Whilst Soriano remains professional and fails to question the motives behind the decision to incorporate QSI as a sponsor alongside UNICEF, “It’s not easy to decide between the short-term financial advantages of the QSI and the mid-to-long-term investment in FC Barcelona as a brand – undoubtedly this is a very different strategic decision to that taken back in 2006 and might influence the club’s position in the years to come,” the dots can be drawn between Barcelona’s marketing activity and the greater footballing world.
Soriano reveals how Barcelona have taken “risky” steps to make large profits, including the £5m deal with FC Bunyodkor, which helped the Uzbekistani club secure Rivaldo, as well as, despite turning down a £20m-a year deal with Bwin due to the connotations of gambling sponsorships, coming close to an agreement with the Chinese government in the run-up to Beijing 2008 to promote the Olympic Games on their shirts, despite the Chinese state’s various displays of oppression or its human rights controversies. Suddenly, the decision to break the 111-year history makes more sense: recently, in times of universal financial hardship, Barcelona not exempt from this (in July 2010 Barcelona’s debt stood at £369.5m), staying in “the black” has become harder and thus Barcelona have had their heads turned sharper than before. Furthermore, the continual conveyor belt of talent at La Masia isn’t as cheap as some may make out and therefore, it too needs considerable investment.
But why Qatar Foundation?
Well look no further than Barcelona’s previous sponsorship activity, potential or physical: they nearly came close to advertising the 2008 Olympic Games on their shirts and now they’re advertising the World Cup 2022. Initially, it is hard to draw the link; the Qatar Foundation is a private organization with aims at improving Education, Science and Community Development, however their chairperson, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, was pivotal in securing the World Cup for 2022: now she’s advertising it – her foundation, but most importantly, the 2022 World Cup. Ultimately, she has the biggest and best club football team in the world advertising the biggest and best competition in the world.
Barcelona are purely moving with the times and along the way they’ve made some dubious decisions; however as money becomes more and more important in maintaining status and for some, acting as the primary objective of the football club, it is just proving that even the most basic of things for a football club, such as an academy, comes at a, sometimes hefty, price. Barcelona are the biggest givers when it comes to the wage packets: the average first team player earns £95,081 whereas Los Galacticos aren’t quite as galactic as they were, with an average earning of £88,421 per week, in at second.
This is the cost of having the best, and the cost of having the ability to have the best?
Well, advertising the 2022 World Cup.
Written by Jordan Florit for www.maycauseoffence.com/ For more articles visit my website or my Twitter @JordanFlorit
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And that is bad because….? Football is a business so of course they have to find some way to keep it going, if not afloat. It’s not like UNICEF, Qatar or whatever that saw them win trophies after trophies. It’s the players they develop and acquire at a hefty cost.
They could go Man City’s, Man U’s, Chelsea’s, Liverpool’s way but what excuse will people use then if they continue to succeed? At least they keep themselves from being at the mercy of their sugar-daddies whims. Qatar can’t tell them Guardiola needs to go should things go south. They are just the sponsor, nothing more.
Well, if the sponsorship, quite a lucrative one, was secured through ill-gotten gains, such as the pact that Spain and Qatar supposedly had in the voting, then Barcelona are benefiting from an illegal act.
The article doesn’t suggest so, which is wise, and the writer doesn’t suggest it is a bad thing: he’s just providing information on how they’ve funded such an expensive side through seemingly “charitable” sponsors in UNICEF and a “Foundation.”
Your point is a good one buj, but the writer hasn’t done wrong in this article.
It has to be mentioned that Real Madrid too was courting Qatar at that time. Zidane, their emissary, endorsed their candidacy too. So if Spain and Qatar were colluding in something illegal, then it is obvious that it’s not just Barca who stands to gain from it.
Article like this, lacking any hint of verifiable facts, is just aiming at painting a bad picture of a club/team that he may well have a disliking for. In fact, if this had been a respectable paper, this can be considered libelous.
Thanks for the reply anyway.
Thanks for your reply Buj: i’d like to make a couple of points.
Firstly, with a Spanish Barcelona supporting Grandfather, Barcelona are my second side and I consider myself a supporter and therefore I am in no way attempting to paint a bad picture, just highlighting something of interest.
Secondly, the article is full of verifiable facts straight from the horses mouth, regarding all the sponsorship activity of Barcelona.
Lastly, if Real Madrid were too courting Qatar, then it is supporting the claim that there was a voting a pact and secondly, purely shows that their is no financial fairplay in La Liga, already highlighted through TV money allocation in La Liga, with Qatar acting in a corrupt manner.
When Qatar got the World Cup 2022, there was a fair amount of controversy, yet now controversy is being displayed with some support of how they won it and how they are advertising it, you’re defending it.
Thank you for your time to comment
great reply ^^