September 5 – With focus generally on Europe’s Big 5 leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Football Benchmark have turned their analytical attention to life outside of these leagues and the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
For their analysis, KPMG’s sports research arm looked at the four leagues generally considered to Europe’s next tier – Süper Lig (Turkey), the Eredivisie (The Netherlands), the Primeira Liga (Portugal) and the Ekstraklasa (Poland).
The gap between these four and the Big 5 is perhaps bigger than expected with the research showing that “the average attendance across the ‘big five’ is 57% higher than Eredivisie, the best performing league outside the European elite”.
This is due to not only larger stadiums but, according to Football Benchmark, “a stronger market position overall, most clubs from these leagues enjoy state-of-the-art facilities that offer a unique matchday experience to their fans.”
Broadcast revenues are a key driver of the commercial success and growth of European leagues. The report finds that Turkey with a €360 million per year deal over the 2015/16 to 2016/17 seasons is the highest but with a country population of 78 million has potential for long term growth. It also reckons there is growth potential in the other three markets.
But perhaps the biggest conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of league priorities. The Big 5 leagues are all now focussed on international expansion and sponsorship deals at a global and a national level.
In contrast the next level leagues still face the major challenges of maximising their domestic broadcasting revenues and filling their stadia.
View the full report at https://www.footballbenchmark.com/non_big_five_leagues
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