Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Arsenal FC in the community & FIFA
Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT - ARSENAL
Amid the doom and gloom of global events over the past week, it’s hard to find much to smile about.
It’s been a challenging couple of years for most of us, with the Covid-19 pandemic seeing the world go into lockdown and create economic hardships for so many businesses.
Football clubs have of course also suffered, with empty stadia depriving them of not just atmosphere but also the ticket sales, food and beverage, and merchandise sales on which they depend.
According to the Deloitte Money League report last year, the top 20 clubs in Europe had seen their combined revenue drop by 12 per cent last season, down from €9.3bn to €8.2bn due to the impact of the pandemic in the final months of that campaign.
While fans have now returned to stadia, their importance to local communities has not waned.
We have seen countless examples of football providing support for those most in need, with Marcus Rashford even securing an MBE for his campaigning to provide school meals to children.
The world is starting to recover from the impacts of the virus, but many businesses are still struggling to recover.
Arsenal, through their collaborations with Adidas, have certainly led the way in brand marketing, and they have been running a campaign this season to support local businesses a little differently.
Inspired by player-business partnerships of yesteryear, members of the Arsenal men’s and women’s teams, past and present, have been paired with local businesses to raise awareness of their services and drive footfall on and around matchday in a campaign called ‘Arsenal Supporting Supporters’.
The first video featured defender Rob Holding buying a (soft) drink at the famous Arsenal pub The Tollington Arms, which has had a close link to the club since it first opened at around the same time as the new stadium.
Next was the now-departed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, known for his love of cars, visiting the local Autoparts garage with owner John Selby saying: “Just to be on Arsenal’s Facebook page and Instagram was great exposure. Most businesses could never dream of something like this. I keep saying it, but it’s like a lottery win.”
Emile Smith-Rowe, whose hair always looks immaculate, featured in a film with JNF Haircutters in Finsbury Park, with owner Jimmy Patsalou commenting: “What Arsenal has done for us was amazing. It’s not just for us, it is for the whole of this area. During the last year we all had to close – it was only a couple of businesses who were open.
“Hopefully, now we are all back up and running, this help from Arsenal won’t just help bring people to us, it will bring people to the area as well.”
The latest film, which launched last week, featured charismatic goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, with a play on a popular, x-rated chant usually levelled at the keeper, and which Ramsdale reacted to in his usual jovial manner when Arsenal faced Leicester City earlier in the season.
“The Chip Inn has been there for 60 years, it’s a big part of the community and I think it was really important that it managed to survive the pandemic and now, what Arsenal are providing for us, will hopefully help us as we come out of this situation stronger,” owner Murat Gokmen said.
With Premier League fans now a global audience, it would be easy to forget the local fans and the businesses that support their neighbourhood communities.
“This is one of a number of ways we are supporting the local community,” said Arsenal CEO, Vinai Venkatesham.
“After listening to the local businesses involved, it was clear there was one thing in particular they needed – awareness. So we got to work on creating a series of adverts in partnership with them which will hopefully ensure every Arsenal fan knows who they are and how they can use the brilliant services they offer.”
By investing in this campaign, which includes matchday programme and in-stadium advertising that small businesses could never normally afford, Arsenal have shown their recognition of the importance of engaging with fans authentically, a bond which was damaged by the ESL debacle last year.
Arsenal Vision podcast regular Clive Palmer, who does the voiceovers at the end of each film, summed it up when he commented: “What I like about it is it’s not Arsenal pushing themselves forward. They’re pushing the businesses forward.
“What’s a definition of a football club? You need to feel connected to it and you need to feel like you’re all part of the same team. And I think the club (is)…starting to appreciate it a lot more due to the fact that we were kept separate from each other. When you’re kept separate, you think hang on a minute we can’t take each other for granted.”
MISS – FIFA
There have been concerns about sportswashing by states such as Russia and high profile individuals within them, for years, using the power of sports events and clubs to legitimise and promote nations in a way traditional diplomacy cannot muster.
For sports-mad Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games and 2018 FIFA World Cup have provided opportunities to bathe in the glory of global sports events and enhance Russia’s national identity.
The disconnect is that Russia has been excluded as a nation from many sporting events because of systemic state doping, with its athletes forced to compete under another banner.
The invasion of Ukraine has further underlined the need for firm action to exclude Russia and its athletes, coaches and clubs from international sporting competition, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA coming under criticism for not taking firm and decisive action early on.
FIFA in particular remained quiet, giving the impression that Infantino wanted to avoid punishing Russia given his connection to President Putin.
It is, after all, only a few years ago Infantino was at the Kremlin postulating that the world was in love with Russia and he was later presented with a Russian state Order of Friendship medal.
In a remote press conference days after Russia’s aggression, FIFA President Gianni was asked by Associated Press Global Sports Correspondent Rob Harris if he planned to retain the Order of Friendship medal.
The FIFA president was further questioned on whether he held any regrets about praising the Russian leader so strongly in recent years, especially when the initial incursion of Ukraine happened in 2014, with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.
Infantino answered: “We are constantly reflecting on the role of sport, in particular the role of sport in trying to bring people together in a peaceful environment. Even people, countries who don’t have relations with each other or who are in a conflict with each other. This is a constant in our thinking and I firmly believe in sport to bring people together.
“Football is the people’s sport as well. It’s not about individuals, it’s about all the people from all over the world and honestly if we had this press conference yesterday I might say something else, but today my thoughts are really on all the people who are really affected by this escalating conflict and nothing else.”
Belatedly, FIFA, in coordination with UEFA, imposed measures on Russia, banning Russian flags and anthems and forcing them to compete away from home under the name ‘Football Union of Russia’ (RFU).
Their statement read: “First and foremost, FIFA would like to reiterate its condemnation of the use of force by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Violence is never a solution and FIFA expresses its deepest solidarity to all people affected by what is happening in Ukraine.
“FIFA calls again for the urgent restoration of peace and for constructive dialogue to commence immediately. FIFA remains in close contact with the Ukrainian Association of Football and members of the Ukrainian football community who have been requesting support to leave the country for as long as the current conflict persists.
“No international competition shall be played on the territory of Russia, with ‘home’ matches being played on neutral territory and without spectators.
“The member association representing Russia shall participate in any competition under the name ‘Football Union of Russia (RFU)’ and not ‘Russia’. No flag or anthem of Russia will be used in matches where teams from the Football Union of Russia participate.”
It all looked like window-dressing, given that it made so little difference to the FIFA World Cup, especially after Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic had declared that they would refuse to play Russia in the play-offs for a place at Qatar 2022.
Cezary Kulesza, head of the Polish FA, declared: “Today’s FIFA decision is totally unacceptable. We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will not play with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is.”
In a further tweet, Kulesza added: “Due to the disgraceful decision of FIFA, the Polish FA sent a letter today to all [football] federations in Europe. We presented our position and encouraged them to stand by our side. Because only united we will be strong. No indulgence for Russian aggression against Ukraine!”
Swedish Football Association chairman, Karl-Erik Nilsson, said: “The illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine currently makes all football exchanges with Russia impossible. We therefore urge FIFA to decide that the playoff matches in March in which Russia participates will be cancelled. But regardless of what FIFA chooses to do, we will not play against Russia in March.”
While the Czech FA released a statement, which read: "The FA executive committee approved unanimously the decision that the Czech national team will under no circumstances play the possible game against Russia's team in the 2022 World Cup qualification.”
The English FA also announced that England would not play against Russia at any level of international competition and a statement said: “Out of solidarity with Ukraine and to wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities being committed by the Russian leadership, The FA can confirm that we won’t play against Russia in any international fixtures for the foreseeable future. This includes any potential match at any level of senior, age group or para football.”
It appeared to take the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommending that Russia and its ally Belarus should be banned from international sport for FIFA to fall into line.
A FIFA statement read: “Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.
“These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters.
“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people.”
Where FIFA could have led the way by banning Russia immediately, it appeared paralysed by the perceived conflict that Infantino faced because of his relationship with President Putin.
As Oliver Brown said in the Daily Telegraph: “Be in no doubt, FIFA is ejecting Russian teams from their competitions purely because it has been shamed into doing so. Infantino pulled the trigger only when the wave of revulsion for his initial solution, which involved a meaningless rebrand of Russia’s national side as the “Russian Football Union”, gained unstoppable momentum.”
Perhaps FIFA’s actions will cut through to the Russian public but where it could have taken a moral stand, it appears to have yielded, kicking and screaming, simply because international public opinion forced their hand.