The Kaizer Chiefs FC is the most supported club in South Africa. The club boasts most support in all corners of South Africa and surrounding countries. The team had never played an away game in South Africa until the coming of Manchester United.
The two teams met twice, at Newlands in Cape Town and Loftus in Pretoria, stadiums separated by over one thousand five hundred kilometres. In both instances Manchester United had the majority of fans decked out in full Manchester United regalia. Did these thousands of people come from Manchester? Not at all. They were all South Africans from all walks of life.
Most matches in South Africa are played in near empty stadiums. The stadium stands will also make you think that South Africa is purely a black country. Come Manchester United the stands where not only full to the rafters, but were made up of the true reflection of South African society, black and white.
But where are these people when the game needs them most? When local teams are playing each other? You can bet, they are glued on their TV's watching the English premiership.
In countries like Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia (to mention but a few), and many more countries in Asia, the local game has been completely abandoned for the English game. Most communities in these countries have mapped themselves into Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, name it in the English game they are represented. In Uganda there is even commentary on local FM stations of the English game. Complete madness! As a result:
o The stadiums are empty.
o The game is failing to attract worthwhile sponsorship and TV coverage.
o This has led to no money. The teams can hardly look after themselves.
o Teams can not even merchandise anything. People are not interested, instead they are wearing English teams' attire, aggravating an already bad situation.
o National teams are struggling because of the poor state of the game. The best players are not making it to the top because the game does not pay locally and extremely few are making it internationally. There are no development structures. They are un affordable.
o Teams can hardly attract good management and coaches. They can not afford them.
But, the English game has done nothing wrong to the world game. They simply got the football economy and marketing right. The rest of the football loving world should copy from them.
o They attracted the fans locally and filled the stadiums game after game.
o The atmosphere in the stadium attracted sponsorship and the media.
o They brought with them much needed funding.
o This attracted the best players from around the globe.
o International TV stations were attracted, they transported this infectious atmosphere to the rest of the world. The rest of the world was wooed.
o Billionaires were attracted, they bought into the game.
o The rest of the world game is suffocating; it has been abandoned by fans and therefore no sponsorship and merchandising, no money. Death of the game there!
Let us not condemn the English game. As football marketers, learn from it and change. Success begets success, the opposite is also true.
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