It’s the month of August, which to the millions of football (or soccer, if you prefer) fans around the world, means only one thing; the start of another English Premier League (EPL) season.
The 2019-2020 EPL Season kicked off last Friday and will now become the centre of attention of virtually every weekend – both Saturdays and Sundays – until May, much to the chagrin of the better halves and other family members, of the diehard fans whose mood swings and alternating bouts of happiness and despair will be dictated by the shifting fortunes of ‘their’ team.
Just what is the fascination? What is the pull of the EPL? The EPL is the perfect example of the blending of the sports and entertainment worlds. It lacks for nothing. Very high standard of play. Home to some of the biggest and most recognizable clubs. International stars from around the globe. Excessive media coverage on all platforms. Intrigue. Money, lots of it. Excellent television presentations. Most importantly, the EPL is an extremely well run enterprise. There is only one Premier League. The EPL.
The EPL is the elite league of English football, and arguably the top league in the world – Italian and German football fans would beg to differ. Formed in 1992, the league initially compromised twenty-two teams, since reduced to twenty. In the initial years, the league was dominated by the wealthy “Top Four” clubs namely, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. As of recent times, this group has been expanded to the “Big Six,” with Manchester City and Tottenham joining the big boys at the top of the heap.
How far is the reach of the EPL? Its television broadcasts reach over four billion viewers in over 200 territories making it the most watched sports league in the world. Several millions of these fans who cannot get enough of the EPL are involved in Fantasy football pools, a spin off product, which is a whole another industry by itself.
The last few weeks have been dominated with media predictions and the news of completed, pending, projected and inevitable rumours of, transfers. The transfer market, yes, it is a market, sees the movement of players between teams and the flow of mind- boggling sums of cash – millions of pounds. Players’ annual average salaries range from US$1.25 million to US$8.5 million per season, depending on the wealth of the club they represent.
The EPL is making one critical change to its structure this season, the introduction of the VAR, the Video Assistant Referees. The VAR, which made its maiden FIFA World Cup appearance last year, has been used by the North American Major League Soccer with a high degree of success for the last two seasons. While many fans are still skeptical about the role played by technology in determining the outcome of a game, the VAR will play a pivotal role in further raising the bar of the already high quality of the league.
While fans around the world debate among themselves about the chances of Liverpool, last season’s EPL runner-ups and current European Champions, of dethroning two-time defending champions, Manchester City, local fans will be asking what can the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) learn from the EPL?
A good place to start might be to examine the Harvard Business Review case study conducted in 2012 of the now retired, much heralded former manager of the highly successful Manchester United Football Club, Sir Alex Ferguson, under whose tenure the club won thirteen league titles along with twenty-five other domestic and international trophies. The study looks at the eight pillars upon which Ferguson built his highly successful reign, including the creation of a structure for long-term youth development, constantly rebuilding the team, the setting of high standards and holding everyone to them, preparing to win and constantly adapting to the ever changing football world.
While fans around the globe are enjoying this EPL season, perhaps the GFF can get serious about raising the standards of the local game.
