| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Karl |
Posted - Dec 11 2004 : 2:28:20 PM
UK base.
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Aston Villa to Become Jamaica National Soccer Team's U.K. Base
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Aston Villa will become the U.K. base of Jamaica's national soccer team and is negotiating agreements with U.S. and Indian teams that may give Villa manager David O'Leary new funds to spend on players.
Birmingham-based Villa, which is sixth in the English Premiership, will offer coaching expertise to its overseas partners and seek to build its brand in those countries, said Phil Smith, Villa's head of marketing.
Villa, whose 2003 sales of 45 million pounds ($87 million) were about a quarter of Manchester United's, is trying to use its coaching resources to tap new areas of revenue and exploit the Premiership's popularity overseas. Its wage bill is less than half United's, limiting its ability to attract the best players.
``Some of that money will end up with David and help toward the money earmarked for him to spend (on new players),'' Smith said in an interview at Villa Park in Birmingham. ``Any money we make will go into improving the infrastructure of the team and facilities.''
Smith declined to say how much the agreements are worth. The Jamaica deal will be announced this week, and the U.S. and India agreements in the New Year. He said they are ``potentially lucrative.''
Villa has released 20 players since July and has one of the smallest squads in the Premiership. While United has 24 internationals, O'Leary said Saturday he has just 13 first- team players, ``some young kids'' and needs to buy four top players. He guided the team to sixth last year in the 20- team league. The top four qualify for the European Champions League.
`Quality'
``I'm enjoying putting the team where they are with nothing,'' O'Leary said. ``But quality players give you a better chance to have a base in that top eight. The money will decide what type of player you can get and quality ones are very expensive.''
He had to play on-loan striker Carlton Cole with the flu and midfielder Gavin McCann with an injured knee in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Liverpool. Both were substituted. Villa's initiatives may help O'Leary to compete with the likes Liverpool on the field as well as in the transfer market.
``It isn't your typical `I'll have your money for a bit of exposure deal,''' said Smith, who joined Villa after 13 years with Tesco Plc, the U.K.'s largest retailer. ``Clearly there is a financial incentive for us for them to get involved.''
Base
The Jamaican Football Federation needs a base from which to oversee players, most of which are based in the U.K. Jamaica will have training camps at Villa's ground and the English club will send teams to the Caribbean. Its Under- 17s will visit Jamaica next year for a tournament.
Villa is based in an area of central England with thousands of West Indian and Indian expatriates. The club is seeking to build on partnerships with the local community, Smith said.
``We re getting cannier in understanding what people in other countries want from a Premiership club,'' Smith said. ``Manchester United may not have the local communities we do so whereas markets like Jamaica and India are important to us they may not be to them.''
Villa, which won the English league championship in 1981 and the European Cup the following year, will take a different approach in the U.S. to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, which sent their team on tours there.
``Every English club has a different perspective on how to crack the U.S. market and we're going about it in a different way,'' Smith said.
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