The Sunday Mail
Hastings Kamanga
Special Correspondent
In the last two decades, football has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry that has resulted in rich pickings for those who have embraced the ever-changing business trends associated with the sport.
Survival and success of a football organisation stems from sound strategic planning and marketing preparation.
The brutal impact of Covid-19 on domestic and global sport economies will force sporting institutions to expedite transformation.
Several organisations could be forced into extinction and only the ingenious, creative and innovative will survive and excel.
In Zimbabwe, we still have clubs that are structured along amateur lines and run by staff that is not properly trained, including executives some of whose motives are symbolic and not developmental.
They are in football merely to enjoy the privileges of travelling and associated match-day perks.
However, two key ingredients needed to achieve any form of success on the field of play are skill and passion.
The same is required to run any successful business.
Commercialisation is the evolution of sport as a business in which professional sport and the way it’s organised creates business relationships with organisations such as broadcasters, sponsors and endorsers.
Commercialisation cannot happen without going through commodification.
It involves the modification of financial and organisational structures, both for athletes and administration. Commercial sport industry can be separated into performance, promotion and production.
This is where sporting performances are offered to fans/customers as spectator or participation product, marketing tools used to promote sports products and the manufacturing of products needed or desired for enhancement of performance.
This requires the understanding of what can be offered to potential customers.
There are several sports products and services available to customers.
Organisations do not only need to be managed well, but they need to be ahead of the curve.
Organisations and clubs are constantly being forced to be innovative in providing new products and services as a result of the competitive nature of the industry.
Brands do not exist in isolation in a product-driven industry.
Recreation or creation of brands has to be driven by the impact of the product on customers’ perceptions.
With sport being the largest market for sponsorship, understanding the motivations of fans in supporting a club and attending matches can only aid attendances.
By ensuring that fans are attending matches, this can only provide sponsors with the desire to be linked with the club as it provides them with a cost-effective way of reaching out to their customers. The crucial component of sport irrespective of the level is to attract people.
The costs required to run a football club have increased enormously, with most traditional owners now unable to provide the required investment to operate, especially those owning clubs for prestige’s sake.
An overhaul is needed in the structures and processes used by ZIFA, PSL and clubs to develop strategic goals and direction and monitor their performances against goals.
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Our game is flawed and radical reforms are needed.
Some form of regulation is required either from inside or outside.
The governance of football has become so toxic to the extent of halting the processes of commodification and commercialisation due to the prevalent deep-rooted and closed culture.
We now have a tarnished reputation as result of match-fixing scandals and other scandals related to lack of corporate governance.
Declining attendances is a cause for concern because fans are the lifeblood of any club, as football institutions rely on fans to support them during games and also to raise money.
The contribution of fans must not be underestimated insofar as commodifying our game is concerned.
They are the customers that purchase tickets to watch matches, club merchandise and many products linked to the club or match-day events. The domestic game seems to be on auto-pilot.
It needs decisive leadership.
Some of the clubs have unclear ownership structures, yet modern football cannot be run secretively.
Most teams are run by executives that are appointed by those bankrolling the team.
In some instances, they might probably be employees in managerial positions of companies financing the team.
No consideration is made on whether those appointed bring any value to the team or football in general.
For clubs owned by individuals, the board composition might consist of the owner or majority shareholder only.
There are also no set rules.
It is these structures that have pegged back implementation of Club Licensing.
It also explains why some newly-formed teams have had a very short lifespan.
There is no manual for running a football club.
There are, however, business management tools that if applied properly could move it in the right direction.
It is tragic that our Premiership football history is littered with the story of promising new kids on the block who didn’t last the distance largely because they solely depended on the club owners.
Clubs like Blackpool, Gunners, AmaZulu, Lengthens, Shooting Stars, Rufaro Rovers, Fire Batteries, Zim Crackers, Eagles, Motor Action, Monomotapa, Underhill and Border Strikers relied heavily on a sole benefactor or director, a trend which has been slowly dying in Europe.
There is need for tighter regulation of club ownership.
The challenge faced by clubs is to attract women, families and children who have formerly avoided football.
Due diligence needs to be conducted on those who want to run clubs.
The post-Covid-19 era will present all sorts of challenges for clubs that are bankrolled by local authorities such as Harare City and Bulawayo City, including those run by individual owners like Yadah and CAPS United.
With benefactors likely to introduce austerity measures, it calls for innovative measures to widen revenue streams.
The pyramid structure of a country’s football league is crucial to the quality of players produced in that nation; the better the quality of players produced, the more the interest the league generates.
Naturally, this leads to a product that can be easily sold.
Most organisations have re-examined their governance structures and practices to accomplish the ever-increasing expectation and standards of accountability and performance from various stakeholders.
Effective boards are crucial to the development of opportunities for both participants and fans, as well as the organisation’s performance.
Studies conducted on board composition for professional sport indicate that an entire board elected by members has the potential to create problems for itself.
Boards should be planned to ensure that the right person is elected or appointed and to avoid cases of abuse of office.
With the mediocre management of football clubs exhibited by club owners (benefactors), there might be a case to advocate for greater levels of collective supporters share ownership via a share ownership trust model or supporters’ share ownership.
This can be key to the survival and sustainability of football as a spectator sport.
There is nothing that can stop clubs like Highlanders or Dynamos from transforming themselves into viable entities like Al Ahly of Egypt, Esperance (Tunisia), TP Mazembe (DRC), Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa).
The rationale for this model is to create a democratic model, improve the governance and ensure that clubs are more sustainable.
Greater social value can delivered for the benefit of the community in which they operate.
This enables the club to engage wider stakeholder groups in a meaningful manner by creating opportunities, work and volunteering, developing and harnessing skills, including taking responsibility.
It is very difficult for strategies to succeed if leaders and managers do not have the right capabilities at appropriate levels or mismatched capabilities.
Poor execution of tasks play a huge role in diminishing the overall strategic plan of an organisation.
Failure to reform could lead to the collapse of some of our biggest football brands.
Money generated has to be ploughed back into the club’s core operating area — football.
This will drive the club forward as an entrepreneurial business.
This requires investment in professional personnel and training.
Most successful organisations, including football clubs and associations, now appoint independent directors in their boards who monitor and exercise unbiased judgment in questioning decisions as well as protecting the balance of power between the board, management and stakeholders.
Independent directors are usually skilled and successful in areas that will add value or enhance the board performance.
The traditional way of governance, which is that of self-regulation, has failed in our football and has proved to be incapable of solving the problems that arise in the process of commodification.
Hastings Kamanga is a UK-based Zimbabwean who is the academy coach at AFC Rusden and Diamonds. He holds a BA Hons in Football Studies and an MA in Leadership and Management of Sport and Physical Activities from the University of Bedfordshire.
