Manchester’s two Premier League clubs top the list of those standing to gain hundreds of millions in annual revenue by capitalising upon undecided, unknown U.S. fans, a new report claims.
As the clubs head out on US tours, experts at direct-to-consumer (D2C) fan data specialists CLV Group calculate there are 83m US-based football (or “soccer”) fans, with 44% or 36m, undecided on which team to support.
That means for the Premier League and top European clubs, there’s a “huge” opportunity to steal a march on the market and grab a slice of a potential $321m per season (and billions in the longer term) in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place in the States, Canada and Mexico.
According to Neil Joyce, CEO of CLV Group, the methods of reaching these new fandoms are far removed from what many Premier League outfits will be used to, with clubs needing to be more innovative to win hearts, minds and wallets.
CLV’s new guidebook, Connecting and Winning U.S. Fandoms: A Guidebook for European Football Clubs, reveals that while the average UK Premier League fan is around 42 years old, 50% of U.S. football fans are under the age of 45.
Therefore, rather than focus purely on matchday revenue, clubs should embrace D2C digital propositions that they both own and develop themselves, whilst more importantly focusing their attention on what Joyce calls the “stardust” effect. That means collaborations with content partners, development of ecosystem partnerships that span music, entertainment, anime and video gaming, which bring both physical and digital propositions to bear for the clubs and their partners.
Further investment and development into emerging blockchain based propositions with the likes of digital collectible releases and wider digital membership schemes can be tested and scaled as that space matures along the product lifecycle and fan adoption curve.
Joyce said: “European football clubs have historically lacked the necessity, data and technology to drive such transformative growth.
“However, coupled with the rising popularity of football in the US, the pure scale of soccer fans, 88m across participants, followers and viewers, plus those with an affinity for the sport, now is the time to capitalise.
“Think LeBron James’ recent partnership with Liverpool FC, or how Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Super Bowl provided a massive financial boost to the NFL (not to mention the impact at Anfield over the weekend). Or even Juventus’ recent ‘Team Jay’ series to engage their younger fanbase through anime. These are the areas our clubs must now embrace.”
With their record 13 Premier League title wins, CLV’s data pinpoints Manchester United as the Premier League team who stand to gain the most from the U.S. market, with a potential $40.7m opportunity. Manchester City are second with $34.3m, Chelsea third with $27.3m, and Arsenal fourth at $22.3m.
The Premier League quartet are eclipsed by European giants Real Madrid, who stand to gain $61m from the U.S. opportunity.
Those funds could be used to bolster transfer budgets, wages, club infrastructure, or bring tangible benefit back to domestic fans with ticket price reductions or at worst case, price freezes.
Joyce added: “With Profit and Sustainability Rules in place and talk of even more robust new financial rules in the pipeline, it’s absolutely key to unlock new revenues now.
“We know clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal already go on regular summer tours to the US, but our unique data shows that there’s so much more opportunity there for them now.
“The U.S. market is ready for Premier League clubs to win the hearts, minds, and wallets of undecided, unknown fans – whether it’s through selling merchandise directly to fans, or pursuing partnerships across other sports, collaborations with video gaming, music, and content creators. The opportunity is huge. We’re talking about a potential fan base of 36m undecided U.S. soccer fans (not to mention those fans who know the clubs, but the clubs do not know themselves) who can be connected to and engaged with, thus bringing huge sources of growth across the board to the clubs..
“If they don’t, then there’s no doubt that the tide of organic growth of Major League Soccer, not to mention other European heavyweights like Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich, will be there to seize the opportunities.”
Connecting and Winning U.S. Fandoms: A Guidebook for European Football Clubs is available for download on CLV’s website.
