Playing good football alone can’t ensure the sustenance of a club. It has to convince people with money that there is enough potency in its image. Marketing the sport is about attracting sponsors and the fans in substantial numbers, according to Jorge Bretos Santiago, the head of Sevilla FC’s marketing department.
Santiago was seen making arrangements for a group of international fan ambassadors, including three from India, who were visiting Sevilla FC’s home — the magnificent Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Regular host
Spain’s top football association La Liga, with its broadcasters from countries like Poland, Belgium and India, has been regularly hosting international fans for a La Liga Santander experience.
When the dynamic marketing head was asked about how much success he finds in a system where brands like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid FC are predominant players, he said: “You can really sell your brand when your forwards score the goals and win matches. With three UEFA Europa League titles in the past few seasons, Sevilla FC is firmly on the international map. We are now a well-recognised club in Europe.”
Creating new fans and increasing the support base for Sevilla FC has been the area of expertise for more than a decade ever since he took up the job for the most successful club in Andalusia.
“We have to look for new supporters around the world and keep it growing. The recent success of Sevilla FC is helping us spread the club’s name around the world,” he said.
On how he is taking the achievements of the club to the wider world, Santiago said it is about wisely using the internet and the social media.
“We run our website in seven languages and we reach out to the fans through the social media through several languages,” he added.
Santiago said that his club was also looking seriously at its physical presence in other countries by opening up academies. “We are looking to sell our football methodology to other countries. For us, USA and Asia are the two big markets.
“We will be launching six soccer academies in America and one in Japan by September this year. And we are working to have academies in India and China in a franchise-based system,” Santiago said, laying out the expansion plans of his club.
(The writer was recently in Seville, Spain, on the invitation of La Liga and Sports Cluster of Sony Pictures Networks)
