GENERATIONFOOTBALL FOOTBALL MARKETING IN AUSTRALIA

¡HOLA VILLA! THE A-LEAGUE’S BIGGEST COUP SINCE

ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO.

NQ FURY

Are they a boost or a

blemish on the Hyundai

A-League?

HEROROOS

Why National Team

pride is going to fuel a

golden era of football.

BLAND BRAZIL

Why Nike’s World Cup

kits just don’t feel right

for Rio.

“It is naive to suppose that

football, like any other sport,

has ever existed in a non-

material world.”

Dennis Brailsford

Sport, Time and Society: the British at play

1991

THIS MAY-JUNE MAY-JUNE

PLAYER OF THE

MONTH:

NEYMAR

It is impossible to go past the poster-boy

for the FIFA World Cup this summer, as

Neymar’s marketing value in Brazil can

only best be described as limitless. Seen

as the superstar for the Seleçao, 22-year-

old Neymar also represents the future of

the national team.

Neymar also serves as the poster boy for

Brazilian trend-setting in a truly fashion-

driven national culture. When the

Barcelona prodigy adopted his hairstyle

as seen below, children and football fans

across the nation of 150 million people

were racing to the salons to look like their

national hero.

Unlike Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi,

Neymar is perceived as a proudly

patriotic Brazilian, as he delayed his move

from historical Brazilian side Santos as

long as possible before joining Barcelona.

Along with being patriotic and

fashionably gifted, Neymar is a brilliant

player; leading a 3-0 demolition of Spain

in the 2013 Confederations Cup that built

the young star’s cult status in Brazil.

It is almost certain that if Neymar guides

Brazil to their 6th World Cup title this year,

he will join the likes of Ronaldo and

Romario as a Brazilian legend.

4

6

7 8

9

A VILLA DOWN UNDER The beginning of a new era for football in Australia

REASSESSING NORTH QLD Could they successfully return to the Hyundai A-League?

YES AUSTRALIA, TAKE A BOW The year ahead after a performance of promise

MAY’S BEST & BRIGHTEST Focus on Vitesse, Portugal and Stade St. Louis.

NO CARNIVALE FOR NIKE The Nike “fashion” that won’t work in Brazil

MOCK CREATIVE OF THE MONTH A new Victory home kit to take back Melbourne City 10

NEYMAR

11 BARCELONA

BRAZIL

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST Three La Liga Titles. Three Copa del Reys. Three Supercopa de

Espana. One UEFA Champions League. One World Club Cup. One

Euro Championship as top goal scorer. One World Cup as second top

goal scorer. Spain’s top goal scorer ever.

There’s no doubting it – David Villa is a world class athlete.

Even in the 2014 World Cup where Spain were dismal,

David Villa showed his class in his only match of the

tournament, opening the scoring against Australia with a

sleek back heel (pictured below). Villa’s first half finish

was his 59th goal in his 97th and final appearance for La

Furia Roja, finishing as Spain’s top goal scorer in their

history. While the Spanish media was tearing apart the

national team for their poor performance in Brazil, David

Villa was given a standing ovation when subbed off later

in the match against the Socceroos.

So now the Spanish are out, with 22 of the 23 man squad

heading back to Europe for their 2014-15 seasons, most

of them returning to big clubs like Barcelona, Real

Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich. But

David Villa is heading in a much different direction.

Villa has become the first signing of New York City FC in

the US’s Major League Soccer, ready to begin the season

for the Sky Blues in March 2015. After the announcement

of his transfer to the United States, City were swift to

announce his 10-match guest stint for the rebadged

Melbourne City F.C., previously recognised as league

strugglers Melbourne Heart.

Just over four years ago, David Villa was signed to

Barcelona for €40 million (57.72 million AUD); that’s over

25 times the current Hyundai A-League salary cap of $2.3

million. In those four years, Villa has won the World Cup,

a UEFA Champions League, a FIFA Club World Cup and

three La Liga titles. His last club match was a UEFA

Champions League Grand Final. His next is against

Sydney FC at Allianz Arena in Moore Park, Sydney.

When Sydney FC signed the 37-year-old Alessandro del

Piero, he had scored 3 goals in 23 competitive matches

for Juventus in the 2011-12 season, with many of these

appearances coming off the bench. While capturing del

Piero for the league was a massive coup for football in

Australia, it was recognised by fans that del Piero had

passed the prime of the career. It is that factor of previous

form where Villa outshines del Piero in acquisition value

for the Hyundai A-League.

Last season, 32-year-old David Villa scored 13 goals in 36

games for Athletico Madrid, playing as a supporting

striker to the newest Spanish sharpshooter Diego Costa

(although Costa was heavily criticised for his

performance in the World Cup). Villa was an integral part

of Los Rojiblancos, leading the club to their 10th La Liga

title, runners up in the European Champions League and

a semi-final exit in Copa del Rey. Villa scored important

goals against Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Celta Vigo

throughout the season, as well as some vital lead-up play

leading to the goal against Chelsea in the second leg of

the Champions League semi-final.

Alessandro del Piero and David Villa were both world

class forwards in their prime, and the only thing that

separates the quality of their Hyundai A-League

acquisitions is timing. Del Piero was five years older than

Villa now when he moved to Sydney FC and then

defining a new era of Hyundai A-League football. The

most pessimistic criticism of the del Piero transfer to

Sydney FC criticised his mobility and stamina given his

age. The most biased football fans against the Hyundai A-

League (referred to as ‘eurosnobs’) are not afraid to call

the league a ‘retirement home’ or ‘graveyard’ for

footballers on the wrong end of their career. Yet at 32

years old, no such criticism has risen for David Villa. The

excitement around Villa is fuelled by supporter’s

perceptions that he is still a fit, fast and powerful

marksman that will light up the league.

However, Villa has two key marketing difference with del

Piero; first of which is not belonging to a large diaspora

present across Australia (del Piero being Italian). While

Villa won’t possess the same level of patriotic reverence

from an Italian-sized diaspora, he may bring more casual

followers than ADP courtesy of their universal admiration

of the Spanish national team between 2008 and 2012.

TRANSFER COUP: VILLA

The second factor that differentiates the Spaniard from

the Italian is the length of time spent in the Hyundai A-

League. Whilst fans were assured they would see

Alessandro del Piero at some point during his two

seasons in the Hyundai A-League, David Villa will only

play 10 matches as a guest player for Melbourne City; 7

times in Melbourne, twice in Sydney, once in Brisbane

and once in Wellington, meaning many cities will

completely miss out on hosting the Spanish superstar.

This will ensure that a superstar on Australian shores will

not be taken for granted by the Australian public.

Finally, Villa has a marketable appearance; his facial hair

and hairstyle is common amongst many Australians and

people around the world. Most importantly, he looks like

a Spaniard with flair that the casual followers assume an

ex-Barcelona star would have is reinforced through his

appearance, as characteristics generally attributed to the

Spanish people.

When David Villa steps out against Sydney F.C. at the

Sydney Football Stadium this October, attendance

records and media hype are to be pushed to their very

limits. Expect the explosion of football publicity to be

enormous as the nation’s eyes rest of Melbourne City’s

number 9. Football will never be the same again in

Australia when he arrives in Australia; if his impact on the

field is significant, Australian football will be heading in a

very healthy direction.

DAVID VILLA SIGNS FOR MELBOURNE CITY F.C.

THE NORTH REMEMBERS

NORTH QUEENSLAND FURY

2008 – 2011

Overall Record: 12 Wins, 15 Draws, 30 Losses

Highest Finish: 7th (from 10 teams)

Lowest Finish: 11th (from 11 teams)

Captain: Ufuk Talay

Managers: Ian Ferguson (2009/10) and Franz Straka (2010/11)

Marquee Player: Robbie Fowler

Notable Players: Gareth Edds, David Williams, Osama Malik,

Rostyn Griffiths, Daniel McBreen, Jack Hingert, Shane Steffanuto

Crowd Average 2009/10: 6,723 (Highest – 8,897 vs. Sydney)

Crowd Average 2010/11: 4,257 (Highest – 7,195 vs. GCU)

CAN FURY RETURN TO THE A-LEAGUE? In 2008, Football Federation Australia added two

Queensland teams to the Hyundai A-League; Gold

Coast United and North Queensland Fury. Before a

flat and uninspiring Gold Coast franchise imploded

in 2012, the A-League lost NQF in what seemed to be

extremely unfortunate circumstances. Despite not

making finals during its existence, the club

produced exciting football and nurtured the talent of

many players that have gone on to perform

admirably in the A-League, coupled with the

marquee marketing juggernaut that was Robbie

Fowler. Financial issues ravaged owner Don

Matheson and after an FFA acquisition in 2010, the

head body deemed ownership of Fury to be a

serious financial risk to the whole competition and

the franchise was cut.

Since North Queensland Fury became extinct, a new

team in Townsville has risen from the ashes;

Northern Fury F.C. Currently directed by Townsville

businessman Rabieh Krayem, the green and whites

have an eye on entering the A-League once more.

Could they re-enter Australia’s top division and

survive the tumultuous environment of Australian

sport?

For me, it is not possible yet for Northern Fury to aim

much higher than the National Premier League in

Queensland. North Queensland’s highest crowd

figure in their existence fell just shy of 9,000 people;

in a so-called “big” match against Sydney F.C with a

marquee player in Robbie Fowler.

I believe an A-League franchise should approximately attract

10,000 spectators per game on average. During the existence of

North Queensland Fury, an average crowd of 6,723 at their best is

simply not strong enough to fit in the league. When the team is

losing, averaging 4,257 fans is not good enough, and the club

should never record figures under 5,000 regardless of

performance.

In my opinion, Northern Fury should focus on building a strong

NPL club in Queensland and set their sights on establishing a

Westfield W-League and Westfield Youth-League franchises in the

next three to five years. By 2020-2025, when the club should have

established W-League and Y-League teams, the club should

entertain the possibility of entering the Hyundai A-League.

SOCCEROO SUCCESS WHAT NEXT FOR FOOTBALL IN AUSTRALIA?

7 PLAYERS IN AUSTRALIA’S STARTING XI AGAINST THE

NETHERLANDS PLAYED, OR HAVE PLAYED REGULARLY IN AT LEAST

ONE SEASON OF HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE FOOTBALL

(PICTURED ABOVE)

It’s almost comical how public perception of the

Socceroos changed; the expectation to lose all three

games at the World Cup was fulfilled as Australia

crashed out at the bottom in Group B, yet the once

maligned team is now revered and respected by

football and non-football fans alike.

The particularly admirable performance by the national

team against Chile and the Netherlands has completely

changed the way people will perceive the Socceroos in

the coming months; and the timing could not have been

better.

At the end of July, the newly created FFA Cup begins; an

opportunity for those with strong allegiances to their old

National Soccer League (NSL) clubs to attend a

competition involving the Hyundai A-League brand. The

Round of 32 for the FFA Cup serves as a great entree to

Season 10 of the Hyundai A-League football season, as

well as the Western Sydney Wanderers quarter-final

clash against Asian heavyweights Guangzhou

Evergrande.

Just two and a half months later, the Hyundai A-League

season begins with Sydney FC hosting a David Villa

equipped Melbourne City, the first game under their

new moniker. Melbourne Victory hosting Western

Sydney Wanderers will prove to be the battle of the

heavyweights of last season, with Victory boasting fiery

new signing Besart Berisha who scored both goals

against the Wanderers in the Grand Final the previous

year. It is also important to note that Melbourne City,

Western Sydney Wanders and Sydney FC still could

sign marquee strikers for next season.

In the New Year, Australia hosts the AFC Asian Cup and

will have their eyes on clinching the title after the

heartbreak in Doha four years ago.

With a new found optimism for the Socceroos as a result

of the World Cup, football fans and non-football fans

have an opportunity to get excited for the coming year

in Australian football. The momentum garnered from the

Socceroos World Cup performance could very likely

spur record attendances and television viewership of

Season 10 of the Hyundai A-League and Socceroos

matches.

With Qatar’s 2022 World Cup in jeopardy amid new

corruption allegations and pressure from sponsors,

there may just be enough momentum by the re-vote to

swing what would be the biggest achievement in

Australia’s sporting history; hosting a FIFA World Cup.

BORING IN BRAZIL NIKE’S MISSED WORLD CUP KIT OPPORTUNITY

Losers; England, Australia, Greece, USA Winners: Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal

As an avid Greek-Australian football fan with a

preference for Nike over Adidas and Puma, I could not

wait to see the 2014 World Cup Kits. As 2014 drew

closers, the jersey designs for the kits came out. Adidas

(see 5th, 6th and 7th jerseys above) released colourful and

unique kits, epitomising the character of the nations it

represented while ensuring their kits fit into the colour

explosion that constitutes a Brazil party. The bar was set

high for Nike. Many fans like me were bursting with

anticipation to see Nike’s jersey rival Adidas for design,

patterns, colours and originality.

And then Nike revealed the new kits.

Nike revealed Australia would be wearing a yellow polo

shirt with green trimming and a green triangle at the

collar, reminiscent of Australia’s 1974 World Cup kit

forty years ago. A safe option, but completely opposite

to the risk-taking nature of World Cup football

(ironically, Nike’s slogan for their World Cup campaign

is “Risk Everything”).

The Greek kit is even worse; it’s a white polo shirt with a

blue collar and blue trimming. Replace the blue with

more white and red and you have the US National Team

kit. Remove the collar and turn the whole kit red and

suddenly it’s the England kit, make it blue and it’s the

French kit or orange for the Dutch jersey. In one

seemingly lazy swoop, bar an impressive Portuguese

home kit (8th pictured jersey above), Nike managed to

standardise every single proud nation they represented

into a single design. It even prompted complaints on

social media throughout the United States (see top right).

Adidas on the other hand, brought originality to the

table. Their Argentina kit adopted a fade in the light

blue stripes on the kit with black collar and trimming

to accentuate the colours of the kit. The Germany kit

includes a red ‘V’ with a ridged-pattern to look like the

grill on the front of a car. Mexico’s kit included a

uniquely Mexican lightning pattern with a pinstripe.

These are all extremely impressive kits that portray

the personality of their proud countries.

Now look at Australia, the US and Greece’s kit; proud

countries with so much history reduced to a blank polo

shirt. In my opinion, it was particularly disappointing

in the case of Greece; a country with limitless pride

and a million different patterns and designs through a

very long and proud history. In my opinion, the US,

Australia, France, England, the Netherlands and more

nations around the world were let down this summer

with bland kits in a tournament that should be as

colourful as the Carnivale Festival in Rio de Janeiro.

STOPPAGE TIME SHORT ANSWERS TO DIFFERENT PROBLEMS

GET THE FANS ON TELEVISION!

Fans are attracted to other fans; when there is a

game “everyone” is going to, more fans follow.

This is the nature of the casual follower of sport.

So if your stadium is half-empty, it is a smart

move to shift your fans to the side that is shown

on television. This can be achieved easily; make

your cheapest season tickets available on the

television side of pitch to ensure the stadium

looks full on television.

Whilst it’s not a conclusive answer to bringing in

more fans, it certainly encourages them to

believe that the sport is more professional and

likeable and therefore increase their overall

satisfaction of attending an A-League match.

A FUN MATCH-DAY INITIATIVE:

THE OBLIVIOUS CAMERA

The oblivious camera is a fun little marketing initiative

used by US National Basketball Association team New

York Knicks during any of the quarter-time breaks.

Basically, a cameraman films an unaware spectator

focusing on something else in the stadium. In the corner

of the big screen showing the distracted fan is a timer

counting down how many seconds spent not knowing he

or she is being filmed. Eventually the person notices

themselves on the big screen and creates a laugh for the

whole stadium.

It is effective as it’s a costless activity that is entertaining

in a moment that would be boring when attending a

sporting game.

THE HEARTFELT MESSAGE IN A TOUGH SEASON

The heartfelt message is an extremely effective yet

underutilised PR technique that should be used by all clubs

performing poorly on the field in order to reduce your club’s

churn rate (number of season members not renewing

membership in the subsequent year).

This was particularly perfected by Manchester United in the

English Premier League after finishing 7th, their lowest finish in

the Premier League era. The message thanked fans for

“enduring a testing season and still supporting the club”.

The gesture maintained most fans’ positive feelings towards the

brand and recognised their support for the club through

adversity, a common measure of “true fandom.” This in turn

encouraged Manchester United fans to return next season in

belief that the club recognises the poor performance and is

aiming to improve in the next season.

A DERULO GRAND FINAL

Singer-songwriter Jason DeRulo performed at this

season’s Hyundai A-League Grand Final in what

seemed to be somewhat of an entertainment coup for

football in Australia.

However, he is not the type of artist we should be

looking at; while he considered a mainstream artist and

popular among youth, he is not as popular in the 20-30

year old demographic.

Football attracts a following of fans that love niches;

whether it’s their cultural background niche, indie

lifestyle or their local football club. As a result of this,

football should chase music artists that are extremely

popular in their niche category, particularly that of

European electronic dance music (EDM).

Perfect performers at Hyundai A-League events would

be DJs like Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Alesso, Knife

Party, Calvin Harris, Nicky Romero, Axwell and

Sebastian Ingrosso.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF A POOR WORLD CUP

SHOWING FROM SPAIN IN BRAZIL

A study in Spain has estimated that the defending

champion’s poor performance at this year’s World Cup

has resulted in 70,000 less sales of official Adidas Spain

jerseys (roughly $1 million AU in revenue).

Also the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup in

the Iberian nation has suffered accordingly. Mediaset

has suffered a 3% decrease in their share price on the

Spanish stock exchange.

It is vital for Spanish football that it is revitalised with

strong performance come Euro 2016 in France.

THE TEN MILLION DOLLAR SOCCEROO

According to reports from Fox Sports Australia, it has

taken Matthew Leckie just two World Cup matches to

increase his market value to $10m. Given his recent

$1.03 million transfer to Ingolstadt F.C. in Germany, the

Australian number 7 has proven to be a great piece of

business for the Bundesliga 2 outfit.

THE BEST OF MAY-JUNE

KIT: PORTUGAL AWAY 2013/14

.

STADIUM: STADE ST. LOUIS

(MONACO)

Iconic Mediterranean architecture. Check. Iconic seaside

Mediterranean location. Check. Unique columns visible inside and

outside stadium. Check. Size suitable for the number of football fans of

A.S. Monaco. Check. We can almost confirm it; Stade St. Louis and

Monaco could be a perfect fit. The stadium proves that style and a

sense of local pride can be applied to a small stadium if the

architecture and the location is spot on.

However the stadium does have one issue; an athletics track.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere can be lacking sometimes with the open

air end and the distance of the fans from the field. Either way, the

stadium remains an architectural icon of the world of football.

TEAM:

VITESSE ARNHEM

The story of Vitesse Arnhem is a peculiar

one. Vitesse decided it needed a change;

for too long the club was small and

insignificant in the context of Dutch

football. The club proposed ways in

which it could turn its product from just

sport into a full spectacle.

Vitesse marketed itself as a ‘family’;

using the slogan “Are you part of the

family yet” in their membership drive to

build the fan base. The club focused on

the ‘quality of the fan experience’ and

ensured that every member felt like they

were part of the family. Part of the family

feel was to modify the stadium and

marketing efforts to bring more families

and keep away ‘radicals’ or violent ultras

from the ground on match day. The club

also focused on their relationship with the

players, media and the visual spectacle of

the match on game day.

On the field, Vitesse signed five talented

youngsters from Chelsea on loan,

including Dutch starlet Patrick van

Aahnholt, Bertrand Traore and Lukas

Piazon. The Japanese naturalised

Dutchman Mike Havenaar also ensures

that the club has a profile in East Asia.

The club has also previously featured

Gael Kakuta and Nemanja Matic in their

loan agreement with Chelsea.

Vitesse’s refocus on the experience of the

consumer has reinvigorated the club on

and off the field, finishing 6th in the 18-

team Eredivisie in 2013-14.

Portugal’s away kits have always

caught the eye of football fans.

After the sleek Portugal cross

design for Euro 2012, what can

Nike do to make the kit look even

more deadly?

Well, using the exact same

popular kit in black with

gunmetal grey detailing is sure

going to help.

The kit looks dangerous, and

suits the daring flair of players

like Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo and

Raul Meireles on the Portugal

national team.

MOCK CREATIVE:

VICTORY HOME KIT

It’s a fact; the rebadging of Melbourne City FC is part of the

club’s plan to dethrone Melbourne Victory as Melbourne and

Australia’s biggest club.

For the past decade in Hyundai A-League football, Melbourne

Victory has had a reputation for attracting the best in

Australia; Socceroos like Archie Thompson, Kevin Muscat,

Harry Kewell, James Troisi and Mark Milligan, while also prising

big names like Ange Postecoglou and Besart Berisha away from

other clubs.

Now a team in blue in their city is threatening their very

reputation of being the biggest. Now it’s time for Victory to

mark their territory with their colours.

Victory’s kit change should basically make the jersey darker

and deadlier in order to differentiate from Melbourne City’s

home and away kits (pictured above). To accentuate the dark

shade of Melbourne Victory, the colouring above the iconic ‘V’

on the jersey should be black to strongly emphasize the

deep navy blue of the rest of the kit. To further enhance

this, the collar trimming and the three Adidas lines should

be the same navy blue as the kit.

The navy blue should also be darkened to a ‘midnight blue’

shade to further highlight the darkness of the kit. This gives

the kit a sense of deadliness through ‘a killer in the night’

feel.

The Victorian ‘V’ itself should become two shades of

gunmetal grey rather than the previously used white, as it

smoothly transitions the black colouring at the top of the

jersey to the midnight navy blue at the bottom.

The shorts and socks should remain fairly simple as

midnight blue primary colouring with a black trim. This

reinforces the two primary colours of the kit.

Finally, the numbers on the kit should be coloured in gun

metal grey to remain consistent with the ‘V’ on the front of

the kit. Overall, these factors should contrast the darker

navy blue of Victory to the new lighter colours of

Melbourne City and Sydney FC and in turn reinforce the

club’s identity.