The iconic English Premier League club,  Liverpool FC are currently thinking about expanding towards the Indian market. The Merseyside club is interested in tapping the Indian football craze, which is at its peak at the moment, especially for Premier League football. Moreover, Liverpool’s brand value have also significantly increased in India especially after the success, the club has enjoyed under Jurgen Klopp, which includes a UEFA Champions League, Premier League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
With Liverpool signing a deal with the Fenway Sports Group back in 2010, commercial revenues have increased steadily over the years. The club reported that commercial revenues had increased by 168 per cent ever since FSG took over. The most recent numbers revealed that revenue of £217 million was generated in the 2019/20 season wherein Liverpool won the Premier League. Sponsorship deals have been coming thick and fast with existing partners like Carlsberg and Nivea signing long term deals as well.
The Reds are an extremely popular club in India with over 96 million supporters in the country. This makes India one of the most lucrative business regions in the world for Liverpool at the moment. Although cricket is the predominant sport in India, once a global football club makes its entry, the opportunities will be endless.
“We are not up there with cricket in India, but are growing in the region for sure. The number of fans is at 96m, according to a Global Web Index study. The viewings and the engagement of Liverpool FC in South East Asia and India are strong. So, it’s really important for us,” said Liverpool’s commercial director Matt Scammell.
“Our foundation has been doing work with Right to Play, an organisation that looks to improve people’s lives in different parts of the world and the first country we entered with that programme was Thailand. It’s something that’s going to grow and expand to other markets too.
“Right now, we have partners that are interested in activating across different markets and those that are headquartered across Asia Pacific – MG Motor being one. We don’t have any Indian headquartered organisation partnering with the club at this moment, but we see India as a market where we should be creating partnerships.”