By Trevor Huggins
LONDON, Feb 9 - Liverpool have become the latest
Premier League club to come under foreign ownership, but the
billions of pounds washing around the English game make it
highly unlikely they will be the last.
Almost a third of England's elite clubs are now in foreign
hands, with Liverpool following in the footsteps of Chelsea,
Manchester United, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, West Ham United and
Fulham.
Financial experts predict Manchester City, Newcastle United
and Tottenham Hotspur could be among the next clubs to come
under foreign ownership as investors with almost unlimited
reserves seek to expand their spheres of influence and boost
their fortunes at the same time.
The money men, who may not even follow the game and know
nothing of the rich history and heritage of the clubs they are
buying, are far more concerned with future profits than past
glories.
They know that the new 2.7 billion pound ($5.31 billion) TV
rights deal covering the three seasons from 2007 to 2010 will
guarantee even more income -- with bigger deals than that
predicted for the years beyond 2010.
Football may already be considered the world's game, but
there is still plenty of room for expansion in Asia and,
possibly, one day, the United States.
The latter will be of particular interest to Liverpool's new
owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, along with fellow Americans
the Glazer family, who own Manchester United, and Randy Lerner,
who bought Aston Villa earlier this season.
All stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries if former
England captain David Beckham succeeds in his goal of putting
football on the U.S. map during his time with LA Galaxy in Major
League Soccer.
A far more reliable revenue stream, though, will roll in
from Asia where the Premier League already has millions of TV
fans and where clubs stand to make untapped fortunes from
merchandising.
A glimpse into the future can be seen in developments at
Chelsea.
The English champions, transformed by the billions of
Russian owner Roman Abramovich, are keen to boost their profile
with an economic giant such as China, while a five-year
sponsorship deal with South Korean electronics company Samsung
is already underway.
When chief executive Peter Kenyon said recently Chelsea
aimed at being the biggest club in the world by 2014 he wasn't
talking so much about their on-field achievements. He was
referring more to the bottom line on the year-end accounting
report.
TICKET ISSUE
Selling replica shirts in Asia is one thing: making sure
stadiums are full in England so TV can continue to sell the idea
of the Premier League as "an event" is another.
Tickets of course are another key source of revenue, but
they are costing more and more money. The last thing the clubs,
or the TV companies want, is televised matches from half-empty
stadiums.
It is important for the marketing of the Premier League
"package" that fans go to games -- but many are becoming more
and more concerned by ticket prices than what passport the man
who owns their club holds.
Gillett, who with Hicks is planning to put 215 million
pounds towards a new stadium at nearby Stanley Park, was quoted
as saying on Tuesday: "Costs will go up, and if costs go up,
then we have to reflect that with things like the value of
tickets."
But he added: "We may want to introduce a new structure of
pricing to ensure there are enough seats that are affordable and
available for fans."
The Sun newspaper has launched a campaign for affordable
tickets, with a Web site petition (www.thesun.co.uk) that reads:
"I hereby declare I am fed up paying too high a price for my
loyalty."
In a Sun column this week, former England striker Jimmy
Greaves warned: "It costs the average family more than 100
pounds to go to see a match. For too long football has relied on
the loyalty of its supporters -- or should I say exploited that
loyalty."
It is a key issue that owners must address.
WHO'S NEXT?
With Villa, West Ham and Liverpool all being snapped up in
the last six months or so, the inevitable question is who will
be next?
Speculation has focused on Manchester City, Newcastle United
and Spurs -- three of the biggest clubs in England with
glittering histories all boasting European and domestic honours
-- but with very few trophies between them in the last 25 years.
What they all offer now though, is potentially big future
profits.
Arsenal, with their impressive new 60,000-seater stadium and
regular Champions League appearances, have much in their favour
but are privately owned with the key shareholders not showing
the slightest interest in selling.
Bolton Wanderers, like Newcastle and Spurs, have the appeal
of a club in the UEFA Cup zone who could seriously bid for the
Champions League if a flood of money came in, while Newcastle
were courted as recently as last month.
There is only real certainty among all these possibilities.
Football has long been the jewel in England's sporting crown --
now it's up for sale.