is FIFA a starfish or a spider?

I was watching BBC news earlier today with a chap from the federation of football supporters or some such being interviewed.

He was lending his weight to the controversy currently surrounding FIFA and was very much of the view that professional football doesn’t work without fans and professional organisations. Which I agree with. He ended his speech however by comparing what is happening at FIFA with what’s going on in North Africa – and there I had to leave him. It did get me thinking though…

One of my favourite sports books is ‘Football against the enemy’ which sets out as its founding principle that other than religion, football is the biggest mass participatory thing that humans do, and as such it is important. Very important. And I also think this is true.

To change course momentarily.

Something seems to have been very rotten in FIFA for a while. Something unpleasant certainly seems to be happening at the moment and it seems to be to the detriment of the beautiful game. Which is sad.

Yesterday a number of FIFA sponsors stood up and made a couple of vaguely strong worded statements about how FIFA really should get its house in order. The BBC’s point was that stronger conversations were presumably being had behind closed doors. Good.

It is not good enough that something so important to so many of us is run by (what seems to be) at best a highly secretive organisation.

One more digression.

Another book worth a read is called ‘the starfish and the spider’ it is about leaderless organisations and how if you cut the main part off a centralised unit (Spider), it stops working, whereas if you cut the main bit off a leaderless body (Starfish) it continues – and even grows into multiple bodies.

So here’s the point and the comparison between North Africa and Fifa that does stand discussion.

What sort of organisation is FIFA? Will cutting its head off (by which I stress I am only referring to removing Blatter from power), result in a different sort of organisation?

Libya, it is assumed, is a spider. Al Qaeda… is hopefully a spider but probably more of a Starfish.

FIFA because of its complex internal structures only answerable to its own members may well be a starfish… let’s hope not. Football is just too important to run on self interest.

Second tier sponsorships

I was driving past Carrow Road the other day, when I saw some tactical ads for the Barclay’s Premier league. In essence they were a nice little ‘welcome back’ to Norwich city and its fans in 48 and 6 sheet format, all bought in proximity to the football ground. All in all very nice.

I’ve done a lot of work over the years on sponsorships of one type or another - ranging from beer companies and football cups, to financial organisations and rugby trophies and insurance providers and athletics, heck I’ve even done some work on the premier league.

Now, obviously, the most high profile sponsorships are of the flagship properties The Premier League, The FA Cup, The Heineken Cup, The FIFA world Cup (ahem, less desirable now? discuss). But what about the others… the minnows… the vast pyramid system supporting the top tier? Who sponsors them? And frankly why do they bother?

Swansea City were promoted yesterday, via the play-offs, to the top tier. As a football fan I extend them a warm welcoming hand and note that they were one of the better sides I saw in the championship all year. All in all thoroughly deserved (justice is done… ahem? QPR? Any Cardiff fans discuss). And presumably there’ll be nicely placed tactical ads all around the Liberty stadium for the next two weeks. My question is… what becomes of the Npower championship?

For most championship fans the experience of the second tier is a painful one, punctuated by financial disaster and memories of the good old days in the Prem’. When they eventuially do get promoted, the sponsor is forgotten in a minute and all attention becomes focused on preparations for the next challenge. So why sponsor it?

The justification for second tier sponsorship is often about grass roots. We’re the real fan because we support the lower tiers. Well… no actually. You’re just a brand sponsoring the league we don’t really want to be in and if you treat us like you do premier fans we’re going to get annoyed. – I lost count of the number of Sky adverts I’ve seen in Championship toilets with grinning images of Chelsea and Man Utd players looking down on me.

Second tier sponsorships have to be about the fans, not the competition, not the ‘grass roots’… and to do this you need to do a few things.

Understand them – look at what they actually do.

Championship fans for example tend not to go near the football ground in the closed season. Proximity targeting fans there is a waste of money – I’m talking to you ‘the premier league.’

They also resent being told that you have a unique offer for them when every tom dick and harry is offering the same thing (you know who you are).

They hate the fact they have to sit through Match of the Day to get to the football league show.And they are some of the biggest users of the iplayer – for exactly this reason.

Here is my plea: Talk to real fans (there are millions of them). Ask them what they do on a match day, ask them why they do it. Ask them their frustrations; listen to how you can help. Then and only then act. And after it’s all over maybe, just maybe they’ll believe you’re on their side.

I’m not criticism second tier sponsors, I’m just saying if you’re going to spend your money that way, make sure you do it properly.