Growing the football game: the increasing economic and social relevance of older fans and those with disabilities in the European football industry

Abstract

In trying to grow the customer base of the football game, recent studies have argued that relevant key actors in the European football industry such as football governing bodies and professional clubs must attend to the needs of all their supporters as well as consider the economic and social relevance of older supporters and those with disabilities, described as the ‘new’ generation of sport customers. Through analysis of major trends in legislation, demography, consumer expenditures and sport and leisure interests over time, coupled with a series of interviews with representatives of three of the main football leagues in Europe, this article contends that these two growing segments of sport consumers should be valued as important stakeholders, with enhanced access to all types of services, goods and experiences, not only considered a legal and moral imperative but one which also makes good business sense. To attend to the needs of these two groups of supporters will not only create managerial challenges but also significant opportunities for sustainable business growth that the football industry cannot underestimate as they seek to activate this latent consumer demand. Improving access to stadia is also a timely issue that football clubs should integrate into their organization’s culture and operations in order to provide an inclusive environment at club level.

Acknowledgements

This study is part of the research project entitled ‘Estudio Comparativo de las Funciones y Competencias del Experto en Accesibilidad Universal en Instalaciones y Eventos Deportivos: PerspectivaNorteamericana y Europea’ (Comparative Study of the Role and Competencies of the Disability Liaison Office on Sport Facilities and Events: North American and European Perspective) led by Dr Juan L. Paramio Salcines, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid with Dr John Grady, University of South Carolina and funded by the Spanish Bank, Banco de Santander (2ª Convocatoria de Proyectos de Cooperación Interuniversitaria UAM-Banco de Santander con EEUU, 2013–2014).

Notes

1. UEFA, Supporter Liaison Officer Handbook, 3.

2. See this statement in different football leagues such as Premier League, Premier League Guidance for Clubs on Disabled Fans and Customers 2010; 2012/13 Premier League Season Review; Premier League Research and Insight Season 2011/12; Liga de Fútbol Profesional, Memoria 2011–2012 Liga de Fútbol Profesional; The Football League, Supporters Survey 2010; Bundesliga, Bundesliga Report 2013. See also Deloitte, Fan Power Football Money League.

3. UEFA, Access for All. UEFA and CAFÉ Good Practice Guide to Creating an Accessible Stadium and Match day Experience, 11. See a more detailed discussion on Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’ and Grady and James, ‘Understanding the Needs of Spectators with Disabilities attending Sporting Events’.

4. At the time of writing, there are 28 countries within the European Union after the adhesion of Croatia on July 1, 2013.

5. To clarify the term disability will be important to locate this concept as part of the ongoing debate about the main perspectives concerning disability; the medical and social models. Based on both approaches, the term disability has different and distinctive meanings. On the light of this comment, disability can mean something entirely different in relation to football fans with disabilities, based on the medical and social models of disability. From the football industry, and as an advocacy group as the English Playing Field states, each club has a different approach to definition and qualification of disability and even between individuals within a club. For the purposes of this study, we follow what this advocacy group defines as a disabled supporter: ‘any person who, because of their disability or impairment, is unable to use ordinary stand seating without contravening Health and Safety Regulations, Guidelines or Policy OR where the club has provided a “reasonable adjustment or “auxiliary service” to enable that supporter to attend the venue”. Any such person will be considered for use of the “designated areas” of the stadium in line with the procedures set out in this policy’ (Level Playing Field, 2013). See more details in Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’.

6. For the purpose of this paper and considering that there is neither recognised statistical definition of ‘old’ or ‘older’ people (Eurostat 2010, 2012, 2013), though in their statistics, Eurostat starts measuring the number of older people as those people aged 50 and over, nor general consensus on who should be classed as old people we have defined in our study as those people over 50 years old as ‘older people’, considering that, at this age, the incidence of disability begins to increase significantly with this age. Different academics, practitioners and advocacy organisations have started to contend that the segment market of older people, known as the ‘grey market’ or ‘baby boomers’, and those with disabilities should be valued as two ‘new’ customer segments by the sport industry in general (see Stone, ‘The “New” Older Market’; Luker, ‘Why Sport Industry must Recognize Importance of Older Fans’; Dolliver, ‘The Stats on Older Fans’; Wolfe, ‘Older Markets and the New Marketing Paradigm’ for a more detailed analysis of the US Sport Industry on the relevance of older people segment) and the football industry in Europe in particular (CAFÉ, Annual Report 2011–2012; Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Approaches to Managing the Fan Experience for Patrons with Disabilities’; Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR policies’; Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation in Professional Football’; Waterman and Bell, Disabled Access to Facilities; and Grady and James, ‘Understanding the Needs of Spectators with Disabilities attending Sporting Events’.

7. See more details of this demographic trend in European countries, in Eurostat, Demography Report 2010; Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations; Basic Figures on the EU; Office for National Statistics, National Population Projections for the UK; Federal Statistics Office, Germany´s Population by 2060 for Germany or Spanish Statistics Institute, Spain in Figures 2013 for Spain. Beyond Europe, see Erickson, Lee and von Schrader, 2011 Disability Status Report. United States; Brault, American with Disabilities: 2010; and Werner, The Older Population: 2010 to analyse this demographic trend and the large economic impact and social importance of our two segments of population in the United States.

8. Similar concerns for the travel industry are found in Hudson, ‘Wooing Zoomers: Marketing to the Mature Traveler’, hospitality (Grady and Ohlin) or sport (Grady and Paramio Salcines; Grady and James).

9. Breitbarth and Harris, ‘The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Football Business. Towards the Development of a Conceptual Model’; Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR policies’; Walters and Tacon, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in European Football’; and Walter and Kent, ‘Do Fans Care? Assessing the Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Attitudes in the Sport Industry’.

10. To analyse the sport and leisure habits, needs and consumer expenditures of individuals and groups in European countries, see Taylor, Torkildsen´s Sport and Leisure Management for the UK; Lera-López and Rapún-Gárate, ‘Sports Participation versus Consumer Expenditure on Sport’; Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, ‘Anuario de Estadísticas Deportivas 2013’; Spanish Statistics Institute, Spain in Figures 2013 for Spain; and Pawlowski and Breuer, ‘The Demand for Sport and Recreational Services’ for Germany.

11. In the twentieth century, football became the national sport in many countries worldwide, with an estimated fan base over 3 bn. people. See Sartori, European Stadium Insight 2011, 6. However, these figures do not estimate the number of fans with disabilities and older fans.

12. To analyse the relevance of the commercial development of the latest generation of stadia in Europe see Sartori, European Stadium Insight 2011; Paramio, Buraimo, and Campos, ‘From Modern to Postmodern’; and Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’.

13. See more details at Hassan and Hamil, ‘Introduction: Models of Governance and Management in International Sport’; Giulianotti, ‘Supporters, Followers, Fans and Flaneurs’; Cleland ‘From Passive to Active: The Changing Relationship between Supporters and Football Clubs’; and Llopis-Goig, ‘Propiedad y Gestión de los Clubes de Fútbol. La Perspectiva de los Aficionados’.

14. Premier League, 2012/13 Premier League Season Review; Premier League Research and Insight Season 2011/12; The Football League, Supporters Survey 2010; and Bundesliga, Bundesliga Report 2013.

15. See Sartori, European Stadium Insight 2011; and Paramio, Buraimo, and Campos, ‘From Modern to Postmodern’ and see more details of the case of Arsenal and the Emirates Stadium in Kitchin, ‘Planning and Managing the Stadium Experience’.

16. Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’; Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Approaches to Managing the Fan Experience for Patrons with Disabilities’; Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Disability Laws and their Impact on the Stadium Experience’; Kitchin, ‘Managing the Stadium Experience’; and Grady and James, ‘Understanding the Needs of Spectators with Disabilities attending Sporting Events’.

17. See Paramio, Buraimo, and Campos, ‘From Modern to Postmodern’, 530.

18. Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadiums and Arenas’; and Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’.

19. In the United States, see Grady and James, ‘Understanding the Needs of Spectators with Disabilities attending Sporting Events’.

20. As was reflected in Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo (2011: 385), ‘Both individual clubs and governing bodies (in Europe) should become more proactive in the promotion of accessible stadia in decades to come. Those clubs that are still reactive and do not explore the benefits of dealing with providing good standards of accessibility within their stadia will be considered, as Downs states, as part of the problem rather than the solution, especially when some top clubs in Europe are moving forward on this issue’.

21. Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Approaches to Managing the Fan Experience for Patrons with Disabilities’; Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadiums and Arenas’; Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’; and Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR policies’.

22. See more details on Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR policies’, 144.

23. Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR policies’.

24. This issue has been analysed on Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Approaches to Managing the Fan Experience for Patrons with Disabilities’; Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadiums and Arenas’; Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’; and Grady and James, ‘Understanding the Needs of Spectators with Disabilities attending Sporting Events’.

25. Scott-Parker and Zadek, ‘Managing Diversity’, 120. See also Zadek and Scott-Parker, ‘Unlocking Potential’.

26. Luker, ‘Why Sport Industry must Recognize Importance of Older Fans’.

27. Ibid., 120.

28. Ibid., 120.

29. Eurostat, Demography Report 2010; Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations; Basic Figures on the EU.

30. Eurostat, Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, 15. Similar demographic projections are provided by the Office for National (UK) Statistics where it is stated that the UK population will increase from 62.3 million in 2010 to reach 70 million by mid-2027 with the average (median) age rising from 39.7 years in 2010 to 39.9 years in 2020 to 42.2 by 2035 (See more at the Office for National Statistics, National Population Projections). Beyond Europe, the U.S. Census Bureau states that the 65 years and over population grew at a faster rate than the total population. Trend that it will continue to rise in the next decades (See more at Werner, The Older Population: 2010).

31. Ahtonen and Pardo, ‘The Accessibility Act’.

32. Department for Work & Pensions, Fulfilling Potential, VI.

33. Office for Disability Issues, Growing your Customer Base to Include Disabled People, 5.

34. Spanish Statistics Institute, Spain in Figures 2013.

35. Eurostat, Demography Report 2010; Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations; Basic Figures on the EU.

36. Ahtonen and Pardo, ‘The Accessibility Act’.

37. Waterman and Bell, Disabled Access to Facilities.

38. Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Approaches to Managing the Fan Experience for Patrons with Disabilities’; and Grady and Paramio Salcines, ‘Global Disability Laws and their Impact on the Stadium Experience’.

39. CAFÉ, Annual Report 2011–2012. Similar argument can be found in UEFA, Access for All. UEFA and CAFÉ Good Practice Guide to Creating an Accessible Stadium and Match day Experience, 10.

40. Taylor, Torkildsen´s Sport and Leisure Management, 42.

41. García Ferrando and Llopis Goig, Ideal democrático y bienestar personal: Encuesta sobre hábitos deportivos en España 2010.

42. CAFÉ, Annual Report 2011–2012.

43. See Reiche, ‘Drivers behind Corporate Social Responsibility in the Professional Football Sector: A case study of the German Bundesliga’.

44. Premier League, 2012/13 Premier League Season Review, 7.

45. See more details in Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadiums and Arenas’; Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’.

46. Premier League, 2012/13 Premier League Season Review, 29.

47. Level Playing Field, Annual Report 2012/2013.

48. As the Manchester United Foundation impact report 2012/2013 stressed, the club, through Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association (MUDSA), provided nearly 10,000 (9831) tickets for disabled supporters and their caregivers for the season 2012/2013. Additionally, an increasing number of children and adults with disabilities engaged in different disability programs as Ability Counts in the club since 2000. In particular, 156 players were registered on the Ability Counts program. See more details at Downs and Paramio Salcines, ‘Incorporating Accessibility and Disability in the Manchester United Culture and Organization as part of their CSR policies’ and Manchester United Foundation. A Season Review. Taking Manchester United to the Heart of the Community. Impact Report 2012/13.

49. Paramio Salcines et al., ‘Disability Provision in European stadia within a CSR framework’; and Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadiums and Arenas’.

50. Ibid.

51. See FC Barcelona, Presentació Web Accessible.

52. See more details of the provision for fans with disabilities at top main stadia of the Spanish Primera Division, Bundesliga and Premier League´s clubs as well as the new Wembley Stadium at Paramio, Campos, and Buraimo, ‘Promoting Accessibility for Fans with Disabilities to European Stadiums and Arenas: A Holistic Journey Sequence Approach’, 380–83.

53. Taylor, Torkildsen´s Sport and Leisure Management.

54. Ibid., 63.

55. Office for Disability Issues, ‘Growing your Customer Base to Include Disabled People’, 5; Waterman and Bell, Disabled Access to Facilities; Scott-Parker and Zadek, ‘Managing Diversity’; and Zadek and Scott-Parker, ‘Unlocking Potential’.

56. Level Playing Field, Annual Report 2012/2013.

57. Brault, American with Disabilities: 2010.

58. U.S. Department of Justice, Accessibility Benefits Older Adult Customers.

59. Paramio Salcines and Kitchin, ‘Institutional Perspectives on the Implementation of Disability Legislation and Services for Spectators with Disabilities in European Professional Football’.

60. Personal communication, 30 September 2013.