Greed or altruism? EPL clubs roll into Beijing for high-profile clash

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Arsenal and Chelsea will line up against one another for the first time outside Britain on Saturday, taking to the pitch at Beijing’s famed Bird’s Nest stadium.

At prices ranging from 199-1699 yuan (29-250 US dollars) tickets for the match at the 80,000-capacity stadium don’t come cheap, but fans from across China are expected to flock in to see the two English Premier League (EPL) teams from London put boot to ball.

Arsenal fans greet the team as they arrive at Beijing International Airport on July 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

The worldwide appeal of the EPL has seen the dynamic of the English football calendar change, with globetrotting pre-season tours the norm and even post-season friendlies overseas creeping into schedules.

In the UK, these matches are often decried as symbolizing a greed polluting the national game. Managers who complain about tired players mid-season lead their clubs to distant shores for a couple of million US dollars extra, adding to a share in 10.8 billion US dollars of TV rights and sacks more in commercial deals.

Chelsea players show the EPL trophy off to fans in Beijing on July 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

The fundamental purposes of the pre-season friendly are to build up fitness ahead of a new season, integrate new or young players, and trial tactics there is rarely time to practice in the course of a 38-game season. Old-timers look back fondly to the days when preseason meant running up and down the steps of the home stadium and a few competitive friendlies in Scotland.

But in a global world in which big money has made English clubs less dependent on domestic fans for income, is there not also a strong case for rewarding the hundreds of millions who put their hearts and wallets behind clubs from overseas?

Global game, global league

The EPL’s multi-billion-dollar broadcasting deal is made up of 38 percent overseas rights deals, while sponsorship and commercial deals range from an American car firm and Japanese tire manufacturer to a Thai duty free operator and Chinese eco-town company. And over half the clubs in the league – including Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and the Manchester clubs -- are foreign-owned or led.

Arsenal players Laurent Koscielny, Mohamed Elneny and Olivier Giroud at a tea ceremony in Shanghai on July 17, 2017. /Arsenal FC Photo

The EPL is huge in China; millions of fans stay up late or wake up in the middle of the night to catch games. The latest rights deal for China was sold for a reputed 700 million US dollars. While a handful get the chance to visit Old Trafford or Anfield, most will never get closer than a screen – and that’s where the preseason tour comes in.

The fans’ view

The traditional route to football fandom is via a community link, a geographical tie to a town or city which helps foster an emotional connection. With the global spread of the EPL the geographical link is diluted, yet the emotional bond for overseas fans still holds.

Chelsea stars with fans at a shopping center in Beijing on July 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

One Chelsea fan living in Beijing, Shen Jiang, sees preseason tours as win-win opportunities, boosting the popularity of clubs while also giving supporters the chance to show their support.

He told CGTN Digital: “It is really great to watch England Premier League just near my home, Beijing. It literally brings Premier League atmosphere to China, lets more Chinese football fans enjoy a top-class game. Not every Chelsea fan or Arsenal fan could have a chance to go to the UK to watch a game. This chance is really precious.”

Arsenal fans during a pre-season friendly between Bayern Munich and Arsenal at Shanghai Stadium on July 19, 2017 in Shanghai. /VCG Photo

Football fan Jeremy Li told CGTN Digital that although pre-season friendlies are typically less intense than EPL matches, there is the potential for drama on Saturday in the wake of Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup final in May. “Chelsea will be seeking for vengeance and need to re-establish their long-standing dominance over Arsenal.”

“In Beijing, when you see your team score, you can celebrate wholeheartedly with your friends in the stadium. let that passion burst out lava from an active volcano!”

The clubs’ perspective

Big football clubs are now businesses, and the word “lucrative” goes hand in glove with taking part in overseas friendlies.

David Luiz and Andreas Christensen of Chelsea during a training session at the National Olympic Sports Center Stadium on July 20, 2017 in Beijing. /VCG Photo

Clubs have been paid up to 20 million US dollars for taking part in the International Champions Cup, according to the Telegraph, while advancing their fan bases and greasing the wheels of future sponsorship deals. Guaranteed cash and exposure to new markets in exchange for a week of travel? That’s difficult to resist in a league in which a player’s average weekly wage was 57,000 US dollars in the 2015-16 season.

Commercial ties are also a factor in organizing preseason matches. A common refrain when a player is signed from an overseas market is: he’ll sell some shirts. But in reality, a club is typically paid a fee by a sportswear manufacturer – almost 100 million US dollars a year in the case of Manchester United – and then takes a small percentage of shirt sales. The club is licensing its brand, so building global appeal attracts major sponsorship deals.

Preseason to the regular season?

The Italian Supercoppa has been played in China four times since 2009, regular season NFL games are played in London, and even the next European Championships will be played continent-wide.

AC Milan and Inter Milan fans ahead of the Italian Supercoppa clash in Beijing in 2011. /VCG Photo

The long-rumored “39th game”, a proposal first floated a decade ago to hold a round of official EPL matches in different countries across the world, was received with incredulity when first proposed in 2007. But a decade on, is the idea so ridiculous?

If the EPL is a global league, perhaps it’s time for it to seriously consider moving competitive matches overseas and giving the hundreds of millions of international fans a real taste of EPL football.

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