Africa leads in English Premier League support
Mqondisi Dube | Friday April 4, 2014 13:03
As a result, the continent has become a valuable revenue stream for what is believed to be the best league in the world. The league, backed by Barclays Bank has an estimated global audience of 4.7 billion.
Botswana is among leading nations where Barclays Bank has a presence. It is now part of the ‘G5’, which has Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and Egypt. Barclays Premier League chief executive officer, Richard Scudamore told Mmegi Sport in Johannesburg that Africa has remained the leading continent in terms of support for a long time. He said research shows that Africa’s supporters are interested in the Barclays Premier League more than any other competition in Europe. “We have more fans in Africa than any other continent with about 22 percent of our audience in Africa. It has grown immeasurably since African players started making a huge impact,” he said.
He however said the support will not affect respective local leagues.
“We are not deliberately doing anything (to earn support). One thing is that people in Africa have access to electronic imagery. If people are keen on our league, we do not take that as criticism. We are an electronic product. We prefer it if local leagues are more popular than us,” Scudamore said.
Africa’s appetite for the English game was rewarded with a Barclays Premier League Live event meant to appreciate the continent fans. Johannesburg’s Zoo Lake was the venue and more than 15,000 people turned up for the event. It drew legends of the English Premier League who included Barclays’ ambassadors, Marcel Desailly, Robbie Fowler and prominent South Africans who played in England, Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish and Phil ‘Chippa’ Masinga. Former AC Milan and Chelsea star, Desailly, acknowledged what football has to the fans. “What Barclays is doing for the fans is huge. We get to see families expressing their passion for the game. It is something very special. It makes people understand that they are the ones who make the game special,” he said.
Liverpool legend, Robbie Fowler said fans bring passion to the game. “When you have fans in the stadium, it drives players,” Fowler said.
He said the amount of support for the English Premier League in Africa does not come as a surprise. “The support is massive because its excitement non-stop. Any team can beat its opponent. You do not see that with other leagues,” he said.