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France is showing signs that it could be the next football market that investors target. French football execs believe with the right investors, Ligue 1 can climb the ladder to compete with the Premier League, the world's most valuable league. With a relatively low cost of entry compared to its counterparts in England, Germany and Italy, French football is primed to attract attention from wealthy investors, league bosses said. The French Professional Football League (LFP) recently visited North America to promote itself, stressing the country’s infrastructure and academies as some of the reasons investors should have France on their radar. “Thanks to Euro 2016, we have 16 stadiums with over 30,000 seats, including eight over 40,000 seats,” LFP CEO Didier Quillot said in an interview with SBD Global. He added, “Of the top 10 academies in the world, five are French: Lyon, Rennes, Bordeaux, Paris St. Germain and Toulouse. France is the best player production factory in the world.” Ligue 1 currently ranks fifth in Europe’s “big five” leagues in revenue, behind the EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A, according to Deloitte. However, Quillot believes in his league’s potential. He said, “There is room for progression. There is no reason why, in the next two or three years, the league cannot become number two in Europe.”
THE RIGHT FIT: The LFP’s mission is to find the right investors for its clubs. LFP Sales & Marketing Dir Olivier Jaubert explained how foreign owners at PSG (Qatar-backed Nasser Al-Khelaifi) and Olympique de Marseille (former MLB Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt bought the team in '16) have not only drastically improved their respective club’s books, but brought a level of int'l expertise that the league needs. “They put in place new, strong strategies and completely changed their revenues and commercial revenues," he said. "When we are talking to investors, we want to find investors with sports marketing or sports business expertise and who can bring that to our clubs. We are looking for investors who not only have the money to acquire clubs, but who come with the expertise in marketing -- this is why we are looking at U.S. investors.” He singled out McCourt, an American, as evidence that this strategy can work.
Despite early concerns about an American heading an iconic French club, McCourt has been welcomed in Marseille thanks to his efforts to improve the club on and off the pitch. Quillot: "He came with a plan, and he is deploying his plan. ... To implement new marketing skills, opening the gate with Africa and opening an academy center in Africa. McCourt has understood all of that ... he is demonstrating that some of the best U.S. investors are believing in the capacity of French football to be a profitable business."
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Timing is crucial for investors and the LFP believes the time to get involved is now. "France appears to be the next big thing," Jaubert said. Quillot highlighted a number of int'l events coming to France over the next seven years. "After the World Cup in Russia this summer, most of the big events will take place in France until 2024," he said. "The [2018] Ryder Cup, the Women's World Cup 2019, the European Athletics in 2020, the Rugby World Cup in 2023, and, finally, the Olympic Games in 2024 in Paris. ... This is one more reason to take the country very seriously."
