There's just one thing in the world which leads Gautham Srinivas, a prim and proper corporate lawyer, to “misbehave within the realms of acceptability”: Manchester United.

The 32-year-old is a regular at the football club's very own resto-bar in Bangalore. Each time his favourite team takes the field, Srinivas, like a school boy, insists on taking table number 23.

“I just have to cheer the team standing on the chair around table 23… Once I almost broke the chair while dancing on it,” says Srinivas, who has been a Man-U admirer for over 20 years now.

“As a child I used to crave for the team jersey which I could not afford back then,” says Srinivas. Today, he is the proud owner of home jerseys from the last seven seasons, apart from monkey caps, key-chains and jackets. The lawyer, who turned father just last week, has also bought Man U-branded feeding bottles and bed sheets for his daughter!

“I have spent nearly Rs 3-4 lakh on Man U collectibles,” Srinivas confesses.

He isn't alone. Soccer-dad Balasubramaniam recently bought a Playstation console for his 15-year-old son Abhishek, a diehard Arsenal fan, to play football games on. The PSP, when not in use, sits merrily with Abhishek's huge collection of Arsenal merchandise comprising home jerseys, away jerseys, calendars and trinkets such as key chains, mugs and more.

Football is clearly kicking up a lot of buzz among young people who passionately cling to particular clubs for various reasons. For instance, Srinivas likes Man U for its history of loyalty (Sir Alex Ferguson has been the team's manager for more than 25 years), while Abhishek swears by Arsenal for its slick passing and attacking playing style.

Growing craze

Says Sayeed Sanadi of Tiger Sports Marketing, which managed the recent game between Germany's Bayern Munch and India in New Delhi: “The craze for football is ever growing in India with several youngsters taking to the sport, even if they do not play but just to support their respective teams and clubs.”

The coveted club events English Premier League, Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga enjoy high television viewership in India, especially among the youth who know their teams and players inside out. Their fan following on Facebook is enormous.

As the loyalty factor swells and more people take to the game, marketers want to make the most of it. From setting up thematic restaurants and cafés to selling merchandise and organising coaching camps, European football clubs and retailers are keen on a piece of the pie.

Says Saloni Nangia, President, Technopak Advisors: “World Cup cricket and T-20 merchandise have done well in India. This shows there is a market waiting to be tapped for branded sport merchandise in the country. Football today is seen as a ‘cool' game among 8-12-year-olds. As the game becomes more popular in the country, there will be a bigger business opportunity like there is in football-friendly countries such as Brazil and nations in Europe.”

The passion of fans is such that they do not mind paying a few thousand rupees to own their favourite team's jersey or ball, says Esha Alka Surin, Trainer, SportXS, a chain of destination sport stores which retails a range of football merchandise including apparel, water bottles, mufflers and backpacks.

While the cost of the half-arm team jersey is around Rs 3,000, the football costs Rs 1,800.

Says Surin: “The Jabulani ball from Adidas was a big hit during the World Cup last year, even though it was priced Rs 5,000. 2009 was the year of Messi and jerseys with his name printed on them were the rage then. It is not just for the boys. Girls go crazy over backpacks.”

Online retailer Myntra sells 20-25 jerseys a day during the off-season. This swells to 150-200 during EPL, with a lot of buying from cities such as Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai.

Sportswear retailers such as Nike and Adidas sell a range of both performance products such as footwear and replica jerseys and accessories such as socks and shin guards.

According to a spokesperson from Nike, which is associated with a number of international football clubs such as Manchester United, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Juventus: “We are highly encouraged by the awareness and popularity of the game among young consumers which has resulted in robust sales of football merchandise. We have long-term plans for football in the country.”

Nike, the official apparel sponsor of the Indian football team, designed a special jersey with a commemorative badge for the Indian team for athlete Bhaichung Bhutia's farewell match against Bayern Munich last week. It also created a special video for Bhutia on its football Facebook page saluting the hero.

Recently, Manchester United tied up with Future group-owned Indus League Clothing to set up Manchester United stores in Mumbai and Kolkata to market merchandise comprising apparel, memorabilia and accessories.

“We plan to open six Manchester United merchandise standalone stores this year,” says Rachna Aggarwal, CEO, Indus League. The merchandise is also available through store-in-store formats in select, Future-group -owned Pantaloons, Central and Planet Sports outlets. The retailer is targeting Rs 50-crore sales in three years.

Indus League has announced a consumer contest – four winners will be given a chance to watch the Man U versus Liverpool match live at Old Trafford on February 11.

Food FUELS interest

Thematic cafés and restaurants are also springing up across the country.

Says Avinandan Banerjee, Operating Partner of Sports Connoisseurs, a franchise partner for Manchester United's diner-cum-bar in Bangalore: “The thematic restaurant, replete with a dug-out area, sky box and a players' tunnel, was set up by Man U to offer a direct touch-point for consumers to relate to the club.”

The 12,000 sq. ft. restaurant in Bangalore is the world's largest Manchester United restaurant. Apart from serving finger food, pasta, pizza and drinks, the restaurant also dishes out various memorabilia and merchandise.

“We usually have 200-300 visitors each day. On Man U match days, it goes up to 400-500,” says Banerjee. New Year's Eve saw the place brim with over 750 people.

Manchester United is considered the most popular premier league club in the world. In India alone, it has an estimated fan base of 20 million. Interestingly, the club's fan base does not have a male skew, says Banerjee, who has hired a woman to head the restaurant's marketing. “Her passion for the game and the club was phenomenal. We just had to hire her.”

Manchester United cafes are also present in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa in association with the Mumbai-based Mirah group. The football club is eyeing Kolkata, Mysore, Manipal, Chennai, Chandigarh and Kochi.

The Liverpool club is also planning to set up cafés and lounges across the country.

Catching 'em young

Football is no doubt a popular game in schools as it requires very little infrastructure and equipment. Marketers are keen to fuel the interest with grassroots programmes.

Nike organises the Manchester United Premier Cup, an under-15 tournament across the world, including India. Liverpool football club has tied up with the Noida-based Carnoustic Group to open Liverpool football academies, headed by former player Steve McMahon, across the country.

Inter Milan has announced an under-15 talent hunt programme across 15 cities in India. A zonal tournament will be held in partnership with Tata Tea in Shillong in April this year.

“Those following football is still small compared to cricket. But the game is growing rapidly in popularity,” says Alok Agrawal, COO, Cheil, the marketing agency of Samsung, Chelsea's lead sponsor. Chelsea plans to organise coaching camps in the top cities in the country for school students. The club is also looking to expand its merchandise range in India beyond jerseys.

But for football clubs to achieve the kind of marketing success cricket has, discussions have to move beyond Arsenal versus Man U debates in school cafeterias, coffee mugs and other paraphernalia.

“Though clubs are well-etched in the minds of youngsters today, football is still not a strong brand like cricket,” says Raghu Vishwanath of Vertebrand Management Consulting.

“The system and socio-economic conditions have not done enough to establish the sport in the country. We do not even have enough spaces to play football. We need to get the crowds into the stadium. It is too expensive a proposition to be funded by private players alone. Private-public partnership is required.”

Can the stakeholders score a goal?

comment COMMENT NOW