Europe's clubs caught between a financial pit and hallowed grounds

Many football fans have long opposed clubs selling their history, and, during the European Super League fiasco, supporters made clear their hostility to trading tradition for cash

PARIS

As European football clubs struggle to make up for revenue lost in the pandemic, one untapped source of revenue is stadium naming rights, but exploiting them may not be straighforward.

Many football fans have long opposed clubs selling their history, and, during the European Super League fiasco, supporters made clear their hostility to trading tradition for cash.

Furthermore, some big-money sports sponsors, notable airlines, have also been hit hard by Covid-19 restrictions.

“Many European sports clubs have long been missing out on the millions worth of stadia naming sponsorship fees annually,” Bryn Anderson, an analyst specialising in sports economics at auditing firm KPMG, told AFP.

Today, only 29 of the 98 clubs in the top divisions in England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues play in named stadiums. In the National Football League, by contrast, more than 80 per cent of the stadiums bear sponsors’ names.

“Cash flow and liquidity issues may push sports clubs, even those reluctant, so far, to exploit stadium naming rights,” said Anderson.