Standard Chartered shirt deal

SHIRT deals such as Liverpool’s with Standard Chartered are helping Europe’s top clubs successfully fend off the effects of the global recession.

That’s the view of financial experts Deloitte in a report they have compiled on football and finance.

The Deloitte Sports Business Group has presented research that suggests top-flight football has been less badly affected by the downturn than most other industries.

Their report indicates that the average attendances for the first two rounds of the Champions League are up five per cent year-on-year, Premier League grounds are on course to remain at 90% capacity for a 17th consecutive season and both TV rights packages and shirt sponsorship deals are thriving.

Dan Jones, a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “When the economic downturn hit, we expressed cautious optimism for football clubs that the strong and loyal supporter base and the security of long-term broadcast and commercial deals would provide some degree of buffer against the worst effects of recession.

“Leading football clubs and leagues outpaced the rest of the economy in the good times and now seem to be faring better than most in a challenging economic environment.

“Although conditions are likely to remain difficult in the short term, the fundamentals of football remain strong.

“Football is deeply integrated into many people’s lives, and attending and watching live sport is habitual for fans who will sacrifice other luxury items before they will give up their sport ’fix’.”

The company’s research puts average Champions League attendances over matchdays one and two at 37,400 this season, improving five per cent on equivalent figures from 2008/09, while Premier League attendances up to the end of September are at 91% utilisation.

Deloitte also report that the shirt deals such as Liverpool’s with Standard Chartered and Manchester United’s with AON – both of which improved significantly on their previous agreements – allied to the consistently strong broadcast rights, put football in a strong position economically.

Jones suggested that the success of the elite clubs may also have a beneficial effect on the lesser lights.

“We are seeing a flight to quality whereby the largest clubs perform well but for smaller clubs the challenges are greater,” he added.

“But this fear of polarisation is eased by the distribution mechanism of Premier League broadcast monies.”