SPORT

GREED SCORES OWN GOAL

NOLAN RISE Reports on the marketing of our favourite game

It was revealed last week that Newcastle United is paying people Ł30 a day plus bonuses to collect signatures for a petition pro its plans to build a new stadium in Newcastle's only major public park.

This represents the ultimate insult to the communal tradition of football. The community that spawned the team, the people of the entire city, will lose something which enhances their quality of life and are being encouraged to participate in this process with monetary bribes.
Still, this should come as no major surprise to anyone who has followed the path of the Club over the last few years. Last week they floated on the Stock Exchange, with owner Sir John Hall rumoured by the media to gain a potential Ł100 million from an initial Ł2 million investment in the club. They are the club responsible for paying the highest transfer fee in history, afforded through an aggressive campaign of merchandising, commercial sponsorship and `season ticket only` ticketing.
Exploited to its utmost through a number of marketing schemes, season tickets are available in a number of 'packages' such as the 'Platinum Club' where for Ł3,000 a year you gain a seat, club membership and the right to continue buying this package every year for the next 98 years. Or its corporate packages, where a London banker can be entertained at an average cost of Ł2,100 per season.
The days of fans from two football teams coming together to watch the mutual struggles of their heroes on the football field are almost over, with only 1,850 away team tickets available for each game in a stadium with a capacity of over 36,000.

Sir John's domination of Newcastle United reflects the new commercialisation of football. With the sport based on profit, the communities who created these great teams are no longer important. Today all that matters in football is money. The game has been hijacked by the media, the marketing maestros and the demands of the Stock Market. It has been turned into a global business where image and profits are more important than spirit and sportsmanship.
The three teams at the top of the Premiership, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, earned their status in the original Football League through a consistency and quality which owed nothing to the wealth that now exists in the Premier League. What the legendary managers of these teams - Bill Shankley, Bob Paisley, Sir Matt Busby and Herbert Chapman - had in common was a belief in a team being greater than the sum of its parts. The teams represented a community and were an expression of communal unity. Football was the working class game and its finest teams emerged from strong working class communities.
"Football isn't a matter of life or death, it's much more important than that", proclaimed Bill Shankley. A similar message is sung by none other than Coca Cola in their slogan "Eat football, sleep football, drink Coca Cola". The difference is that the nearest the marketing men who dreamed up this catchphrase have come to a football game is probably on BSkyB. The corporate football game is here!

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