No matter who comes out on top of the titanic clash of the Big
Four, Manchester United, under the watchful eye of Sir Alex
Ferguson can still claim to be No 1.
They now have a staggering 333 million fans around the world,
according to new research, and are preparing to move part of their
administration to London.
United have long been the butt of jokes about the high proportion
of fans alleged to live in the south of England. Now they have
appointed Richard Arnold as their new director of global
partnerships, with a brief to retain current blue-chip sponsors
like AIG and Nike, and to recruit others who can help them tap into
their fanbase.
Leading sports marketing firm TNS Sport interviewed at least 1,000
people in each of 21 markets from Ireland to Indonesia and the
results surprised even their most bullish executives.
