcelona v Malaga. With a change in the MU team with Brendan Doherty having to pull out of the competition to attend the birth of his first child…it was up to fourth place Steve Wright to take his place!

With a 3-1 lead it should have been an easy victory for the MU team, however, now it was the turn of a 100,000 Barca fans to get behind their team and it would seem the pressure proved too much for some of the MU team with replacement Steve Wright blazing it over the top of the goal post and goal keeper Roberto Bonano easily saving David Snell’s penalty. However, with the Barca fans behind them the Barca team struck some great penalties and bough the score back to 3-3, leaving Darrin Crawford to secure MU’s victory! Unfortunately for Barca and their fans the MU win was never in doubt as Darrin struck his penalty with total confidence bang into the bottom left hand corner of the goal as he had at Old Trafford securing a 4-3 victory for Manchester United at the Camp Nou!!

So there you have it a 4-3 victory for Manchester United over FC Barcelona! I wonder would Manchester United be victorious against FC Barcelona should fate draw them together in this year’s Champions League…?

By Georgina Taylor on January 28th, 2011

Tags: Betfair, Brand marketing, David Beckham, Event management service, Experiential marketing, Facebook, Football, Football Sponsorship, Manchester United, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultancy, Sport, Synergy, UEFA Champions League

1 comment

Before England’s ill-fated 2010 World Cup campaign, the Football Association took a gamble.  It turned down Nationwide’s ‘money on the table offer’ to renew its sponsorship of the England team, gambling on the fact that the deal would be worth more following a successful outing in South Africa.

Alas, we all know what happened – or, rather, what didn’t happen on the pitch.  As a result, the FA has struggled to find a new sponsor for the team.  Expected any day now is the news that Vauxhall will be the team’s new sponsor.  The finances probably won’t be revealed, but it’s expected that £5million per annum will be there or thereabouts.

£5million per annum is also the amount being sought by the English Cricket Board for sponsorship of England Test match cricket following the news that npower, sponsors since 2001, have declined to pay a 25% hike on their existing contract, despite enjoying the enormous additional interest generated when England won the Ashes at the Oval in 2005 (see below).

The ECB has taken the same gamble as the FA – that England would win.  The stunning Ashes victory down under has paid off – so far.

Now all the ECB has to do is capitalise on the nation’s euphoria and the growing belief that England can go on to become the best cricket team in the world over the next 4 years.  That’s the timescale of the next sponsorship contract, in which there will be two home Ashes series, in 2013 and 2015.

So, what type of brands will the ECB be reaching out to?  Immediate thoughts gravitate towards an essentially British brand, popular with the predominantly male audience which favours Test cricket.  Or, perhaps, a largely unknown brand (like Cornhill was when it became Test match sponsor in 1978) wishing to establish itself in the UK marketplace and, to a lesser extent, in Test match-playing countries through overseas television coverage.

Several brand categories are off limits, however.  Brit Insurance sponsors the England team and this precludes any other B2B insurance brand.  Likewise, the England team already has deals with Marston’s (but a lager brand would be OK), Jaguar, Buxton and FTI (making the likes of PwC, KPMG and Accenture off limits).  Retail banking is out as well because of NatWest’s long and on-going association with English cricket.

The ECB is inviting ‘expressions of interest’ from any brands interested in the proposition.

Interestingly, the Board may find that international brands may take up the invitation.  Test match cricket in England would be a good vehicle for an Indian, Middle East or Far East brand wanting to establish itself in the UK market.  Indian groups such as Reliance and Tata may be interested for one or more of their brands.  Indeed, a Tata brand – Jaguar – is already involved with the England Team.

With the sums being sought, the ECB may find itself eyeing foreign investment.  But how will England cricket supporters react if Test matches in this country are sponsored by, say, RelianceMart?  Sounds daft, but it just might happen.

By Karen Earl on January 11th, 2011

Tags: Ashes, Cricket, ECB, Football, Sponsorship, Sport

1 comment

‘Tis the month for a good debate – you only have to click here to see the ongoing and lively discussions generated on our global poll to find the greatest sports marketing innovation of modern times.

With just over a month until this year’s BBC Sports Personality Awards, it’s right about now that I, along with people up and down the land, begin to debate who should be in the BBC’s final short-list. Growing up watching the show, having attended the last two and with this year’s Birmingham ceremony on Sunday 19th December already in the diary, I can’t wait for the night itself.

One of the privileged few who actually does help to decide the final shortlist, SPORT’s editor Simon Caney, shared his own top 10 in today’s magazine which got me thinking who would make mine.

It must be said, Ryder Cup 2010 aside, with no Olympic Games and a truly feeble showing by England in this summer’s World Cup, it has not been the most historic of years. But there are two clear stand-out names for me.

Graeme McDowell checks out his Ballantine's Championship blend

1. Graeme McDowell – having worked with GMAC for Ballantine’s (have you tried Graeme’s very own Ballantine’s Championship blend? Lovely.), Graeme would get the nod for personality alone. Cracking guy. Add to that his performance in October’s Ryder Cup, helping Europe to win the trophy and most importantly, back in April, becoming Europe’s first US Champion in 40 years; he’s had an incredible year.

2. AP McCoy – Tony McCoy. The greatest jump jockey horse racing has ever seen. Finally won the Grand National this year on Don’t Push It, 15th time lucky. Ridden over 3,000 winners and been jump racing champion every year since 1995/96.

Difficult to see beyond those two for me. However, let’s not forget a few other worth contenders:

Powerade ambassador Jessica Ennis

3. Jess Ennis – Powerade ambassador, flying the flag for both Sheffield and GB (as team captain). European Heptathlon Gold medallist in Barcelona earlier this year.

4. Mo Farah – Bupa flash runner, NFL honorary captain and, more importantly, one of this year’s big sporting success stories having won both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the European Championships. Nice chap to boot.

5. Graeme Swann – standout bowler in this summer’s Ashes win, the ECB’s Cricketer of the Year and all-round great Tweeter.

6. Lee Westwood – finally crowned the world’s number 1 golfer (Tiger who?), especially excelled this year in weight losing and Ryder Cup winning, before injury forced a temporarily break from the game.

7. Tom Daley – his gold medal Commonwealth Games performance in Delhi would have secured the 16-year old Olympics gold. True fact.

8. Phil Taylor – has a darts player ever won before? No. More than enough reason for me to back ‘The Power’ and he’s certainly the greatest in the sport. Would eat my hat if he did win. Happily.

9. Lewis Hamilton – has the ability to win SPOTY based on this Sunday’s performance in Abu Dhabi alone, the last race of what has been a fascinating F1 season. Leading the British charge to stop Alonso, Webber or Vettel taking the world championship. Win the title, win the Sports Personality. Possibly.

Bupa Ambassador Mo Farah

Long shots for my final nod include Amy Williams (fearless Olympic gold medallist in the Winter Games), Stuart Broad (if he has a stonking first Ashes Test in Brisbane this month), Phillips Idowu (for services to bonkers hair colour) and Mark Cavendish (five Tour de France stage wins and one of the world’s greatest sprinters on the road).

Never easy to make the final call. If I was pushed, I think Amy Williams would get the nod for #10. And Mark Cavendish to replace Lewis Hamilton is he doesn’t win the F1 Championship on Sunday.

Yep, I’m done. Have I got it right? And who’d make your list?

By Stephanie Branston on November 12th, 2010

Tags: Ashes, Athletics, BBC, Cricket, Cycling, ECB, Football, Formula 1, Golf, Lewis Hamilton, Media, NFL, Olympics, Ryder Cup, Team GB, Television, Tiger Woods, World Cup

11 comments

The decision as to who will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is fast approaching – due on 2nd December. Interest in this country is of course heightened by England’s bid for 2018, and the corruption claims against FIFA delegates made by The Sunday Times, which, according to some, might harm this country’s bid. Fears continue over potential Iberia/Qatar 2018/2022 collusion, made possible by the fact that the host countries for the two tournaments are to be decided on the same day, although no hard evidence has been passed to FIFA’s ethics committee. Certainly the process has not been without its fair share of drama.

Many have disregarded the Iberian bid, and that of the Netherlands and Belgium, on the basis that FIFA dislikes joint bids, as the World Cup is supposed to be a celebration of one country (although some consider that the Spanish bid is the one to be beaten and others cite the green credentials of the Holland/Belguim proposal, and their heavyweight bid team, so it seems sensible to view every bid as a potential threat). It is Russia’s ambitious boundary-pushing bid which seems to be really worrying English commentators – so different is Russia from England in a footballing context. England is an established footballing nation, which has hosted a World Cup in the past, whilst Russia is focussing on the novelty of staging the tournament in a former Soviet bloc country, and its vision ”to surprise and astound the world of football”.

Clearly, all the bids have their own unique selling points, and, with this as a given, I do not intend to discuss these here. Instead, I will make a shamelessly patriotic defence of England’s credentials as 2018 hosts. As Gabriele Marcotti argues here, it would be nice to go “old school”, after two consecutive World Cups hosted by countries that can be regarded as “new” (yes, Brazil did host the World Cup in 1950, but it certainly falls into the visionary, legacy-leaving category, as bids go). The fanatical football fanbase in England goes without saying, with the bid highlighting the 30 million attendances at matches last season. As a football fan myself, the idea of England hosting the World Cup is very exciting indeed.

The technical excellence of England’s bid is well known; seven of the proposed stadia require no significant construction, and the four new stadium building projects are to be undertaken regardless of 2018 being won or not. This in itself is an argument in England’s favour. However, it also means that, because construction and logistics need not be so paramount, the focus can instead be on leaving a legacy. This is a feature of England’s bid not heavily focussed upon, but fully evident in its impressively large bid book, which says that it will leave a legacy on 1 billion people globally - a bold claim indeed.

One major pillar of this will be the Football United global football fund, which will concentrate on developing football in disadvantaged areas, breaking down social barriers, improving health and education and various other good causes. The plan is for England to build and nurture the charity up to 2018, and continue its involvement thereafter, with future host cities also playing a role. Additionally, there are ambitious plans to develop grassroots football, a cause that should be close to everyone’s heart, if it can help the national team avoid embarrassing last 16 exits at the hands of Germany.

The suspense will be over soon enough, and it is hard to quantify the impact, if any, that the British focus on FIFA corruption (a Panorama programme is also due to be aired just three days before the decision) will have on the bid. Many cannot think of anything worse than England incurring the cost and hassle of hosting another major tournament just a few years after the 2012 Olympics. But I have my fingers crossed that (and this may or may not sound a little cheesy) we can bring football home in 2018.

By Jessica Enoch on November 12th, 2010

Tags: Football, World Cup

No comments