How does football catch the attention of so many multibillion-dollar middle east owners? I am sure that a billionaire has everything that they dreamed of in life, from private planes to mansions and supercars, but they do not have one thing and that is recognition. Money may be able to buy a lot of materialistic things but money in itself cannot buy you worldwide recognition. It is what you do with your money that does that. The purchase of a football club offers the opportunity to open the sports world and all its fans into recognizing your name. A billionaire's name gets worldwide recognition by being simultaneously intertwined with the club, from the players who play there to the clubs’ success and failures.
In terms of Middle Eastern investors, it is a bit more complex than looking for notoriety. Like it or not, the world of sports and more specifically the world of football is intertwined with politics because it holds a global audience. Inside that global audience are a very strong viewership and fan support from the middle east. Meaning that football and its top clubs are widely recognized in that region of the world. Any billionaire that wants to gain political advantage, public recognition, or even to hide their bad press, will look to get involved in football. As a sport, football is no longer just an entertainment industry but behind the scenes, there is a lot of big money moved around and geopolitics going on.
I like how you addressed the concept of attention throughout this blog. I have always viewed the intentions of middle eastern investors as malicious; to do exactly what you mean when you wrote "hide their bad press." But, I usually do not consider the fact that they are looking to draw international attention from the media--most of the time, I just assume that a billionaire has that. To step their clout up a layer would be to make an investment that would attract international attention, and this is exactly what the end result would look like by acquiring a club.
ReplyDeleteHi! I really enjoyed reading this blog post. After reading it I was wondering if billionaires are just investing in football or if they are investing in other sports as well? Is it just Middle Eastern's in general that are investing in football or are there other countries that are just as heavily into investing? I find it interesting they would invest in football clubs and not other business companies that would be able to give them a higher return on their investment.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting blog post that addresses the always present relationship between sports and politics nowadays. I specifically enjoyed the point you made on how this relationship will always be there because there is a global audience. It creates an interesting mix as sports first originated to escape from the political situations at the moment and enjoy the entertainment in front of one's eyes, and now those are intertwined as a result of globalization. The owners buying football clubs always have another incentive than wanting to support the club when they do so. This post has placed the thought in my mind to think of who these owners really are and what they stand for, as they could be making these investments to clear their image.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was very interesting. With the oil business, bad press happens a lot and it can be damaging towards their business and their upper council. Owning a team can be beneficial for their image and have new followers from their own fanbase. Media outlets is another way to get involved to create revenue from those streams. Soccer in the middle east is getting very popular with the EPL and La Liga. Overall, I see why these billionaires are going into soccer.
ReplyDeleteWith all things that is well exposed to the public eye, politics is often intertwined with anything that the media covers. Sports is no different, especially football. With millions of life long fans and viewers following football and the clubs associated with it, it is easy to convey your political views. However, hopefully in most cases it is utilized in a good manner, rather than just to gain more power. Political ties can often be detrimental for these club owners, for example in Roman Abramovich's case with Chelsea, since he has ties with the Russian government he is stepping down in his role as the major clubs owner.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic that I didn't know the answer to, but your post makes a ton of sense to me now. The big fish in the Middle East will look to become more popular, create a better narrative around themselves and they will do this by becoming involved in the Soccer world, because it is very popular in that section of the world. They have the means to do so, so it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see why these middle eastern investors want to come into ownership in football. Their funds seem to be able to do some good in the league. Hopefully the owners and leagues can set aside politics and do whatever is best for the teams. The owners seem to sometimes get involved for fame and power. If the owners do have corruption and other issues, they should not be able to own a team.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was one of the more interesting articles out of all the blogs. This article surely displays the current trend in middle east investment that is going on in football right now. I totally agree that Middle East investors are looking to buy football clubs for fame and wider recognition in the world also to give them a new image to the public.
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