Formation of the international image of football clubs

Abstract

Purpose. to identify ways to shape the international image of football clubs.

Material and Methods: analysis of scientific, professional and periodical literature, observations, etc.

Results. The invitation of famous athletes has an extremely positive effect on the image of the club and its further promotion opportunities. An example of this is the acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo by the Italian Juventus in 2018. The club's president, Andrea Agnelli, noted that the decision to sign the 33-year-old Portuguese, which cost Juventus 340 million euros (transfer market price, player payments and taxes), was justified not only from a sporting point of view, but also from the position of using the opportunities of the athlete's personal brand. It is important to note that Cristiano Ronaldo is not only an outstanding athlete, but also a major media personality: he is the most popular person on Instagram with 217.3 million subscribers (as of 05/09/2020). The transfer of a popular player was competently used for the global promotion of the club, including in the non-European market. The so-called "Ronaldo effect" led to the fact that in the 24 hours (from July 10 to 11) after the official announcement of the deal, the number of subscribers to the club's social media account increased by 2.2 million. The number of subscribers on the social network Instagram increased from 9.8 million to 39.4 million (as of May 9, 2020), and on Weibo, the Chinese analogue of Facebook, it increased from 200 thousand to 2.7 million.

Conclusions. Thus, in the context of the globalization of sports, the problem of international competition of football clubs for audiences, markets and sponsors is gaining importance. Clubs are working purposefully to develop and promote their positive image in the international arena. To this end, clubs regulate their transfer policy, acquiring foreign players from "exotic" countries or world superstars who have global popularity.