The football business
Since 2010, football has been surging in the Philippines. Like a tide that has been pulling back and pushing forward, the attention has ebbed and flowed, but has seen continued growth. The tide has swept into more and more households. Thank fully, the television coverage, sparked by the gamble of ABSCBN to cover the Philippine Azkals’ foray into the Suzuki Cup eight years ago, has likewise spread like wildfire. College football and semi-pro play has found a foothold among businesses looking for a new venue for advertising mileage.
The vibrant reception, a surge not seen in decades, propelled dozens of Filipino foreign players from Europe and other places to join the national men’s team. Along with the rise of the Volcanoes of rugby – who went from zero to the Rugby Sevens World Cup in under a decade – football became a more desirable option for parents looking for an outlet for their children. Accepting the reality that their children will be unlikely to grow tall enough to be viable basketball players, more and more parents have nudged their kids into soccer. The patience of sponsors who’ve been funding children’s football programs has been seeing dividends. And it has been satisfying all around. A book on the history of Philippine football, initiated by the University of Asia and the Pacific and edited by Dr. Bernie Villegas, has also seen healthy sales.
Carried by the wave of celebration for the Azkals’ historic breakthrough 2019 Asian Cup qualification, the Philippines is seen as the ideal venue for the upcoming one-day conference christened “The Business of Football – Philippines”. The event is organized by MMC Sportz Asia, part of the Dubai-based company known for the annual SPIA Asia or Asia’s Sports Industry Awards and Conference. The SPIA recognizes and rewards Asia’s outstanding achievers in the sports industry. MMC Sportz Asia also brought the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) to the Philippines in 2014, and rolled out “My PFF”, the Philippines National Football Player Registration system.
“The Business of Football – Philippines,” sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), is the first of its kind, and takes place on May 18 at the New World Hotel in Makati.
The summit will bring together all the stakeholders of the country’s football community, from rights holders to football clubs, agencies, pertinent brands, media, retailers and fans. The objective is to educate members of the soccer community and examine the present state of football in the Philippines. With all due respect to basketball, the end goal is to determine strategies to make football the biggest spectator sport in the country.
The conference brings together a veritable Who’s Who of Philippine football to listen and learn about the vision for football in the country from an international professional perspective, delivered by event partners from the AFC, PFF, PFL, La Liga, and supported by research and analytics from Dentsu and SMG Insight. The organizers hope for the conference to be an annual event on the country’s sports calendar.
“The Business of Football – Philippines, is timely, since it gathers all the relevant stakeholders in Philippine football in one venue,” adds Philippine Azkals team manager Dan Palami. “It’s high time we get our act together and elevate the level of the sport, in time for the upcoming Asian Cup. The country and the Azkals will have the opportunity to make history in international football.”
“There is so much untapped potential in the football business in the Philippines, that we felt like it is time to bring all the key stakeholders together in one room, and to discuss the state of the game, and how we can develop the sport,” declares Eric Gottschalk, CEO of MMC Sportz Asia Inc. “The inauguration of the professional football league in 2017 and the recent international successes of both the men’s and the women’s national football teams should be a springboard for the sport to finally take off in a basketball-dominated country. We noticed that the key stakeholders are still adapting a “wait-and-see” approach. Private investment is needed in sports infrastructure, retailers need to offer a wider range of equipment options to the participants, and the media needs to make football a regular news feature.”
The conference will cover topics ranging from football in South East Asia to the state of football in the Philippines, why brands should get involved, developing football in Asia, the Asian Cup 2019, youth academies, and others.
The event will also include a job fair wherein participants can explore careers in football, learn from industry leaders,