LOCOG, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, have announced the Olympic Torch relay route and on Saturday 14th July, between 18:20-18:23, the iconic flame will be passing through St. Mary’s Stadium – the home of Southampton Football Club. This places Saints in an elite group of few, along with Old Trafford, the Ricoh Arena, Hillsborough, Fratton Park, and Madejski Stadium, as one of the football stadiums that will feature on the route of the Olympic Flame, as it makes its 70-day journey to the opening ceremony of London 2012.
At current, Southampton are top of the Championship, 10/11 favourites for the title and 1/4 for promotion. It has been a good season for Saints on their return to the England’s second flight and another return, this time to their home of 27-years – The Premier League, looks likely. Their striker Rickie Lambert, has been named the Championship Player of the Year, their attacking midfielder Adam Lallana is regarded as one of the hottest prospects outside the Premier League and after all the years of financial turmoil and unrest at the club, since their relegation from the top flight in 2005, Saints fans are comfortable in the knowledge that their club is well-run.
Tim Vickery, BBC’s South American football correspondent, described football as “the game of the city,” and no further evidence to justify that statement is needed than the story of last season’s back-to-back promotion winners Norwich City – or any club promoted to the most lucrative league in the world, in fact.
Laura McGillivray, chief executive of Norwich City Council, said of Paul Lambert’s great achievement: “This will be an enormous boost for the economy of the city as a whole. A Premier League profile will give Norwich national and international exposure and has the potential to increase visitor numbers, attract investors and create job opportunities.” To the club alone, promotion is worth £90 million, but McGillivray reiterated that football is the “game of the city”: “the benefits of this success for the Canaries will be felt by everyone in the city.”
Yet, if football has any competitors for its ability to galvanise a population it is The Olympic Games that act as their main rivals. But, with the two combining across the country this year – apart from the constantly evolving and news story providing case of a Team GB football team – a unique opportunity presents itself.
With St. Mary’s providing approximately 400m of the 8,000 mile journey round the UK, there is the prospect of bringing the entirety of Southampton together on the crest of a wave that could potentially be as strong as the combination of a city empowering promotion and a nation enthused by the hosting of the Olympic Games. The sweetness of the event is enhanced all the more by the fact that it will coincide with the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup – an annual 3-team tournament played in honour of the late Swiss billionaire, whose purchase of the club saved them from extinction.
Of course, the presenting of the Flame alone will forever provide the South Coast club with a poignant link to the Olympics, and executive chairman Nicola Cortese recognizes this: “It is a fantastic honour for Saints to be hosting the Olympic Torch as it passes through the iconic St Mary’s Stadium, and ensures that Southampton Football Club will have a place in Olympic history for years to come.” But, it is also an advertising tool like no other to market Saints to the world, on their return to the Premier League – if they make it.
The day itself will reinforce a sense of community within Southampton, with its residents coming together to not only celebrate their saviour’s life with the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, but to see the Torch carried through their city, through their club, in the year of their Olympics. Yet, on the business side of things, it is a chance to make money and market the club.