Football as a Growing Business, an in-depth Investigation into Sponsorship and Marketing

Business in football has now become an important aspect of the game with many well-known clubs being taken over by investors and transformed into complex organisations. Football has become one of the most attractive sports in the world for investors looking to make ever increasing profits. This is in turn has increased the level of sponsorship in the game. Sponsorship in football has proved to be extremely beneficial for clubs of all sizes providing much needed investment. It has led to increased revenue for the improvement of facilities, provided clubs with the ability to sign new players and increased publicity for being associated with a big-name brand. Companies can also benefit from sponsoring a team as they can increase their brand awareness on a large scale and form a positive brand identity. The effectiveness of sponsorship was carried out through secondary research and a survey was conducted amongst fans of Bohemians FC to understand the impact it has on them. As well as this an interview was conducted with Dublin Bus who sponsor an Irish team to see how they benefit from this partnership. Exploiting marketing opportunities in football is also extremely important for clubs of all sizes. The right marketing opportunities can help a smaller team raise awareness and attract new fans which in turn will increase gate receipts and will lead to the purchase of more club merchandise. The right marketing opportunities can be beneficial for world-renowned clubs who are looking to grow their fan base in new regions. This was investigated using secondary research and an interview was held with the marketing department of the FAI to understand their thoughts on the ever-growing importance of marketing in football. The dissertation extensively analysed the role of sponsorship and marketing in football primarily using the league of Ireland and the premier league while answering two research questions; “what is the effectiveness of sponsorship in football?” and “how important is it to exploit marketing opportunities in modern football?”. The dissertation concluded that sponsorship and marketing are extremely important in football and that it is vital for clubs of all sizes to exploit marketing opportunities to enable the growth and success of their club