Marketing, Communication and Management

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will not only be remembered for the coronavirus pandemic. They have also been the most expensive in history, the ones with the lowest audience, and the ones that have increased the rejection of new cities to host them. Although what was new were the arduous negotiations to postpone or cancel them, which have continued to develop until the last minute. A whole lesson for Sports Governance has given more relevance, if possible, to the profiles needed among experts in the decision-making.

The Thai kings gave their enemies white elephants to lead them to financial ruin, an expensive animal to maintain. An animal that also did not produce anything. This is where the expression we apply today to sports facilities comes from, venues that become obsolete after a high initial investment. Or, in the best of cases, to have a deficient level of activity.

Different sales and marketing strategies to engage fans and consolidate fans into “super fans” have appeared throughout history and only very recently have changed radically in format by going digital, but not in essence.

The revenue from broadcasting rights of European football clubs has continued to decline. And they continue to decline since millennials are now grown up fans. That generation and those that follow it no longer sit in front of the television. They demand content through their platforms and channels of choice and emphasise the relationship between players and influencers. Thus, we see the recent example of the Spanish twitcher Ibai Llanos, who visited Leo Messi, while the player refused to speak on traditional television sports programs.

The increasing salaries of athletes and a short sporting career have made sports players think more about where to invest their money while competing. By investing early in their careers they can lay the foundation for their future interests. Investing in tech or brands is much more exciting than buying second homes, cars or art for a rising number of players.

Since the pandemic started, sport has been through unprecedented changes. With fans banned from stadiums, sports clubs have flocked to social media to engage with their supporters. Teams received their support on screen, not in person. Fans missed the atmosphere and excitement of being in the pitch and social media played an ever-increasing role to keep fans engaged.

The vast majority of studies highlight that the 2020s will start the consolidation of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) estimates that, in 2030, the global turnover will increase by $1.5 billion and 23 million jobs, from the current 820.000, will be created.

For companies, innovation is the key to making clients enthusiastic, staying ahead of the competition, and offering new products or services. Today, it is the main and decisive factor in any success story. Companies know pretty well that they cannot put all the eggs in one basket or count on just one source of income. Because of this, they try to anticipate the future and its problems—a fight against obsolescence indeed.

Tottenham Hotspur FC has taken pioneering decisions and incorporating technology ahead of other football clubs for years. As an example, a press release that went almost unnoticed in 2018, and that today would have great prominence: is its sponsorship agreement with eToro. As other premier league teams nowadays, it accepted payment in bitcoins. That year, this cryptocurrency was just an interesting stock market value for specialized investors. Today, despite its ups and downs, it is a universally recognized asset.

We have seen an increasing trend of athletes becoming investors or entrepreneurs. They realise their sporting careers are short and want to plan ahead for their retirement. But what makes some athletes good investors? What do they have in common?