70. Sponsor a team

70

SPONSOR A TEAM

This could be a risky strategy, because the ardent fans of your team’s greatest rivals will refuse to give you their business, but on the other hand you have the loyal support of your own.

There are different levels of sponsorship, and different sizes of team. Some get regular TV coverage and others are likely to get 100 supporters to watch a home game. Choose one to match your aims and your budget in a sport that really interests you so you can enjoy supporting them. For local businesses it’s a great brand idea.

The idea At the risk of offending the rest of the English football league, let’s consider Arsenal, known to its lifelong supporters as “The Arsenal”, originally named after the Woolwich Arsenal in south London where they started playing. They crossed the river in 1913 and even had a London Underground station named after the team.

In 2006 Arsenal left their old stadium for the new one, the Emirates; everyone going in and out of King’s Cross railway station can see the stadium with its huge red logo on the side. Emirates and Arsenal might not seem like an obvious pairing at fi rst, unless you consider the number of holidays that premiership footballers take in Dubai.

Perhaps the most noticeable part of the Emirates’ sponsorship – at least for non-football fans – is the stadium itself. Traditionally,

football grounds were named after their location, like Trafford Park or Stamford Bridge. My own team played at Ayresome Park for decades then when they moved to the new modern stadium by the River Tees old docks, they named it the Riverside. Naming the whole ground after a sponsor is a recent development.

In practice • Choose a team that operates in your geographical area, whether that’s just along your street, throughout the country or internationally. • Talk to the team about your options. Is there something they need that you can support, and perhaps get press coverage for doing so? • Take full advantage. Mention your sponsorship on your own materials, include space in the match programmes for your advertising, exchange links on your websites.