by Alec Hogg
I wouldn’t think there’d be too many days when President Jacob Zuma would swap places with me. But this is one of those. Zuma, you see, is a keen Reds supporter, a devoted fan of Liverpool FC. And around lunchtime, while he is scratching through cabinet papers, I’ll be chatting with Ian Ayres, CEO of the world’s 9th biggest football club.
Ayres is on a quick visit to Johannesburg at the invitation of financial services group Discovery whose UK subsidiary VItality is one of Liverpool’s sponsors. I’ve long been fascinated by football, not just physically, but, with age, its financial side. Liverpool is one of the success stories of recent years, growing revenues much more rapidly than its peers.
In football, passion keeps fans interested, but trophies are actually won in the boardroom. The better the club’s business is run, the more funds available to acquire talent, the greater the odds of success. Although fans make icons of players, the true architects of success are quiet guys in suits. Football is the ultimate free market. A place where the allocation of resources determines winners and losers. There is much in sport that we can learn from.
From Biznews community member Ike Jakson
You must try convince Zuma and his cohorts in crime about the validity of your statement in our Sports, as you say: “Although fans make icons of players, the true architects of success are quiet guys in suits. Football is the ultimate free market. A place where the allocation of resources determines winners and losers. There is much in sport that we can learn from.” Perhaps he should concentrate on Liverpool and leave SA Sport to our sport architects.
From Biznews community member Matthews Letlape
Yes, indeed, I agree with you 100%. To throw a thought, I think that if South African Football Teams were run like British Premiership, Spanish La Liga and Germany’s and lastly Brazil we would have some incredible financial boost as a country. That is so, cause the nation or team that win the World Cup receive a huge financial boost.
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