Have European Football Clubs Cracked America yet?

Karan Ahgun

— 3 min read
Have European Football Clubs Cracked America yet?
Photo by Samuel Branch / Unsplash

Pre-season tours have become marketing campaigns for football clubs and a means to connect with their global fanbases. Whilst Asia is seen as one of the biggest consumer markets in football , it seems as though the top European clubs believe that they have already cracked this market. Now the big clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal make it their marketing strategy to put more focus on the American market by touring the USA for pre-season. In the case of these 3 clubs, they are on their way to "the Land of the Free" for consecutive summers, further highlighting the importance European clubs are putting on making the most of the American market.

With a population of over 333 million people, the American market is seen as an opportunity to significantly grow a fanbase and there is no better way of doing this than by playing football matches in the States. A study done by SGB Media (2023), found that 27% of US-based sports fans had an interest in football which accounts for around 83 million people. If European clubs were to make the most of the marketing opportunity they have when going on tour in America, it is almost inevitable that their fanbases would expand as there is now a growing appetite for football in the country. I can imagine that this is one of the main motivations for repeatedly touring in America and I don't think that this will change. It also seems like an inevitability that some league games will be played in America as European clubs look to exploit the demand for football for massive revenue potential.

Pre-season tours in America also open up the opportunity for financial gains for European clubs. Their brand exposure is increased which can lead to higher merchandise revenue and lucrative sponsorship deals. For example, last year Manchester United played against Wrexham in San Diego in front of Hollywood star Rob McElhenney. As Wrexham is owned by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, there was a lot of attention on this match and United used it as an opportunity to wear their new away kit for the first time. This pre-season friendly was also spectacularly marketed beforehand in a video featuring both of Wrexham's owners and Sir Alex Ferguson. This was a brilliant way to drive interest in the match between the two teams and increase the revenue potential of such an event.

Exposure to the American market can also offer European clubs the opportunity to secure lucrative sponsorship deals with American organisations. A good example of this is the aftermath of Christian Pulisic's move to AC Milan in 2023. This transfer ultimately helped the Italian giant in securing MSC Cruises as their new kit sleeve sponsor. Having American players therefore also opens opportunities to the American market. In a Men in Blazers report, it was found that 61% of participants gained a newfound interest in AC Milan due to their purchase of Pulisic and Yunus Musah. In terms of commercial gain, Milan have seen that the US is their second-biggest market and they have a 130% increase on order volumes in the US.

The American market will continue to be targeted by European football clubs due to the massive potential for commercial gain. Clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United have already benefitted from pre-season tours in America but there is still a lot of scope for these giants to exploit commercially. On the other end of the scale, Wrexham have also had their pre-season tours in America lately, mostly due to the influence of their Hollywood owners. The "Welcome to Wrexham" docu-series has certainly been a huge help in boosting the club's exposure and having matches against teams like Manchester United and Chelsea are an effective way of attracting a larger audience.

So how long will it take the American market to fully embrace football? This remains to be seen but I think that the preliminary steps have already been taken and football is due to explode stateside. Let's see which European clubs are able to take advantage of this !

Talk soon!

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