The Changing Landscape of Football Partnerships in Finance – FX industry view
Trending in 2015 was the theme of football partnerships in Finance, with a number of well-known forex brokerages jumping on the partnership band wagon, and forming official association with international level football clubs. Depending on the level of commitment and contract terms, the number of club rights that each broker can use varies, as well […]
Trending in 2015 was the theme of football partnerships in Finance, with a number of well-known forex brokerages jumping on the partnership band wagon, and forming official association with international level football clubs. Depending on the level of commitment and contract terms, the number of club rights that each broker can use varies, as well as the extent to which images, artwork and branding of the football club can be utilized.
What is common however between all brokers, is the intention to establish an emotional link with football fans who are often likened to forex traders. This has resulted in the launch of a variety of innovative campaigns by forex firms, who are all faced with the challenge of competing with each other to activate their contracted rights with leading football teams from the Spanish Liga, the English Premiership and the Italian Serie A.
The twist in the tale of this love affair between forex and football came on 1 December with the leaked announcement that China Media Capital (CMC) will invest $400 million for a 13% stake in City Football Group – the owners of Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Japan’s Yokohama Marinos.
An investment of this level is likely to alter the landscape of football partnerships. Such a move will present a new challenge to the existing official forex partner of MCFC, to approach the partnership with fresh eyes.
The industry will be watching this broker to see if and how it will utilize the partnership-by-association with the Chinese media moguls.
This announcement will herald the approach of deeper partnerships between brokerages and football clubs, transcending the boundaries of contracted rights and privileges. The industry is watching a new strategy unfold whereby meaningful and lasting relationships will evolve as a means of gaining access to broader arenas not limited to football fans, and partners will use each other as a leveraging tool to launch into new markets. The metaphorical door into China may have been widened for this MCFC forex partner – time will tell.
