Argentine football, a model for exporting raw materials

By Juan Anllo

Sports sector consultant

The economic impact of Qatar 2022 in Argentina is an issue based on the current state of the economy and the consumption capacity of the population. The World Cup has historically promoted the renewal of the audiovisual (TV) park and it is possible that this year is no exception. Usually, they sell between 15 and 20% more than the averageadded to the fact that this could be Messi’s last chance to lift the World Cup.

On this point, doubts remain about the impact of the current economic situation, with high inflation and limited imports. A scenario that could stop the expected growth in consumer demand.

As for the launch of the Argentine national team’s clothing, it surpassed all forecasts and many locations limit sales to just one item per person. This opens up the opportunity for the high quality replicas that (along with the informality of online sales) have developed a parallel market to the official Adidaswhose loss is very difficult to calculate.

As for the food and drink category, they have very high sales levels on match days in which Argentina plays, with demand peaks that exceed the usual demand by 300%. Many companies in this field are accelerating preparations for these key dates.

The challenge for the clubs playing in the local league is to appropriate a part of that market share: broadcasting on a big screen at the stadium for fans and members is an alternative that has never been exploited, and that this year could be the big one. industry news.

Also, this will be the Betting World Cup. These platforms, which arrived in the country this year, they have already generated $ 2.4 billion. Qatar 2022 should further accelerate this dynamic. we can expect it multiple bookmakers sponsor the club jerseys of the first division, which is already happening in Spain and which is already arousing some controversy.

The new match transmission technologies will expand the way people watch the show (even being able to watch the match from the point of view of the referee or an external player, a method already tested in a friendly match in the Netherlands this year).

We will see what news and impulses the World Cup will bring to Qatar in this line, but it will undoubtedly be a racing driver which, after the pandemic, suffered its first global decline since the 1990s and which in Argentina needs to resume the path of sustained growth it had until 2020.

Before the pandemic Argentine football produced around 1.5% of GDP. The model of the football industry is a mirror of the country, where we are exporters of raw material (the players who are the generators of the show) and not of the finished product (which would be the global sale of our television rights to the world).

Our best players cheer on the most expensive leagues in the world and those who raise the most from global TV rights, commercial deals and sponsorships. Our national team is therefore mainly composed of players who play in the European leagues.

In this way, the success of our national team implies a residual re-evaluation of our vernacular football. Brazil, with a much higher domestic market volume, is addressing this problem, generating growing marketing budgets (especially for big clubs), which allow it to keep its figures longer.

It is interesting to think whether this situation, which appears structural, can be reversed in Argentina. A simple analysis allows us to think that to reverse it we have to hire the top 50 Argentine players playing overseas.

There are no rapid transformations. We are facing a unique opportunity to reverse an industry matrix and ensure that a good result for the selected team directly adds value to our clubs.