US investment in English football brings profit and success
Written by: AFP
Derby County´s Pride Park football ground is seen on January 28, as the English Premier league club announced an investment partnership with U.S. sports group General Sports and Entertainment (GSE).
DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) - Fully half of English football's 20 Premiership clubs are owned by foreign investors with a US group completing the purchase of basement-dwelling Derby County for a reported 100 million dollars.
The allure of sport squads linked to a global brand like England's elite league with television riches and home-area expansion potential have enticed Americans to also purchase Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool.
"The long-term aid is to establish the Derby County brand worldwide through successful alliances with sporting teams in the US, Far East and other continents," Derby County chairman Andy Pearson said.
"The immediate aim though is to continue to build the infrastructure of the club at Pride Park."
Premiership teams will divide more than 5.4 billion dollars through 2010 under their latest television deal. Even relegation, Derby County's likely fate, offers payments of more than 20 million dollars.
The National Football League's 32 clubs are the only ones in American sport offering greater television revenue, but the global opportunities of American football are more limited in scope than those of the "real" football.
Add the potential for modern new stadiums in many places, including related neighborhood businesses, and the legacy of loyal fan bases dating to the 19th Century and the attraction is easy to understand from a business standpoint.
Liverpool's purchase last year by George Gillett, who owns hockey's Montreal Canadiens, and Tom Hicks, who owns hockey's Dallas Stars and baseball's Texas Rangers, caused concern over an ousting of famed venue Anfield.
"Tom and I are a little put off that people assume everything is about money," Gillett said in announcing the deal.
"If you ask which word we really feel about the franchise, I would say respect - respect for winning, for the passion, the tradition, the awesome legacy of this club."
Such homage to heritage has followed the 2005 burning effigies and "Yankee Go Home" signs by Manchester United fans for American football club owner Malcolm Glazer after his purchase of the famed team for 1.49 billion dollars.
Man United made a marketing deal with baseball's New York Yankees that helped drive each team's brand into new areas.
Hicks told USA Today when he made the Liverpool deal that a triumphant Premiership side can bring untold profit potential around the world, seeing English clubs as underdevloped brand names.
"We very much want to build a brand, particularly in Asia, but also in North America and South America, as well as Europe," he said.
Randy Lerner, owner of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns, bought Aston Villa in 2006 for 118 million dollars.
And Stan Kroenke, owner of hockey's Colorado Avalanche and basketball's Denver Nuggets, last year bought a 12 percent stake in Arsenal.
Other non-English Premiership owners include Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, Egypt's Mohamed al-Fayed at Fulham, and an Iceland group at West Ham United.
Also former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Manchester City, Alexandre Gaydamak, the son of a Russian billionaire, with Portsmouth and Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung poised to take over Birmingham at the end of the season.
Manchester United and Arsenal top the Premiership ladder with Chelsea, Everton, Aston Villa and Liverpool next.
