Out of Play
What Liverpool are doing to maximise profit to aid Jurgen Klopp
The “sleeping giant” of Merseyside has been awoken, Liverpool’s managing director Billy Hogan believes.
Liverpool have made massive progress behind the scenes under the reign of Fenway Sports Group, as results continue to improve on the pitch.
Hogan first arrived at Liverpool six years ago in the role of chief commercial officer, but now operates as managing director.
During his time at the club, he has overseen a period of transformation during which annual commercial revenues have more than doubled to £136million, report the Liverpool Echo.
That greater financial muscle has helped Jurgen Klopp to drastically improve the playing squad and put Liverpool back competing for the biggest prizes.
How Liverpool have changed in six years…
“It’s very different six years on,” Hogan told the ECHO during an exclusive interview.
“We have moved the club forward quite a bit in that time. Clearly, from a commercial standpoint, which has been my area of responsibility, that’s grown significantly.
“But more importantly and I think what everyone is most proud of is the strategy we’ve had since FSG took ownership – how we built the club in a sustainable way over the long-term to be successful on the pitch. That’s ultimately what this is all about – everyone here wants to win.
“I think we’re starting to see the delivery of that strategy now in terms of the reinvestment on the pitch and the success we’re seeing. We’ve also invested heavily off the pitch with the Main Stand, the new superstore at Anfield and the new training ground which is just about to start.
“Across the whole team of staff off the pitch there’s a huge desire to return the club to where we believe it belongs at the top of world football. We can’t do that by kicking a ball but we can do that by helping to drive the business forward.
“This is about making our fans proud of the club. Sitting here today, the club is in a tremendously positive place. The football is terrific, the team is playing great and we’re all excited about the future.
“If you go back to when FSG first started looking at Liverpool as an opportunity, people were referring to the club as a sleeping giant. I think that’s something that’s been proven to be true.”
How partnerships are helping to grow the club…
The latest accounts published in March showed a £20million leap commercially for 2016/17. Liverpool secured 12 new partnerships including Malaysia Airlines, Konami and Joie. They also signed a training kit sponsorship deal with BetVictor. Three existing partners – including Carlsberg – renewed their contracts.
“Partnerships is a crucial part of the growth of the club,” said Hogan.
“We’re very proud of the fact that our partners renew – it shows that the partnership is working for both sides. We are very focused on making sure they renew and also on growing that family by bringing in the right partners for the club.
“We’ve just gone through a renewal with Standard Chartered. That will be one of the longest shirt sponsorships in the Premier League.
“By the end of our current term with Carlsberg, we will have had a 28-year partnership with them which is unheard of. There are many other multi-term renewals.
“We’ve been methodical in our execution of a strategy to try to grow the commercial side of the club to try to reinvest that back into the football side. We’re looking at where we’ve come from, where we are and ultimately where we’re going in terms of how we grow. We have aggressive plans to continue that growth.”
The Standard Chartered deal, which now extends until 2023, is understood to be worth around £40million per year.
“It’s a terrific relationship. First and foremost, there is a shared values set,” Hogan added.
“There’s a tremendous overlap in terms of our global fanbase and their critical markets. When you think what opportunities could they choose to invest in to give them real global coverage and true cut through in markets important to them, Liverpool does that.
“There’s a lot that we’ve done from a partnership standpoint but also from a community standpoint. Standard Chartered is one of the biggest supporters of giving away their tickets to local fans in the Anfield neighbourhood.
“’Seeing is Believing’, one of their big community endeavours, is something we’ve worked closely with them on. There’s the perfect match where we swap out the logo for the ‘Seeing is Believing’ logo. We’ve raised over £500,000 in terms of charitable donations as a result of that.”
The next set of accounts will be even healthier. Global payment and money transfer services company Western Union came on board last summer and are paying around £5million per year as the shirt sleeve sponsor.
“The sleeve position was available because that was something introduced at league level and we were an early adopter of it,” Hogan said.
“Western Union has been a terrific partner for us, a truly global brand. It definitely resonates both in local and international markets.
“We’ve been together for a year now and it’s been a good start to that relationship. We’re excited about the future with them.
“We’ve been working with BetVictor for a bit longer as the training kit partner. That’s been great for them in terms of the growth of their business and a great platform for us in terms of them helping to promote and market the club.
“There’s been growth across the business. The Malaysian Airlines one was in the latest accounts and since then we’ve had seven new partners, the newest being Levi’s.
“It’s a really interesting project – they’re keen to focus on giving back to fans through football and music through the Levi’s Music Project which has already been really successful all over the world.
“Typically, there’s a long cycle in terms of identifying a partner. It needs to work for both parties. It’s about finding the right potential partner and working out what might work between the two of us and how we craft something.
“Olly Dale is our commercial director, responsible for the partnerships business and he does a terrific job. He’s got a team who work day and night to find those partners.”
How having a London base has helped growth…
That quest is aided by Liverpool having offices in London. Some 30 sales staff are based in the capital.
Hogan, who is originally from Cleveland in Ohio, relocated with his young family from Boston to the UK in 2014. Before working for the Reds he was MD of Fenway Sports Management, FSG’s global sponsorship sales arm.
“With London being one of the financial capitals of the world having a base there is very helpful,” Hogan said. “When people are visiting the UK, typically they are coming into London. It’s an opportunity for us to tap into that.
“It’s also about the wider club. We always had people travelling back and forth to London. Now we have a place where people can come down and work for the day or several days and host different partners, whether that’s Foundation related or commercial.
“I probably spend the majority of my time in London but I’m here in Liverpool at least weekly and then travelling internationally when necessary.”
Continual growth on social media…
Hogan was promoted to managing director as well as chief commercial officer following the reshuffle that followed Ian Ayre’s exit in February 2017.
Since then the club’s media and marketing teams have also been his responsibility. Fan engagement has been stepped up and during the first half of 2018 Liverpool was the most popular English club on YouTube with some 53million views.
“Data from surveys suggests we have over 700 million followers around the world,” Hogan said.
“Digital media and social media has created an incredible opportunity for us to engage with fans, regardless of where they are.
“The growth we’ve seen on our media channels is a direct result of the great work being done by Markus Breglec and our media and marketing teams. A lot of the content they’re creating is absolutely phenomenal.
“One of the things we have the ability to deliver for a partner is a truly global platform and that resonates with our partners. Standard Chartered is an example of that.
“We want our fans to be proud of the club and we want our partners to be proud to work with the club. Both of those pieces go together.”
How Klopp’s approach has aided Liverpool’s growth…
Klopp’s passion, charisma and attacking brand of football, which led Liverpool to the Champions League final back in May, has also served to bolster the club’s pulling power commercially.
“Jurgen is a big personality and he’s also tremendously supportive,” Hogan said.
“He completely gets that what we’re trying to do from the commercial side is generate revenues that we invest back into the football side.
“He also recognises that a huge element is how we engage with the fanbase. When we played Torino in the final friendly, we tried to bring some of the things we do on tour to Anfield.
“That was something Jurgen was adamant about. We want to create a dynamic where we’re all in this together.
“The ‘Klopp factor’ is more than just about his interaction with football, it’s across the whole club. He’s a tremendous fit and we’re so happy that he’s here.
“Having a phenomenal run in the Champions League and playing really well in the Premier League absolutely helps commercially.
“We’re starting to see the culmination of the strategy we’ve been following. Getting to this place, seeing the way this team is playing and the amount of talent in the squad – seeing what the guys have done at Melwood and the Academy – is fantastic.
“It’s also something we’ve been preaching about with our partners. It’s certainly helpful. It’s something we’ll continue to build on.”
A night guard at Ibuowo Estate, Okinni, Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State, on Saturday, allegedly shot dead a 40-year-old man, Badmus Mohammed.
The guard, Rasaq Moshood, DAILY POST gathered, shot Mohammed, a tenant, who is popularly called Lasgidi dead with his dane gun.
His Landlord, Kazeem Jimoh told DAILY POST that he was at a bar with the deceased till midnight on Friday, before he was called on phone about his death.
According to Kazeem, his tenant was killed at the front of the house, while his door was left open.
“I and Kazeem were at a bar till past 12 when I left him.
“I didn’t sleep at home but I got a call around 1 a.m. that Lasgidi was killed by a guard. When i got home, I saw his door open, while his corpse was outside,” he said.
The Police spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola confirmed the incident.
She noted that three night guards have been arrested with their dane guns.
According to her, “one Babatunde Olumide, the Chairman of Ibuowo Estate Okinni reported at dada Estate Divisional Police Hqts., that their night guard, one Moshood Rasaq used his dane gun to shoot one Mohammed Badmus, aged 40 years and he died instantly.
“Suspect has been arrested, gun used has been recovered, while the corpse has been taken to UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital morgue for autopsy.”
Opalola added that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after 183 days in space, ending China’s longest crewed mission as it continues its quest to become a major space power.
The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft was the latest mission in Beijing’s drive to rival the United States, after landing a rover on Mars and sending probes to the Moon.
Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed the capsule landing in a cloud of dust, with the ground crew who had kept clear of the landing site rushing in helicopters to reach the capsule.
The two men and one woman — Zhai Zhigang, Ye Guangfu and Wang Yaping — returned to Earth shortly before 10 am Beijing time (0200 GMT), after six months aboard the Tianhe core module of China’s Tiangong space station.
Ground crew applauded as the astronauts each took turns to report that they were in good physical condition.
Zhai was the first to emerge from the capsule roughly 45 minutes after the landing, waving and grinning at cameras as he was lifted by the ground crew into a specially designed chair before being bundled into a blanket.
“I’m proud of our heroic country,” Zhai said in an interview with CCTV shortly after leaving the capsule. “I feel extremely good.”
The trio originally launched in the Shenzhou-13 from China’s northwestern Gobi Desert last October, as the second of four crewed missions during 2021-2022 sent to assemble the country’s first permanent space station — Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace.”
Wang became the first Chinese woman to spacewalk last November, as she and her colleague Zhai installed space station equipment during a six-hour stint.
Mission commander Zhai, 55, is a former fighter pilot who performed China’s first spacewalk in 2008, while Ye is a People’s Liberation Army pilot.
The trio have completed two spacewalks, carried out numerous scientific experiments, set up equipment and tested technologies for future construction during their time in orbit.
The astronauts spent the past few weeks tidying up and preparing the cabin facilities and equipment for the crew of the incoming Shenzhou-14, expected to be launched in the coming months.
China’s previous record spaceflight mission length was set by last year’s Shenzhou-12 deployment, which lasted 92 days.
Six months will become the normal astronaut residence period aboard the Chinese space station, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Space race
The world’s second-largest economy has poured billions into its military-run space programme, with hopes of having a permanently crewed space station by 2022 and eventually sending humans to the Moon.
The country has come a long way in catching up with the United States and Russia, whose astronauts and cosmonauts have decades of experience in space exploration.
But under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the country’s plans for its heavily-promoted “space dream” have been put into overdrive.
Besides a space station, Beijing is also planning to build a base on the Moon, and the country’s National Space Administration said it aims to launch a crewed lunar mission by 2029.
China has been excluded from the International Space Station since 2011 when the US banned NASA from engaging with the country.
While China does not plan to use its space station for global cooperation on the scale of the ISS, Beijing has said it is open to foreign collaboration although the scope of that cooperation is not yet clear.
The ISS is due for retirement after 2024, although NASA has said it could remain functional until 2030.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday with explosions heard soon after across the country and its foreign minister warning a “full-scale invasion” was underway.
Weeks of intense diplomacy and the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia failed to deter Putin, who had massed between 150,000 and 200,000 troops along the borders of Ukraine.
“I have made the decision of a military operation,” Putin said in a surprise television announcement that triggered immediate condemnation from US President Joe Biden and sent global financial markets into turmoil.
Shortly after the announcement, explosions were heard in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and several other cities, according to AFP correspondents.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his address to the nation at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 21, 2022. Alexey NIKOLSKY / Sputnik / AFP
Putin called on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and justified the operation by claiming the government was overseeing a “genocide” in the east of the country.
The Kremlin had earlier said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv.
The extent of Thursday’s attacks was not immediately clear, but Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the worst-case scenario was playing out.
“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes,” Kuleba tweeted.
“This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”
Biden immediately warned of “consequences” for Russia and that there would be a “catastrophic loss of life and human suffering”.
NATO’s chief condemned Russia’s “reckless and unprovoked attack” on Ukraine.
Putin’s move came after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional appeal late on Wednesday night to Russians not to support a “major war in Europe”.
Speaking Russian, Zelensky said that the people of Russia were being lied to about Ukraine.
Zelensky said he had tried to call Putin but there was “no answer, only silence”, adding that Moscow now had around 200,000 soldiers near Ukraine’s borders.
Earlier on Wednesday the separatist leaders of Donetsk and Lugansk sent separate letters to Putin, asking him to “help them repel Ukraine’s aggression”, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The two letters were published by Russian state media and were both dated February 22.
Their appeals came after Putin recognised their independence and signed friendship treaties with them that include defence deals.
– ‘Moment of peril’ –
Putin had for weeks defied a barrage of international criticism over the crisis, with some Western leaders saying he was no longer rational.
His announcement of the military operation came ahead of a last-ditch summit involving European Union leaders in Brussels planned for Thursday.
The 27-nation bloc had also imposed sanctions on Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu and high-ranking figures including the commanders of Russia’s army, navy and air force, another part of the wave of Western punishment after Putin sought to rewrite Ukraine’s borders.
The United Nations Security Council met late Wednesday for its second emergency session in three days over the crisis, with a personal plea there by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Putin going unheeded.
“President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine, give peace a chance, too many people have already died,” Guterres said.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, warned that an all-out Russian invasion could displace five million people, triggering a new European refugee crisis.
Before Putin’s announcement, Ukraine had urged its approximately three million citizens living in Russia to leave.
“We are united in believing that the future of European security is being decided right now, here in our home, in Ukraine,” President Zelensky said during a joint media appearance with the visiting leaders of Poland and Lithuania.
Western capitals said Russia had amassed 150,000 troops in combat formations on Ukraine’s borders with Russia, Belarus and Russian-occupied Crimea and on warships in the Black Sea.
Ukraine has around 200,000 military personnel, and could call up to 250,000 reservists.
Moscow’s total forces are much larger — around a million active-duty personnel — and have been modernised and re-armed in recent years.
– High cost of war –
But Ukraine has received advanced anti-tank weapons and some drones from NATO members. More have been promised as the allies try to deter a Russian attack or at least make it costly.
Shelling had intensified in recent days between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists — a Ukrainian soldier was killed on Wednesday, the sixth in four days — and civilians living near the front were fearful.
Dmitry Maksimenko, a 27-year-old coal miner from government-held Krasnogorivka, told AFP that he was shocked when his wife came to tell him that Putin had recognised the two Russian-backed separatist enclaves.
“She said: ‘Have you heard the news?’. How could I have known? There’s no electricity, never mind internet. I don’t know what is going to happen next, but to be honest, I’m afraid,” he said.
In a Russian village around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border, AFP reporters saw military equipment including rocket launchers, howitzers and fuel tanks mounted on trains stretching for hundreds of metres.
Russia has long demanded that Ukraine be forbidden from ever joining the NATO alliance and that US troops pull out from Eastern Europe.
Speaking to journalists, Putin on Tuesday set out a number of stringent conditions if the West wanted to de-escalate the crisis, saying Ukraine should drop its NATO ambition and become neutral.
Washington Wednesday announced sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which Germany had earlier effectively suspended by halting certification.
Australia, Britain, Japan and the European Union have all also announced sanctions.
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