I have always been a big fan of sports marketing. One of the things that has always caught my attention is the American sports system and how they turn everything into an attractive spectacle for the public, besides always finding a profitable economic advantage to each of these things they do.
For example, one of the things that I have always enjoyed in American sports is that in each of its professional leagues every year religiously celebrate an All-Stars Game. They turn this into an event that is expected year after year by fans and players.
This made me wonder if this type of event, which has generated such good results in the United States, could be established in European football of the first level. And thinking about this came to mind a proposal made Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United striker, last year in which he proposed to create an All-Star Game in the Premier League.
Based on Lukaku's proposal, I set out to draw up a plan to create a Premier League All-Star Game. And I take the Premier as an example because it is really the only football league in the world that could perform this event well and decently. The truth is that the Premier League takes light years of advantage to the rest of the European leagues regarding the subject of marketing; As a product, nobody sells better than the Premier League. Salaries, equipment, stadiums, marketing, television, entertainment; everything is just perfect in English football. And thanks to know how to exploit that niche is that they have become the most powerful and important league on the planet, well above the others in an economic sense.
To start building this imaginative All-Star Game, let's start with the organizational. Ideally, this special game will be held mid-season, a weekend for all England to stop to see their idols in this brand new initiative. It could be played on the third or fourth weekend of the month of January; a date in which all the madness of Boxing Day and New Year has already passed, but which is still far from the final and decisive dates of the championship so that there may still be a relaxed atmosphere among the players.
With regard to the place where this game would be held, Wembley sounds like the clearest and most logical option, although you could also opt for a rotating venue format as in the United States, where each year you will play in a different stadium of the Premier League . There is also a third option that would be the paradise of sports marketing, which is to take this All-Star Game to some country in Asia or Africa, where English football dominates with an iron hand over the other countries and where the league and the clubs would have an insurmountable economic benefit. However, the long trip to those latitudes of the world, in addition to the dangers that it can pose to send their star players could dissuade clubs from this idea.
Obviously, in order to play an All-Star Game we need two teams of stars. I did not find a better way than splitting the Premier League clubs into two camps that the one recommended by Lukaku: South vs North. As simple as that, the teams of the south of England against the teams of the north of England. Analyzing the last seasons of the Premier League, the number of teams in each region is almost always equal. And if this number is not equivalent, teams from the central zone or Wales (if applicable) may be designated as appropriate to match both sides. This would mean that teams like Leicester City, which is located in the central zone of the Island, could play one season in the South team and the next in the North team, depending on the circumstances.
Taking into account the participating teams in the current season of the Premier League, the distribution would be as follows:
South Team: Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Southampton, Tottenham, Watford, West Ham United.
North Team: Burnley, Cardiff City, Everton, Huddersfield Town, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Having already a date, venue and teams for this All-Star Game, it is time to designate the method that will be used to choose each of the participating players. I think the best method is the one used by the American sport and give the power to the fans. What becomes a popularity contest? Yes, but that makes the fan feel good and in the end they pay the tickets. The ideal would be to propose a fixed formation and thus avoid complications. For example, plan a 4-3-3 formation and let the fans vote online on the Premier League page for a goalkeeper, four defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards; besides choosing a coach.
The elections will be free, they can choose any player from any of the 10 teams that make up the selection. The 11 players who receive the most votes will be the holders in the All-Star Game. Then, the coach chosen by the voters will have the power to choose 6 players of their choice to form the substitute bench. Perhaps they worry that some team dominates the elections and the great majority of the chosen belong to a single team; however he relied on the good judgment of English fans, who over time have proven to be quite consistent when it comes to recognizing the best players, even if they do not belong to their team.
Here I made a team suggestion for this imaginary Premier League All-Star Game.
South Team:
North Team:
This would undoubtedly be a weekend to frame, with all the best players in the best league in the world, in the best stadiums, with a television broadcast worthy of the occasion and a show that only the Premier League can show us. I already imagine Wembley full; television figures in Asia and Africa breaking audience records; to each team with a special uniform, colorful and allegorical to the occasion; to the fans crowding the stores to buy these special uniforms of their idols; Hazard attending Harry Kane; De Bruyne combining perfectly with Pogba; to all the other leagues watching with envy as the Premier League gives chair of how to exploit this new event; I see the coffers of the league, the FA and the English clubs filling up with the Premier League's All-Star Game. Believe me that sooner or later this idea will come true, because the truth is that every day that passes the Premier without holding an All Star Game is easy money that stops entering their pockets of an event that can not fail.
Comments