With the start of the World League of American Football
season less than three weeks away, two teams "with high hopes"
for success are the London Monarchs and the Scottish Claymores.
Both have signed a two-year sponsorship deal with Anheuser-Busch
for a total of 500,000 British Pounds (about $800,000). Although
the six new teams will be made up mostly of U.S. players, the
European teams "realize the value of home-grown talent in
pleasing local crowds." The Claymores have signed seven Scots.
Through Fox Sports, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is a partner with
the NFL in the World League venture, and Murdoch's Sky Sports
"plans to broadcast seven hours of live and recorded action from
Monarchs and Claymores games in Europe each weekend." The
Monarchs have hired McCann-Erickson to raise fan awareness with a
promotional campaign. While the "rivalry may not come close to
rugby's Calcutta Cup clashes between England and Scotland," the
Claymores and Monarchs play in Edinburgh on May 7 (Stephen
McGookin, FINANCIAL TIMES, 3/18-19 issue).
