London Welsh: Enter the Dragon...and bring your chequebook

As Worcester Warriors’ Andy Goode and Pat Sanderson patrolled the touchline at London Welsh’s Old Deer Park ground last Sunday, the gulf between Premiership and Championship rugby union became startlingly apparent to me.

Premiership regulars, Worcester, are currently masquerading in the First Division, albeit six points clear at the top.

Welsh gave the Warriors a good run for their money on that chilly afternoon in Kew and could well have won, were it not for a walk-in intercept try. The point is, Welsh looked mighty close to beating a Premiership (in all but current standing) team.

But if a club like London Welsh does not have, say, the multi-millionaire inventor of the combi-boiler as its chairman and backer (like Worcester), how can it attract the investment required to move into a Premiership stadium, attracting Premiership crowds being entertained by international stars?

London Welsh is a club that belongs in the Premiership. They have fantastic talent in the team with the likes of Josh Drauniniu and Aled Thomas. Indeed, “London Welsh have provided more British Lions than any other club, including 7 in one tour in 1971” the club proudly boasts on its website. Before the game last Sunday, Worcester head coach Richard Hill said Welsh are genuine promotion contenders this season.

So why isn’t this club, based in Richmond, the heartland of the English rugby, with a larger rugby community than you can shake a kicking tee at, with players like John Dawes, John Taylor and JPR Williams in its archives, and ground sharing potential with Brentford FC’s 20,000 capacity Griffin Park, in the Premiership already?

London Welsh is a club crying out for investment. From a sponsors’ perspective, it has everything going for it. Big names (Phil Greening is head coach), great community engagement opportunities, a spiral kick away from Twickenham, on the flight path (surely an obvious attraction for airliners?) and arguably the game’s most impressive heritage.

It’s a question of a sponsor recognising the potential in London Welsh. What a fantastic opportunity for a sponsor to be involved at the start of the club’s journey! A chance to lay solid foundations with the club and partner with Welsh on their road to the Aviva Premiership. A much better story (and ROI) than simply jumping on the bandwagon if and when the club is promoted and paying a higher sponsorship price.

In the same way a powerful Number 8 steers a scrum, London Welsh needs the business world’s Imanol Harinordoquy at its base.

Oliver Druttman

Is the Premier League taking a gamble?

After the Wayne Rooney episode we have more proof that top flight football in England lives in a world of its own. Forget top name signings (or-resignings) like Rooney, Van Der Vaart and the little pea, Hernandez; the big money this season is in shirt sponsorship. Despite the recession, and marketing budgets for big brands being cut across the board, it seems there’s always some spare cash to plunge into football.

Recent findings show the English Premier League tops the table as this season’s European leader in shirt sponsorship revenue – leapfrogging deadly rivals the Bundesliga. A recent report from SPORT+MARKT states that Premier League shirt sponsorship is now worth a whopping €128 million – a €45 million increase on last season.

Table:
England – Premier League - €128million
Germany – Bundesliga - €118.5million
Italy – Serie A - €65.9million
France – Ligue 1 - €58.5million
Spain – La Liga - €57.5million
Netherlands – Eredirise - €42million

So it all looks rosy for the Premier League – but if you look at the report further you’ll see that the league is very much dependent on money from the gambling sector. This season, seven of the 20 clubs in the English Premier League have shirts emblazoned with the names of online betting companies. In fact this trend is seen across Europe, making the most out of the liberalisation of gambling and license laws. For example, Real Madrid's famous white jersey carries the corporate logo of Bwin, and BetClic ranks third among a host of new brands entering the football market with €20 million paid for jersey sponsorship deals with Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique Marseille.

But what happens if the Government cracks down on gambling sponsorship in this country? The Gambling Act 2005 is still under review, and it’s currently unlawful for gambling operators to target children with their advertising within the UK. However, clearly with sponsorship there is a grey area; does shirt sponsorship constitute targeting children? Or is this argument too dependent on an assumption that children recognise Boyle Sports from an insurance company?

The right to sponsorship is a fight that tobacco companies lost, and alcohol brands are continuingly battling. So what’s next for the gambling industry?

Last year, GamCare reported a rise in the number of calls from younger people. Too many more reports like this and the industry will come under increased scrutiny.If so, then clearly this would have repercussions for sponsorship across all industries in the UK. It seems now is the time to start preparing the case for the defence…

Laura Oakley