Mega deals prove Villa are on top of any FFP uneasiness
VILLA have made significant strides on the pitch under Unai Emery and remain on course to end a 28-year wait for silverware.
The head coach has performed a minor miracle in keeping Villa competitive in the top four this season while juggling a European campaign and coping with injuries to key players.
So, whether Villa manage to secure qualification for the Champions League this season or not, Emery has a big task ahead of him to continue finishing above at least a couple of the ‘big six’ every season.
Considering the added strain of adhering to top-flight profit and sustainability rules, which prevent
Villa offering the wages other clubs can and splashing hundreds of millions of pounds every year, they must get a lot right off the pitch to ensure Emery has the tools to compete at the highest level.
Villa were nearly £120 million in the red in 2023, but the figures contributing to what UEFA claim to be the highest losses in Europe are in line with the strategic business plan of V Sports. The club’s revenue increased during the year to £217.7m, up from £178.4m.
A significant part of this increase was driven by finishing seventh in the Premier League versus a 14thplaced finish the year before, but there were also improvements in gate receipts, sponsorship and commercial revenue. It is pivotal that Villa take advantage of their dramatic improvement on the pitch by securing lucrative sponsorship deals, which will help them remain competitive in the top six every season.
This is exactly what Villa are pursuing under co-owner Nassef Sawiris and the club’s president of business operations, Chris Heck.
“It’s another sample of this club becoming an absolute big club in the world,” Heck said after Villa confirmed they had entered into an agreement with Atairos to become a partner in V Sports. “We will have this infusion of support for V Sports and it is going to be great for Villa as we continue to grow.”
Atairos’ capital investment will primarily be used to fund growth and infrastructure investments, with the aim of creating material and sustainable value for Villa and the broader V Sports network. Atairos is said to be worth $6.5bn, and Villa claim their link-up “positions them firmly for an exciting next phase of growth”. Villa’s short-term plan is to disrupt the top six regularly. Their long-term plan is to form part of a ‘great eight’, essentially expanding the ‘big six’, who have had the opportunity to build their commercial strength over more than a decade since Premier League football has boomed.
Two more major deals have been leaked, which prove Villa are making strong progress off the pitch. Their
kits will be manufactured by Adidas from next season after Sawiris, who owns around seven per cent of the German company, and Heck struck an agreement.
The deal is reportedly worth multimillions for the men’s and women’s teams, and the academy. It came after complaints from playing staff earlier this season about the ‘wetlook’ Castore shirts.
Kit manufacturer sponsorship revenues have been combined with total merchandising revenues to provide as good a measure of club popularity as any, and Adidas will hopefully help take Villa into a global market in the years to come.
During his successful reign at the Philadelphia 76ers, Heck tapped into fashion, art and culture to increase the franchise’s visibility.
They collaborated with Nike to make exclusive shoes, which were given to influencers after they had been to games, and that pushed millions of social media users towards the NBA franchise. The franchise’s valuation was under $300m when Heck first arrived, now, it stands in excess of $3bn.
Heck, now tasked with building Villa as a major global brand and increasing the club’s revenue streams, has also overseen a £40m
sponsorship deal with Betano. It is understood the Greek online betting platform will be the most lucrative front-of-shirt sponsor in the club’s history. The deal is set to run for two years until 2026 when the ban on gambling companies on shirt fronts comes into effect.
“On the business side we have three priorities everyone lives throughout the day and the week and the season,” said Heck. “It is very important to us.
“Local is number one, global is number two and then culture is three.
“Talking about our fans in local, that is the heart of this club and what we are going to do going forward, all the changes in Villa Park, the construction, it is not going to be for one group of fans, it is going to be for all of our fans.
“I think when we have the focus of that fans-first mentality, we can achieve our goals. Regarding the globalisation of the club, a lot of the hard work is done for us, with what Unai and Monchi have built on the pitch.
“The attention we are getting is unparalleled. It only works if we build up our content and we have something for our fans, not only locally but globally. That, of course, turns into sponsorship.”