by The final pillars of the Talking Strategy Series pertain to investment, commercialisation and fan culture. While Part 1 and 2 dealt with the technical side of investment, regularisation and competition structures, and development, this final instalment deals with creating a product for the masses.
Investment & Commercialisation
While sports has an important role in shaping healthy societies, professional sports is ultimately a lucrative business, if handled properly. Like any business, it requires those willing to take a risk and a business acumen to make it fruitful in the long-term. Only then can it reach the potential to be truly professional in every sense and self-propagate to higher levels.
The Product & The Target Markets
However, as with any business venture, there needs to be an understanding of the target market and whether there is any person willing to buy the product being sold. The product in sport is a bit more nuanced and probably best described as having three prongs: the matches, the team brand, and the people i.e. the players traded.
Player tradings are mostly dependent on structures that enable a controlled transfer market locally, but probably is the most lucrative if one considers the exportation of players abroad. The targets are clubs, but the structures for transfers rely on footballing institutions. This is where the dialogue between Malta’s association and the European UEFA and global FIFA arms is most crucial. When considering professional approaches, that entails further third parties, including lawyers and agents.
However, in the sporting world, players offer another element, which is to support the merchandise and marketing of the employer or their sponsors. A known face sells more kits, merchandise and is likely to attract more to support a club.
So, while first targets are clubs, the second target is the masses. That is where football truly becomes a product to be sold that can spiral into sustainability. So, considering Malta, do the masses care for football? Is there any worth in building a product to be sold domestically or is Malta better off in closing all the domestic leagues and shipping off its exports to clubs abroad? That is probably the first question for the Strategy to research.
According to a periodic three-year research carried out by UEFA, 80% of Maltese respondents have an interest in football and 49% consider themselves as fans. That is a strong basis to start from. The interesting perspective to consider is how many of those percentages of interest apply to Maltese football and by extension, women’s football. The gap between that value and the 49% is the first window of opportunity that must be understood and addressed. The next is to see how many of the 80% of ‘interested’ individuals could be moved to become more involved in the sport.
It is no secret that no sports fan is the same, some enthusiasts breathe sports irrespective of type, gender or competition. Others are more selective. Understanding each demographic is the foundation for a Strategy to be able to set the structures for a product that is interesting to the target market.
Setting A Sustainable Pace & Facilitating The Road To Grow
The second exercise is to understand what a sustainable women’s football product in Malta looks like, where its ceiling is, and whether one is happy with that level. If not happy, then the next step would be to consider the exportation of the product. However, a local product and a global product are two very different things, and as things stand without any real tangible roadmap in sight, both are remote.
Malta’s struggles to make football sustainable are wide-ranging. However, there is one thing that is underlying all of it, a culture that is heavily taker-oriented instead of self-sustaining. Clubs look to their owners, external sponsors or the Malta Football Association for funding. The Malta Football Association looks to UEFA and FIFA. Very few (although there are some positive stories) have thus far been keen on taking it upon themselves to build a sustainable product. At the risk of sounding like a cliched broken-record, it is a long and arduous road, but anything worth doing doesn’t come easy. If it were the case, everyone would have succeeded by now.
It is acknowledged that the Malta Premier League has taken upon itself to try a different approach. Whether it is sustainable in the long-term still remains to be determined and there is a tangent there to be discussed that is too long and not the scope of the article.
The women’s game in Malta still falls under the guidance of the Malta Football Association, as do the men’s Challenge & Amateur Leagues. It is important to note, that while the Strategy is set by the Association, the responsibilities are split among stakeholders. However, having a strategic roadmap to enable commercialisation for clubs is crucial and this is already known.
It is impossible for a four year strategy to fix all problems, but one hopes that it begins to set the way. As noted by UEFA’s strategy, Associations have a dual role in growing the game. The responsibilities of Associations pertaining to national teams and the domestic game is different.
Details on technical investment and regularisation structures have already been discussed in Parts 1 and 2 of this series. To give the technical perspective as an example, the Association may invest in the right national coaching setup, but the development of players is ultimately handed off to the clubs. In this regard, what the Association must do is to make sure clubs have the right incentives and structures to properly develop its players.
The same principles apply when it comes to the business side of the game, in transfers, as well as commercialisation of the football product to the masses. Its role is to enable and guide the game growth beyond its current amateur approach.
When it comes to funding, UEFA & FIFA incentive programmes will continue to provide support, as do the additional European competitions, but an effort must be made to provide the structures in Malta to add onto them. The domestic competitions must give clubs some return.
If clubs are to grow their fanbases and attract them to regularly attend matches and participate in the game, then there must be something that they get in return for increasing attendances. Once that structure is set, then clubs can throw their effort into growing their fanbases, which would funnel funds sustainably via supporters who buy into the product that the clubs are willing to sell. Setting basic requirements for venues is also important, as is the decision pertaining to broadcasting and live-streaming of matches.
However, for this whole machine to run smoothly, a clear path for a season’s trajectory is a basic requirement. That chain is started by the Malta Football Association. We are one week away from a league split that will lead to the climax of the championship, with zero communication of fixtures. It goes without saying, there’s plenty of football to enjoy globally, make it easy for the Maltese football fan to choose a Maltese football match. By extension, media and clubs can only promote matches and build momentum if they have a picture to sell. While you’re at it, spare a thought for the coaches that are expected to bring a professional planned approach to training to ensure the optimum condition for their players, without knowing when the team is playing their most crucial matches in a season.
Promotion
If structures are set for technical and commercial growth, the game must be visible for the game to attract new sponsorships and fan support. One cannot buy into a product that they cannot see and certainly no smart business person (bar the dedicated early-buyer) will invest in something that they cannot see a return in.
On a national team level, there have been some upticks, most notably with a more inventive ‘holiday’ message from national team players just before the holiday period, and a few organised relaxed interviews on social media. However, as has been stated in previous articles, enabling promotion extends beyond the direct output on its social media.
To give an example, Roberta Metsola and Miriam Dalli both picked women’s national team and individuals within it as the personnel to look out for this year when speaking to Lovin Malta. Had tickets been on sale for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League, those statements could have probably driven a few ticket sales for the matches to be held in Malta between February and June. However, tickets are not yet on sale. This dance has already been danced before, as the team headed toward promotion in the last cycle in 2023. It is 2025 and yet the same pattern is forming. Domestically, not a single match has been live-streamed this season.
So, the role of the Strategy is also in creating an approach to provide the right organised elements for media to get information in a timely manner to the masses, while also understanding that different demographics are engaged via different methods and personnel. Enabling that will increase the likelihood of new sponsorships, as well as authentic fan engagement.
When it comes to visibility of the domestic competitions, the role of the Association is to make sure the organisation of the league (in format, fixtures and venues) enables clubs and independent media to properly engage supporters. Currently, the MFA takes it upon itself to regularly update social media posts and this year has pushed for an organised a weekly programme on national television.
They are positive supports, but there’s a lot more that can be done to support those that can promote the game. Most of the information is reactive limiting the possibility of stakeholders to promote the game and thus support its growth. As has been said in previous parts of this series, the importance of dialogue and proper market research cannot be understated. Only then can the already limited funds be used in a smart way.
Fan Culture
As noted above, the positive thing is that Malta seems to already have an intrinsic interest in football, which suggests that a product can be sold and that there is a fan culture that can be amassed. While there are pessimists, it is also evident that Malta’s Women’s National Team has respect. Another positive element is that the majority of players are willing to be ambassadors for the game and there’s an added bonus that most of them are based in Malta.
So, with the caveat that there is already the effort to raise the technical level of the game, the remaining aspect is to understand what is missing in changing the peripheral admiration into an active, match-going supporter.
Although it may sting, the reality is as follows: Malta’s women’s game currently has zero fan culture.
Fan culture is a mass of individuals who may have never met a single player of their favourite team, but will ceremoniously go to watch a game in the stadium or on a livestream as dedicated as the most church-goer. They will do so in the right attire – their favourite kit and merchandise. They write and sing anthems for their team in a match in support. They will pray for their team to score and the opponents’ best player to have a (mild) bug on matchday in the hope of having a better chance to win. Before and after a match, they will congregate to meet their mates and chat about the game, complain about the coach’s decision or players’ performances, or shower them in adulation. It is about common beliefs and community. It is a religion.
Malta’s women’s game lacks this. However, fret not, because it has is a nucleus of dedicated individuals: players’ families and friends, young players, club personnel and a select few external individuals interested in the game. Although small in number, they are the leaders of the movement in forming the women’s football fan culture. Setting up a group of them to support the Strategy in growing a fan culture that is positive for the game, is probably a smart thing to do.
When looking to grow this number into a real fanbase, there are two things to keep in mind: the short-term i.e. attracting an individual to give the game a chance, and the long-term i.e. turning them into a devoted football fan.
There are ‘fire-starters’ that may be utilised in attracting a newcomer, such as engaging well-known influencers from other fields to showcase the game on their platforms or make an appearance before a match. Choosing a well-known performer has also been done. UEFA’s approach to bringing Camila Cabello in the men’s Champions League final a few years back is one example.
Once again, the selection of approach and individual/s lies in understanding the demographic being targeted. It is also worth noting that what may attract some, may completely alienate core football fans who have a strict understanding of what they expect in a football match. Balancing this is important to ensure the numbers increase and aren’t instead replaced.
Crucially though, the important thing to note is that the aim is to build a long-term connection with a team, which is what ensures a devoted supporter who will be there on glory days as much as dismal disappointments.
That connection relies on helping the small number of individuals mentioned above. The women’s game is chock-full of tales of how such individuals have snowballed the fandom into the thousands that take to the stands today across international and domestic matches of teams that had not won a single trophy.
However, the strategy must support them as well. It is very difficult to convince a less-enthusiastic-about-football group of friends to go to a match with them if that entails sitting (or standing) in the cold after a long day of work, without any chance of buying something to eat or a good cup of coffee from the facility. It is even harder to convince someone to go watch a match, if you can’t exactly tell them when or where that will be played.
There is no community feeling if there is no place for those groups of people to meet before and after a match, and share a chat about it. That discussion will enable those knowledgeable about the team to share information and grow the connection.
The thing to keep in mind is the following: there is competition for the attention of an individual not only from other football matches globally, but in every other form of entertainment. What a match in a local ground/stadium offers, is a unique chance for a particular type of human connection. In a country that is inundated by loneliness despite being one of the most densely populated, that social aspect is something that could be a positive that football can truly bring forth and harness.
All of this ties into the minimum requirements of venues, organisation of matches, pre-advice of fixtures at domestic and international level, and broadcasting. Once that is set and implemented by the Strategy, then it is clear that there are some very crafty social media gurus who can truly do their bit in getting people off their phones and into the grounds.
Final Word
If you have made it this far, then you are certainly one of the game’s biggest potential ambassadors. There have been many points made along the ‘Talking Strategy’ series, and probably a few still missed. Whatever the Strategy will entail is up to a select few personnel. However, it is a good thing to keep in mind, that whether a high-ranking official, a match attendee or someone who has wondered about the game in Malta but is yet to find the courage to be part of it, the game belongs to and is shaped by, you – your actions and inactions.
This brings the Talking Strategy series to a close. Thank you for reading.
Lead Image: Brandon Bonett
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