Manchester United today became the second EPL club to ban tweeting during press conferences.  Sunderland were the first and we could see the start of new code of use for the platform.  The clampdown appears to have come about on the back of TV/radio journalists complaining on the unfair advantage this gives as takes longer for their content to get out.

This media backlash can be seen as Twitter becoming a threat to traditional journalists who have, until now, had little competition.  The platform is used in different ways by different people but has rapidly become a news source for immediate breaking news.

Many of today’s press are on Twitter and a large proportion of stories featured in newspapers and on TV quote people from their Twitter updates.

In the US there is a twitter ban for players from 45mins pre-matches to the end of press commitments in the NFL and certain teams have banned it.  In the UK, Leicester Tigers have been the first to put an outright ban on players and the ECB is under pressure to do the same after recent faus pax by high profile players.

So, after the massive use of Twitter in an unregulated way are we now going to see beaurocracy take over and a move in the opposite direction.  There are still many who feel threatened by the new technology or don’t see its benefits and the recent examples will be used to help give them an excuse.

Where do you see this going?  Does using Twitter break any rules in press conferences?

The alleged match fixing charges against Pakistani cricketers which have been dominating the sporting headlines recently raise two interesting questions. Firstly, will there always be match fixing in sport? Secondly, is sport really any different to any other business?

History would suggest that the answer to the first question is unfortunately a resounding yes. In ancient Greece, Olympians had to take an oath to maintain the integrity of the competition but bribes were still common. Match fixing is probably as old as sport itself.

Getting back to cricket – the English game, which first attracted gamblers as early as the 1660s, is no stranger to match fixing controversy. A decade ago Hanse Cronjé, the then South Africa captain, was charged with match fixing and players from India, Pakistan, Kenya and South Africa have all been banned since 2000.

Our national game, football, has also been tainted by match fixing. Back in 1964, eight players from the FA were jailed for it. More recently, in 1999, a Malaysian based betting group was caught installing a device to disrupt the floodlights at Charlton Athletic’s ground and further investigations revealed that the group had also been responsible for floodlight failure at both West Ham and Crystal Palace. Another footballing scandal involved Matt Le Tissier who “revealed that he once attempted to play a part in a £10,000 betting scam while a player with Southampton”.

Across the channel, French football was shocked by a match fixing scandal in 1993 involving powerhouse club Olympique de Marseille (OM). In the year that OM won the Champions League, the club fixed a match with Valenciennes. The club was subsequently stripped of its French championship. Financial irregularities linked to the club president, Bernard Tapie, were also discovered. As punishment, the club suffered a forced relegation to the second division.

Similarly, Italian football was thrown into turmoil in 2006 when several major teams, including then league champions Juventus in addition to AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina, were all found guilty of match-fixing (the clubs actually influenced the appointment of match referees).

There are also ongoing investigations into match fixing in several other European countries and sports. In August 2010 charges were filed against two men alleged to have attempted to influence at least 10 football matches in Germany and 14 elsewhere in Europe. As I write this, John Higgins, the snooker star, is also maintaining his ‘100 per cent’ innocence into allegations he threw frames.

Arguably the most famous case of match-fixing in sport is the ‘Black Sox’ scandal. In 1919, the Chicago White Sox threw the baseball World Series. Eight members of that team received life bans for deliberately losing to the Cincinnati Reds. The ‘Black Sox’ scandal resulted from players being linked to the Chicago underworld, and set a pattern of established crime syndicates being associated with professional sports match fixing.

All these cases, and this is by no means a comprehensive list, merely demonstrate that sport is a reflection of the human character. Unfortunately that means that traits such as greed, arrogance, self-interest, to name a few, will always be present in sport. The stakes in sport are high and the punishment for breaking rules too light. The incentive to throw matches is always going to be there – and I haven’t even touched upon other sporting crimes such as doping, cheating on the field itself, breaching salary caps and other matters.

Getting back to the second question, sport is therefore no different to any other business (just look at some of the banking scandals on Wall St).  However, the ‘rotten apples’ in sport are definitely in a minority.

Nearly all sports are played, administered and governed properly and in the right spirit. Sport is far from being broken. The growth in popularity of sport on a global scale is living proof of that. The examples of good sportsmanship are just too numerous to mention but one famous one I’d like to leave you with took place in English football in the 1999/2000 season. In a surprising demonstration of fair play from a player previously banned for pushing a referee, the Italian striker Paolo Di Canio caught “the ball rather than shoot when Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard was on the ground injured”.

The Football League launched its free Official Football League Clubs iPhone app at the end of August and is available to download for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

It covers all the teams that are covered by the Football League Interactive deal, which currently stands at 65 of the 72 npower Football League clubs.  So if you follow Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Accrington, Aldershot or Stevenage unfortunately you wont be able to get your clubs updates.

Check on the list of clubs when you have downloaded the app to make sure yours is there.

If you are one of the lucky ones you can get some great features including latest news, fixtures, stats and player profiles.

The app also connects users to their twitter and/or Facebook accounts so it even easier to share comments and views with friends.

“Fans live and breathe football and want to be kept up-to-date wherever they are in the world at a time that suits them,” said Ian Ritchie, Chairman of FLi.

“We designed the Official Football League Clubs’ iPhone app with this in mind, using innovative technology to deliver access to rich and interactive content, tailored to your club.  Now you never need to be out of touch with your team.”

You can upgrade to the premium service (have to make some extra income somehow) by paying £4.99 for the season to access match video highlights 24 hours after the game and incorporates Google Mapping to make sure you don’t get lost on the way to the stadium (useful for away days?).

The Football League partnered up with Threepipe to help spread the message through social media and traditional media outlets to encourage fans of the teams to sign up. 

Looking through Google, it appears to have worked with messages appearing on club websites and fan forums announcing the launch and providing download links.

Sadly if you have a Blackberry, Android or Nokia then you will have to sit by your Apple friends and catch their updates.  Perhaps we will gain an update as to whether any other platforms will be catered for in the coming weeks.

Have you downloaded it?  What are the pro’s and con’s of the service?

By Chris Jessop

The other day, I, like most football fans, was toying with the idea of doing some football coaching. I mean, a player of my calibre will surely be able to offer a pool of knowledge, wisdom and motivation to children all over the country……..ok maybe not, but getting paid to attempt to teach people how to play football would be pretty cool. And then I realised I had no idea where to start, I mean, I know you have to do various levels of coaching badges, but how easy is it to do that? Or even find information about it? I thought the obvious place to start would be The Football Association, better known as The FA.

On the FA website (www.thefa.com) there is a section called ‘Get into football’ and in there you will find a coaching section. There are various sections, including a page full of update’s on how The FA’s coaching schemes are working wonders, but on the subject of becoming a coach, it gives you a list of local FA’s and says to contact them. The Football Association runs courses for aspiring coaches at all levels, the first two of which are offered by County FA’s. So I selected my county, Northampton (www.northamptonshirefa.com/default.htm) and searched their site and under the development page there is a coaching section that shows all available courses from The FA Youth Awards up to the Level 3 badge.

So what is a Level 1 badge? This is the UK’s most popular coaching course for all coaches with little experience or knowledge. The course provides an introduction to the organisation and trains you to be able to deliver safe and enjoyable coaching sessions. The course provides practical drills that aim to develop players’ technical skills such as shooting, turning with the ball and heading. This course is for all intents and purposes an introduction to basic coaching, and is ideally suited to those who want to work with young players and or/teams at a local or amateur level. The price for the course is stated as £110 and is a one day course.

So you have your Level 1 badge, what’s next? As this is only the beginning, the type of jobs you can hope for are limited to local teams, after school classes and basic community projects with local clubs. Gaining more work experience as a coach is essential if you want to progress to the next level and although the website at www.football-jobs.com is really handy and lists various football coaching jobs, the majority want a minimum of Level 2 coaching badges!

Once you have completed your Level 1 or you’re a coach with a few seasons experience, you may want to start your training for Level 2, as it is still an open entry course you can apply through The FA. Although it is recommended that those taking part without a Level 1 qualification do have relevant coaching experience. The course aims to develop an appreciation of the ethical coaching process and on completion you should be able to plan, conduct and evaluate a series of football coaching sessions. As a coach you will be able to ensure the health and safety of players and those involved and be able to develop greater responsibility for their own learning and development. All of this should be done whilst promoting the sport in a positive and constructive manner. There is no price stated on the website and it takes around 6 months to complete.

So what is available to you with a Level 2 coaching badge? This qualification should lead you into careers along the lines of amateur teams, community roles for football clubs etc and for soccer schools. 

On the county site, it said there were currently being changes made to the Level 3 and didn’t offer any information, so I had to search for information and found it via the 1^st4sport qualification site (www.1st4sportqualifications.com) to find out more about it.

Now those courses are pretty straight forward, so the next step is the Level 3, also known as the UEFA ‘B’ Licence. You will need your Level 2 badge and you should also have to complete an Accident and Emergency Course and a Child Protection Course before being able to start your Level 3. Firstly, you will need access to a team that you can coach, and you will be encouraged to discuss the suitability of the team with a coach educator prior to signing up for the course. You will be able to plan and develop your own football coaching programmes, as well as how to manage, implement and conduct those football programmes.

As a coach, you will also learn how to effectively evaluate your activities and develop a plan for your further development as a coach. This qualification will not only form part of a credible CV for employment in the game, but as a UEFA accredited qualification, it will allow you access to a variety of opportunities within the professional game. You can also become a member of FACA (Football Association, Coaches Association, http://facalive.thefa.com )     which provides advice and support for top coaches. The price will vary to where you do the qualification, and it takes around 9-12 to complete. Other Coaching Associations include;  The Association of Football Coaches www.associationoffootballcoaches.com, The Professional Football Coaches Association (PFCA) www.leaguemanagers.com/search-7.html

Now you’re a top qualified coach, what can you do? Experienced professionals can be fast tracked to Level 3, so you should be in good company. In the professional game, coaches are expected to have at least the UEFA ‘B’ Licence, so if you have gained this qualification you should be looking at coaching at a fairly high standard.

Finally, if you have been coaching for a number of years and want to progress into top level coaching and even management then you will need to apply for your UEFA ‘A’ Licence. The best comparison for the ‘A’ licence is that it is the equivalent to getting a degree. Having this qualification makes you very employable to almost any coaching role available. It takes two years to complete and can only be done if you are working with or for a national FA. The course is centred around two parts, which are split into two-week sessions that are based at Lilleshall Football Academy (National Centre) with various other sessions, including distance learning and support sessions. This licence operates a pass or fail basis and it is now mandatory that all league managers hold a ‘UEFA ‘A’ Licence.

The UEFA Pro Licence is the final and highest coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA ‘B’ and ‘A’ Licences.

A UEFA Pro Licence is required by anyone who wishes to manage a football club in the top level of the nation’s league system on a permanent basis (i.e. more than 12 weeks – the amount of time an unqualified caretaker manager is allowed to take control). This applies to both the head coach or team manager, and such a licence is also required to manage in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup.

Each current manager of a top-flight team in Europe was set a deadline of 2010 to acquire the licence, or else face losing his post

I think it is definitely worth going on as many training courses as you can to become as qualified as a coach as possible and seemingly, the FA Level 1,2,3 coaching badges are adequate for you to have a decent go at become a coach. Those that dedicate their career to coaching will be advised to go further and do the ‘A’ Licence. Because, the better you get, and the more experience you gain from these coaching courses, the more likely you are to be spotted as a coach with talent. Another key piece of advice would be to keep up-to-date with current goings on in the world of football (I’m sure I don’t need to tell many football coaches this!) because it is a common ground with a lot of young children who will watch matches, so you will always be informed and who knows, you might see something that can lead to you becoming the next Sir Alex Ferguson!

You can also keep up to date with any new jobs in football by signing up for the job alerts by email, a FREE service from website www.football-jobs.com. As new jobs are posted to the website you get sent an email letting you know there are new jobs for you to look at.

So overall, I found the process of trying to find what coaching badges are available and where to do them, what they consist of, price etc, all very confusing. When it came down to it, you can access most of the information from The FA website, via a number of other different channels, which can prove very arduous. The information is out there and going on any search engine will take you to thousands of coaching sites, it would just be a lot easier if all the information about coaching courses and all existing jobs were available on one site.

About the Author: Chris Jessup is a Sport, Media and Culture Graduate looking for a job in media or Pr in football or sport in general. Find out m ore about him at http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/chris-jessup/23/994/a2a

The recent Tiger Woods crisis showed the world how brands and athletes are tightly linked. While Accenture, Gatorade, AT&T dropped the golfer, other brands such as Gillette and Procter and Gamble, have significantly dimmed down their use of Tiger in advertising campaigns. EA Sports played differently as  Tiger shared his PGA Tour 2011 video game cover for the first time in 13 years. On the other hand, Nike stood by his athlete and aired an interesting, yet controversial advertsing campaign.

Athletes are the icons of sports brands. The Tiger Woods case showed  us that it can be a double edged sword.  I reckon the most famous football marketing icons would be David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane & Lionel Messi  among others for adidas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney & Didier Drogba (among others) for Nike. Eto’o being the Puma icon for some years now. 

It’s not an easy task to link a player to a brand. It is a long way process. Brands have a very well thought scouting system, and know talented young players before they get under mediatic spotlights. Sponsorship deals are being made, with parents agreement, and the kid grows up with the brand throughout his career. For those who saw the U-19 final where France deafeated Spain 2-1, all these youngsters were (already) wearing either adidas, Nike or Puma footwear. Obviously, these brands did not come up yesterday to add these players to their portfolio.

Gael Kakuta, the Chelsea player, Alexandre Lacazette the Olympique Lyonnais striker and Cédric Bakambu are the perfect examples. Three upcoming french stars, the first one wears the Superfly Vapour II, the OL player strikes with the adidas adizero F50 and Bakambu scored 2 goals against The Netherlands with his Pumas.

The “big three” are in constant look for the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Once players are contracted by either one the three (adidas, Nike, Puma) it is difficult for the other two to step in. In other words, I don’t see Nike approaching Xavi nor adidas willing to sign Didier Drogba. Not only the Spaniard and the Ivory Coast player are already strongly “stamped” by their current sponsor but it will be a very costly deal if it gets through. Secondly I would like to think that the sponsors would rather invest in signing new young players with this amount of cash.

Brands link their image (and vice versa) to footballers from a very early age and this is a long term investment which will pay off when these talented players will lift a World Cup or Champions League trophy. In the meantime, they would have encapsulated their sponsors brand image and values. They would have represented the brand throughout their career. For instance, Zidane & Beckham will always be associated with the adidas brand and ultimately with the Predator boot. Recently, we have seen Nike’s effort to market Cristiano Ronaldo with the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II and Rooney with the T90 Laser III.

Happy to hear your thoughts!

Even in the sports industry where results on the field typically speak for themselves, communication is becoming increasingly more important and valuable.

Take Arsenal FC for example. The North London club is adopting a more sophisticated sports marketing model and central to this is a shift to a US-influenced corporate communication policy. The first step towards the new business model began in January 2009 when the club appointed Ivan Gazidis, then deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer in the USA, as its new chief executive. The club’s publicized recent search for a new head of communications, to replace Amanda Docherty after 12 years in the post, is further evidence of the club’s new approach to communication.

Arsenal is seeking an authentic voice which can articulate the brand values that the club represents. On a daily basis, Arsenal FC, like any other business, has to share meaningful and relevant information with customers (fans), sponsors, partners and investors – increasingly on a global scale.

The chosen person for the open head of communications position will have to answer to and work with the great Arsene Wenger who has had a colossal presence and influence at the club since his arrival in 1996. Wenger himself is a great communicator who can converse in six languages, has a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Strasbourg and is somebody who has real confidence in statistical analysis. In other words, Wenger and his coaching staff, who manage the club’s assets on the pitch, also understand the importance of information and communication.

The Gunners were valued by Forbes in 2010 as the 3rd most valuable soccer team in the world after Manchester United and Real Madrid, with an expected value of £837 million ($1.2 billion). The club was ranked 8^th most valuable sporting franchise overall. Arsenal’s shares are still traded on the Plus market, an exchange for smaller companies, meaning that anyone can buy shares.  So anyone could potentially have a vested interest in the regular statements from Avenell Road, Highbury N5.

If the club can successfully embed the new corporate communication policy, it should find it easier to develop and communicate brand values domestically and globally – and that means generating more revenue for the club.

I have been interested over the last few months about sports stars using social media.  There are so many benefits to do it (if done right) though with everything there are dangers involved.

We have seen what can happen with the adventures of Darren Bent and Jozy Altidore for example.  This is more down to a lack of training than anything else.  How can you assume that a player knows what to do and how it works by just letting them go out there and do it?

If you look at the strides that the Ultimate Fighting Championship have made using social media but this has been carefully guided by digital agency Digital Royalty.  They not only set out the strategy but trained all the athletes involved over a good course of time and are there to support anyone having problems or has questions.

This morning I thought I’d talk more specifically about Facebook and how athletes have been utilising it, or not in some cases.

As it becomes more widespread and understood by clubs and players then we should see a shift in behaviour and more interaction taking place.  The strangest arrangement that currently exists is that of English Premier League players who have basically allowed the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) to use their pages.

It is a actually counted as a verified account on Facebook so is seen as official even though the player has no involvement in it at all.  All they do is set them up to aggregate news about the player in question (video, written and photo’s) so that there is activity going on.

The PFA do make it obvious it is run by them so it’s not pretending to be an official page by a player but it still plays on the fans love for their favourite players to make money.

How do they do this?

Well, the main objective is to get fans on the page to vote for the player as their ‘player of the month’ which is an official prize.  To do this you are redirected to the PFA site where you have to enter your details to register and vote. 

This is run by a company called SportsNewMedia.  They then sell on this data to the likes of Virgin Media and Sky, thus monetising fan loyalty to their favourite player without them really knowing about how and why it has been set up.

As Facebook has become more popular, currently over 500m accounts, then so have the fan pages.  In terms of football in the UK, Fernando Torres is by far the most popular and has grown from about 900,000 to 2,366,650 in the last few months.

He is still a long way behind the biggest in the world, that of world football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who has his own official page with 10,096,989 fans when I checked this morning. 

The point behind looking at the numbers, something I try to encourage people to look beyond, is that for a player it is a valuable commodity when you think about their usually closely guarded personal brand.  How much extra income/sponsorship could be negotiated on the back of their brand popularity and access they can give to sponsors and achieve more merchandise sales?

Yes, this still involves making money from fans who love that particular player but if they are personally involved they can give so much better content and personal interaction.  Would like to hear from the player himself or just news about what they are doing/press photos?

To give you an idea of how powerful football brands are here is a list of the top 10 athletes on Facebook as of 10am on Friday 13^th August…..

You can see that basketball, football, tennis, swimming and motorsport are the big winners here though it is interesting to see the Lionel Messi’s and Valentino Rossi’s accounts are both unofficial and set up by fans.

Is it any surprise that the most carefully managed brands in football are the only two in there; Christiona Ronaldo and David Beckham…. I don’t think so.

So where are our beloved players who play in biggest league in the world?

• Fernando Torres              2,366,650
• Steven Gerrard                 1,201,663
• Wayne Rooney                 889,298
• Cesc Fabregas                   752,888
• Didier Drogba                    480,919
• Frank Lampard                  452,587

Is it any surprise that they score so lowly when the players are not involved in them.  It can only surely be a matter of time when they see the value in a social media presence and take back control.  Then it will be worthwhile ‘liking’ them and getting a real inside look to the people off the pitch.

The players do so much charity work that goes unseen, especially Didier Drogba.  He should take a leaf out of Lance Armstrong’s book and use his online presence to promote this work, show what it is that he does and help raise even more money for the causes he campaigns for.

What do you think about athletes being on Facebook and social media in general, in the UK and from other parts of the world?

By Mark Segal

With the World Cup now a thankfully distant memory for England fans, the focus is once again returning to domestic matters where Fabio Capello’s underperforming stars are made to look like world beaters with the help of some imported talent.

Although there is bound to be a hangover from South Africa, the Premier League looks like it could be an exciting close run thing this term with question marks hanging over all the potential title winners.

Here’s a quick rundown of the top contenders:

Chelsea

The reigning double winners have remained remarkably silent in the transfer market this summer with Liverpool forward Yossi Benayoun their only significant signing

Going the other way have been Joe Cole and, perhaps more importantly, Ricardo Carvalho who leaves a big hole in the centre of defence. John Terry will need to be better than last season if the Blues are to retain their trophy.

As ever Chelsea continue to be linked with a number of world class stars, so expect some transfer activity before the end of the month.

That said, Carlo Ancelotti will probably be quite pleased with his squad and believe he has the strength in depth and experience to mount another challenge. It’s just Europe that they still need to conquer.

Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson has also kept his squad in tact and added Chris Smalling (who looks hugely overpriced at £8m) and exciting Mexican Javier Hernandez.

Sunday’s Community Shield victory will have given the Reds a huge boost with Paul Scholes once again proving the star man.

But can United rely on Scholes and Ryan Giggs for yet another season? They need support from the younger legs around them.

Wayne Rooney can again be relied upon for goals and Michael Owen’s return will also help. But Antonio Valencia will need to continue to progress while Dimitar Berbatov must contribute more.

Arsenal

The big summer battle to hold on to Cesc Fabregas has been won, but at what cost? Will the midfielder be fully committed to the cause?

Away from Fabregas, Arsenal’s big problems remain in the centre of defence and in goal where Wenger knows he must bring in a reliable performer – Shay Given or Mark Schwarzer fit the bill perfectly.

The signing of Marouanne Chamakh give the Gunners options up front and that added dimension could be the key to success.

Manchester City

Eastlands is where the biggest story will be this season as Roberto Mancini’s all-star squad either take the league by storm or fail horribly.

At the moment, City’s squad is simply too big for the manager to form a cohesive unit to build a team around. Some serious pruning needs to be done even before the expected arrivals of Mario Balotelli and James Milner.

There’s no doubt City have the individual players to mount a challenge – but a team? Mancini will need to be City’s star man this season if they are to live up to expectations in Abu Dhabi.

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson has made a good start to his Anfield career by first signing Joe Cole and then persuading Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard to both stay.

But lurking in the background is the club’s woeful financial position and the takeover rumours.

Hodgson is experienced enough to keep his players’ minds focused on the pitch but talk of new owners, and possibly even administration, is bound to effect the team.

After last season Liverpool fans will need to be realistic and believe a top four place is the best they can aim for. I’m not even sure they are capable of that.

Tottenham

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is another manager who has been suspiciously quiet this summer.

He has certainly been linked with a number of players – not least West Ham’s Scott Parker – but at the time of writing there are no new faces at White Hart Lane.

Surely this will have to change though if Spurs manage to get past Young Boys and grab a place in the Champions Leaue group stages. Attempting to compete both domestically and in Europe will certainly put a strain on a Spurs squad – many of whom are familiar with the physio’s table.

More cover in central defence will be key for Redknapp with injury-prone pair Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate again injured, while keeper Heurelho Gomes has looked less than convincing during pre-season.

My top six:

1. Manchester United
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea
4. Manchester City
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham

The most popular English Premier League team on Facebook, Liverpool FC, has passed a major milestone in acquiring over 2 million ‘likes’ this weekend just passed.

This is a great achievement for the team, fronted by Community Manager Matt Owen, who has the unenvious job of moderating this huge community as well as almost 100,000 Twitter followers. 

What I think sets them apart at the moment is the open and honest way they have approached social media, have been one of the pioneers in the EPL and offer some really good content.

It is a nice touch as well on the opening tab when you go to their profile is the acknowledgement of the fans and their importance to the club with the opening line “Liverpool might be England’s most successful football club but we’re nothing without our supporters”.   It makes a nice change from just landing on a sales page as you see with quite a few at the moment.

Their closest rivals; Chelsea (1.3m), Arsenal (1.2m) and Manchester United (1.4m) still have a lot of catching up to do.  But Liverpool themselves still have some way to go until they catch the top football clubs on Facebook; Galatasaray (4.1m), Barcelona (3.5m) and Real Madrid (2.8m).

It’s amazing to see that Galatasaray, as well as being the most popular football team on Facebook, is even larger than the most heralded sports organisation on social media, The NBA (3.8m)!  They are certainly worth a blog post in their own right

The English Premier League is the most popular league in the world but there is still a long way to go to tap into their worldwide appeal on social media.  I’m sure United have more than 1.4m fans globally and will ideally want to get in touch with their legions of foreign fans, as will Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Can these clubs become the most popular sports team on Facebook and get close to the Barcelona, Real Madrid and Galatasaray’s of this world?  If so, what do they need to do to get their attention?

Coca-Cola showcased appealling marketing activations to leverage its partnership with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Trophy tour and the Celebrations ad are good examples. With the Coca-Cola celebration award recently given to Tshabalala, the Atlanta firm is capitalizing on the World Cup momentum, by adding a strong CSR component and engaging football fans. Another benchmark of how global football brands display their CSR initiatives by leveraging their products and simulteneously activating their marketing rights in the smartest possible way.

The first goal scored in the 2010 FIFA World Cup by Tshabalala against Mexico was chosen by millions fans worldwide as the most iconic celebration of the World Cup. Siphiwe Tshabalala earned the first ever “Coca-Cola Celebration award”. Coca-Cola engaged football fans to decide on the winner through an online vote. 

For every goal scored at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola donated $1,500 contribution to the Company’s “Water for Schools”. It’s an initiative to provide clean water access to schools across the African continent. With 145 goals scored, $217,500 was raised to fund the project and an additional $50,000 was donated on behalf of Tshabalala bringing the total amount raised to $267,500. By participating in the voting, football fans have had a hand in supporting clean water initiatives that will leave a lasting legacy of water sustainability in Africa and beyond.The “Water for Schools” program is just one part of the $30 million “Replenish Africa Initiative” (RAIN) by Coca-Cola to provide at least 2 million people in Africa with clean water and improved sanitation by 2015.

Emmanuel Seuge, group Director, worldwide sports and entertainment marketing, commented on this initiative: “Fans from around the world have voted for their favorite goal celebrations”. Throughout our 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign, we’ve encouraged them to let go of their inhibitions and celebrate. The Coca-Cola Celebration Award was another way we brought fans closer to the celebration of the FIFA World Cup while also leaving an important legacy for the host continent.” [Source: The Coca-Cola Company.com].

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