DAVID GILL has warned Chelsea they are wasting their
time trying to match Manchester United's global appeal and 75
million-strong worldwide fan base.
Despite Chelsea's plan for world domination and attempts to crack
the US market, Gill claimed the fervent support for United on their
current pre-season tour of Asia proves Sir Alex Ferguson's side
remain the biggest box office draw.
United won the second game of their tour last night, beating FC
Seoul 4-0. All 68,000 tickets for the match sold out with in six
hours, while a staggering 750,000 of football-mad South Koreans are
said to have a United credit card.
And with research claiming 50 per cent of South Korea's 49m
population support United, Old Trafford chief executive Gill
claimed it all proves they are still way ahead of Chelsea in terms
of their ability to corner the key markets around the world.
"Chelsea have been having a great time in America the last few
years, which is fine," said Gill. "We do what's right for us and
we're comfortable with the opportunities with our history, our
ground, our heritage and the way we play. Those are key assets for
us.
"Is America ever going to be as passionate as the Asian market? I
wouldn't have thought so. We had a good tour in America in 2003,
but clearly there were issues in 2004, when we didn't take a full
squad because of the European Championship.
"How we organise these tours is clearly related to the preparation
of the team. That's a key factor. We also look at the commercial
aspects and then make a final decision on where we go."
Of United's 75m fans around the world, 40.7m are in Asia, while
only 4.6m are based in the US and Latin America, proof that the Far
East is the most lucrative football market.
United boss Fergie said: "We consider ourselves a global brand, a
club that is prepared to travel anywhere to promote our image and
that of the game.
"Our hotel has been crowded with our fans, which doesn't surprise
me. It's incredible the support we have over here and it's a
phenomena we can create in certain parts of the world.
"There is so much respect and affection for our club in the Far
East, so it's important for us to embrace that and visit these
places."
Gill added: "We have amazing support in Asia. But I think Africa is
an interesting area as well. There's clearly a great following for
the Premier League in Africa. There's a lot of money in Nigeria,
for example.
"The new TV rights for the Premier League in Nigeria have increased
significantly for the upcoming years."
There's a huge following for English football in Nigeria, and as
more African players come to England to play, you can see that
getting bigger."
Gill revealed United, who have signed a £5m sponsorship deal with
Korean company Kumho Tires, will take their pre-season tour to
South Africa for the second time next year.
United's next game is against Shenzen FC in Macau on Monday, with
Owen Hargreaves and Nani expected to have recovered from injury to
make their debuts.
