SBD Global's Year In Review takes a look at some hits and misses from the past year.
HIT: Leicester City became the darling of the EPL after overcoming 5,000-1 odds to win the league title for the first time in club history. On the heels of its victory, Leicester was expected to pocket between £150M-£300M including a boost of at least £30M for the season. Fans flocked to the merchandise stores to show their team pride. A mere three days after clinching the title, Leicester’s official kit sponsor, Puma, released replica shirts bearing a gold badge denoting champion status. They sold out in minutes. Puma CEO Björn Gulden said, “The fans love such stories -- the underdog coming from behind and pulling off something unlikely. The demand for jerseys has risen by fifteen-fold.”
MISS: European football managers and players came under fire with the release of “Football Leaks” in December. The website leaked documents obtained via a cyber-attack detailing personal finance records including possible tax evasion. The documents allege that high-profile individuals such as Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo and ManU Manager José Mourinho stashed image rights earnings in tax havens. After the leaks were made public, a Spanish judge sought a gag order on 12 European media outlets that reported these documents because they could constitute an offense against the right to privacy.
HIT: The NFL has continued to expand its global reach with plans to venture into the Asian market by ’18. The league staged its annual games in London for the 10th consecutive season and scheduled an additional four for ’17. The bigger global splash came with the first NFL game staged in Mexico City since ’05 when the Oakland Raiders faced the Houston Texans in November. About that contest, NFL Exec VP/Int’l Mark Waller said, “My goal would be similar to the U.K., where we’re able to go back at least once a year and create our piece of the Mexico City sporting calendar.” It was announced in July that the first visit to Asia could come in ’18, with a game in China between the San Francisco 49ers and the L.A. Rams a possibility.
MISS: State-sponsored doping in Russia became headline news at the 2016 Rio Games as the IAAF upheld its ban on Russian athletes. This decision followed months of investigations and led to Russia becoming the first country in sporting history to have athletes banned from an Olympics. Applications by 68 Russian athletes for eligibility were assessed and all but one were fully rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In December, Richard McLaren released additional information surrounding the unprecedented operation to manipulate or conceal positive doping tests. Following the report, another hammer fell when the 2017 Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships were relocated from Sochi to Königssee, Germany, as a result of the scandal.
HIT: Fan frenzy was rampant at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in August. TV networks around the world cashed in on the quadrennial spectacle. U.S. broadcaster NBC sold more than $1.2B in advertisements, representing a greater than 20% increase on revenues from the 2012 London Games. French broadcasters Canal+ and France Télévisions grossed €28.7M from 160 advertisers. German broadcaster ARD’s advertisers benefited as the network exceeded 8 million viewers for its broadcast of the Games’ penultimate day, which featured the Gold Medal men’s football game. Fan impressions were made online, as well. The BBC touted 102.3 million unique global browser sessions for its coverage of the Games. Merchandise sales were another reason for pride. The organizing committee reported revenue eclipsed $15.5M, 11% above the final pre-Games projections, as the average customer spent $118.
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| Among the Rio 2016 issues was the diving pool turning green due to a lack of chemicals. |
MISS: Despite the boon in revenue for South America’s first Olympics, there were still some bumps in the road. The first half of ’16 was marred with controversy and concern regarding the safety of athletes and spectators. Several would-be participants including Rory McIlroy and NBA Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry withdrew due to the threat of the Zika virus. Additionally, there was concern over the levels of pollution in Guanabara Bay where several events were scheduled. The run-up to the Games included several rounds of water testing and cleaning the bay of sewage and trash. Security was also a point of contention. Australia Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller was upset with what she perceived as a lack of response to requests for heightened security. Chiller said, “It is disappointing because every day that we don’t get a response means one less day that what we asked for can be in place.” She proved prophetic when angry fans were kept waiting for hours at security checkpoints while attempting to enter venues as shootings and bomb scares kept many on edge. Organizers blamed a lack of coordination among security personnel for the hiccups.
HIT: The 45th Copa América, titled Copa América Centenario, pitted CONMEBOL and CONCACAF nations against each other on U.S. soil. The three-week event began on June 3 and set attendance records as the 16-nation tournament drew more than 1.3 million fans, breaking the previous mark of 1.1 million set in ’79. Average attendance exceeded 40,000, double that of the attendance figures in Chile for the ’15 edition. Corporate sponsors were quick to benefit from the overwhelming interest, with deals between companies such as SUM and WME-IMG guaranteeing the federations roughly $20M. The attendance figures and interest generated through media led CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani to comment, “I think soccer is no longer the sport that can be, it’s the sport that is. It’s obviously here to stay.”
MISS: Tragedy struck Brasileiro side Chapecoense on Nov. 28 as a chartered plane carrying team personnel and media crashed in the Colombian mountains on its way to the club’s Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional. The crash left 71 dead, including all but three of the team members aboard. Following the crash, an investigation determined that the plane should not have passed a preliminary test to allow it to fly the 2,265km from Bolivia. A surviving flight attendant told investigators that the plane ran out of fuel prior to the crash. In light of these findings, Bolivian authorities arrested La Mia Airlines CEO Gustavo Vargas.
HIT: Euro 2016 took the footballing world by storm during the summer. The int’l European showcase expanded to a 24-team format this year and Tournament Dir Martin Kallen deemed the expansion a success that will boost football in some of the continent’s smaller nations. In part due to the expanded field, revenue for the event increased by 34% from the previous tournament in ’12. The €1.93B haul consisted of earnings totaling €1.05B from TV rights, €480M from sponsorship and licensing and €400M from ticketing and hospitality. The net income came to €830M. The attention garnered by the spectacle was far-reaching on TV and through social media where Euro 2016 was mentioned nearly 31 million times. UEFA revealed in December that 2 billion people watched the final between France and Portugal while the total live audience spanning all 51 games was almost 5 billion.
MISS: The FA launched an internal review to examine allegations of sexual abuse of children at professional clubs following an accusation by League Two side Crewe Alexandra player Andy Woodward, who claimed he was molested by talent scout Barry Bennell. Subsequently, dozens more came forward alleging abuse by coaches throughout the U.K. A helpline set up by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children received 860 calls in its first week. The totality of circumstances led FA Chair Greg Clarke to call the scandal one of the biggest crises in FA history. To date, the National Police Chiefs’ Council has identified 155 suspects and up to 429 victims, with 148 clubs involved.
