Sports Sponsorship

This Key Note Market Report examines the UK sports sponsorship market. Commercial sponsorship is now pervasive in professional sports and many sports rely heavily on the money paid by companies to link their names with healthy, popular physical activities. There is no way of measuring the exact size of the total market, but the 'Sportscan' series from market researcher Ipsos MORI has recorded an increase in major 'deals' from ??353m to nearly ??486m over the past 10 years.

Sport funding will increase dramatically over the next 4 years to 2013 because of two major events to be held in the UK: the Olympic Games (London 2012), targeting sponsorship worth ??600m, and the Commonwealth Games (Glasgow 2014). However, these events could temporarily divert funds from the regularly sponsored sports led by football - still growing in importance - and Formula 1 racing. These two sports account for more than 50% of sports sponsorship spending in a market otherwise fragmented across dozens of sports for potential sponsoring, each offering sponsorship opportunities for leagues, cups, teams, individuals or even stadium sponsorships (e.g. Arsenal Football Club's [FC's] Emirates stadium).

Sponsors are drawn from most industry sectors, but a connection to sport is especially appreciated, for differing motivations, by financial services and alcoholic drinks brands (e.g. the Barclays Premier League in football and the Heineken Cup and Guinness Championship in rugby). The financial crisis that kick started the current recession is forcing banks, building societies and insurance companies to review their spending, but they are likely to remain major sponsors of sport.

Alcohol sponsorship could eventually be banned - as tobacco has been - but this is only at the early debating stage. The variety of companies eager to sponsor sport is illustrated by the list of 'Partners' backing London 2012, which includes Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Samsung, adidas and British Airways (BA). The Partners will be hoping that the 2012 Games run smoothly, but volatility is integral to professional sport and is fundamental to the excitement that attracts sponsors in the first place. In 2008 or 2009 alone, examples of volatility have included the failure of any of the heavily sponsored British Isles football teams to reach the Euro 2008 finals; the dramatic rise of Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 and of Andy Murray in tennis; and the drama at golf's The Open in 2009 when the trophy was nearly won by 59 year-old Tom Watson.