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United (versus Liverpool) Nations



On the 22nd of this month Manchester United play Liverpool. When they last met, half a billion people in 152 countries watched the game. Denis Campbell explains how the Premiership has become the most popular league in the world, and fans from five continents explain why they have to watch the biggest club game on the planet

Sunday 6 January 2002
guardian.co.uk


Nine thirty on a cold Sunday morning and a dozen technicians in an anonymous west London office block are preparing to broadcast a football game to the world. In some ways it is the classic English encounter: two Premiership giants, living just 35 miles apart in the game's North-West heartland, with a rivalry that dates back to 1894. But today's match is of much more than just domestic interest. The expected global audience for Liverpool v Manchester United? About half a billion people, one in 12 of everyone on the planet.

On a wooden desk below the banks of television screens, two heavy black phones trill. Some of the dozens of broadcasters around the globe are complaining they can't get the sound, the picture, or both. Cue frantic activity among staff of Trans World International to sort out difficulties of 'satellite hop', material bouncing (or not) from one satellite to another en route to an increasingly-nervous TV company thousands of miles away. Problem solved, broadcasters in Japan, China and Australia start to breathe more easily, as do viewers watching at 3.30am on America's West Coast or 10.30pm in Australia.

The Premier League is the world's most popular national football league. It is broadcast to 152 countries on a regular basis, and while arguments continue to rage as to which competition is the best, there can be no doubting that Italy's Serie A (143 countries) Spain's La Liga (136) are in the Premier League's shadow as far as global attractiveness is concerned. 'The Premier League is a truly global sporting and televisual phenomenon,' says the Premier League's chief executive Richard Scudamore. 'Our games are shown in more countries, watched by more people and make up more hours of TV coverage than either Spanish or Italian football. It might not be the world's most technically perfect league but people overseas say the Premier League is the best because it's more exciting, more interesting, noisier and more physical - and thus more attractive - than the others. It was watched last season in some 450m homes worldwide by a cumulative audience of about 1.3bn.'

The 152 countries watching the Premiership this season is an increase of 11 on the 141 who tuned in last season, and the newcomers - Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Rwanda - provide a fascinating insight into its global reach. Its growing popularity means it is also an increasingly lucrative source of income for the Premiership's 20 clubs. The previous overseas TV contract was worth £100m over the three seasons from 1998-2001; the deal which began in August is for £178m over the next three years.

Of course different parts of the world like different sorts of football, roughly (though only roughly) corresponding to immigration, emigration and colonial history. So while both Serie A and La Liga are popular in South America, southern Europe and the Far East, the Premiership's appeal is strongest in Australasia, Africa and south-east Asia. This last area is perhaps the most significant, with countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan developing a burgeoning interest in English football, while a quarter of that 1.3bn is thought to be from China alone. This year's World Cup in Japan and South Korea is likely to add to the interest, particularly if England do well. English football has another advantage - the sense throughout the world that it is football's birthplace, and that it carries with it a unique heritage. The FA Cup final has been watched in well over 100 countries since the 1970s. But the huge global interest in the English game meant that when the Premier League launched in 1992, it was perfectly-placed to capitalise on the rapid global explosion in football, facilitated in part by falling satellite costs and technological advances. Since then the number of countries televising English football has quadrupled. China is seen as a prime market, and though the English, Italian and Spanish leagues are all shown, the Premiership is by far the most popular.

It is not just the broadcasters who see English football's global dominance. 'The Premiership is the biggest football brand in the world,' says Gavin Hamilton, editor of World Soccer magazine. 'There's a huge emotional attachment abroad to England as the birthplace of football, especially in places like Asia where domestic football isn't strong. People like to associate with the tradition and appeal of a game that goes back over a century.' English's status as the world's first language, and the main tongue on the internet, helps too. 'A lot of it is to do with the atmosphere, the fact that we have noisy fans packed inside full stadiums which, unlike those in Italy and Spain, don't have running tracks round the pitch and so are more vibrant.'

Hamilton's postbag tells its own story. 'We get letters from places like the Seychelles and the Lebanon saying, "What's wrong with Paul Scholes?" or "Why isn't Alex Ferguson playing with two strikers?" It's not just the old myth about people only knowing about Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore.'

The pictures beamed overseas are the same ones Sky's viewers see, minus the adverts and trailers, to which TWI add their own English-language commentary via Ian Darke, though many countries dub on their own commentary. Thirty seconds before they go on air, TWI's producer has a quick final run-through by phone with Darke - tired after a late night stint covering boxing in Glasgow followed by a four-hour drive south - before saying 'Good luck, Darkie.' It's game on.

THE AMERICAS

Los Angeles
Time 3.30am
Venue Cock & Bull bar, Santa Monica, Los Angeles

Ryan Farhoudini (aged 24)
Bartender, Liverpool fan

Jimmy and I never miss an English game on television. We are English Premier League junkies and follow it on the internet or Fox Sports World TV. The fact that we just beat Jimmy's lot makes staying up until five in the morning more than worth it. I remember watching Liverpool win the FA 1992 Cup final with my dad in Texas, where I grew up, when they beat Sunderland 2-0 at Wembley. It was fantastic. My soccer coach at college used to show us Best of Liverpool videos and I modelled myself on Kenny Dalglish. I love the history of Liverpool and how they've always rebounded from tragedies. Major League Soccer sucks big time; it's so slow compared to the EPL. You'd never get 100 people watching an MLS game at 3.30 in the morning. I love the EPL over every other kind of football because the speed and passion of the game are totally amazing. When it's really happening, and both teams are just going for it, it's the best sport in the world, hands down.

Jimmy Cline (25)
Bartender, Manchester United fan

I work at Mooba nightclub until 3am so the game starting at 3.30am isn't a problem for me. I just had to come to the Cock & Bull to see tonight's game because the atmosphere is unlike anything you'll ever find in an American bar. Everyone is so into the English games, it's awesome. I've always liked United because my dad's best friend Bob was from Manchester and always told me to play like Bryan Robson. I know all the United players and I love Becks. He's like the Michael Jordan of football, a superstar. American soccer is completely useless. I wouldn't watch Major League Soccer if you paid me and college games are beyond a joke. I'm completely spoiled by watching the English Premier League. I also come here to watch England play. As soon as the US gets knocked out of the next World Cup, I'll be cheering England all the way.

EUROPE

Serbia
Time 12.30pm
Venue Refugee camp in the Serbia Hotel in Bor, east Serbia

Bojan Kazic (22)
Serb refugee, Manchester United fan

I first got interested in English football about four years ago when I started betting on football. I now watch the games live on TV. What I really like about your football is that the games are very open and the teams are very strong and team play is very united. Everyone works for each other, unlike the teams here. There are also a lot of good players from all over the world in the English Premier League. United became my favourite English team when I began watching them in the Champions League. I really like Barthez: he's very exciting to watch, though he does make a lot of mistakes. I think Veron will be the best player this year. I never imagined we'd lose 3-1 today and was surprised how badly Beckham played. Owen was very good. I think United should buy him. I'm glad I didn't have any money this week otherwise I would have bet on United to win.

Stanimir Ibranimovic (62)
Serb refugee, Manchester United fan

I've loved football all my life and first got interested in English football in the 1950s when I began to look at match reports and the results of the national teams in Europe. I would look at the team sheets to see which clubs the players played for. Around that time I became aware of Manchester United, although I had never seen them play. It was after the tragic Munich air disaster in 1958 that I began to take a more active interest in them. I was a great fan of the United team of the 1960s of Bobby Charlton, my favourite English player. I like the current United team because the players developed together and know each other's play so well, but I feel they aren't ready to win the Champions League again. I didn't see them win the Champions League in 1999 because at that time Nato were bombing us. I like the fact that a lot of the teams in the Premiership are more equal than in other leagues, and most games are hard. The English game is very fast, with a lot of long balls but also short, precise passes and, best of all, a lot of goalmouth action.

AFRICA

Nairobi
Time 1.30pm
Venue Kengeles bar, central Nairobi, Kenya

Steven Kinaro (23)
Television producer, Liverpool fan

I always watch the games here on Saturday. My dad is a Liverpool fan but my mama is with United; after this result she is nothing. I have been with Liverpool since I was knee high - the best was 1987-88 when we were unbeatable - but even in the lean times I have stayed true. Gérard Houllier has brought the real Liverpool back; he understands Liverpool. I can't watch Serie A; no one knows it, it's not interesting. Football's about England. It's the most exciting. First they sorted the money, then they got the players. That's why they want fans in Thailand and Malaysia; it's all about power and money. That's why Africa doesn't matter so much. I try and get a new Liverpool shirt every year. My brother, who's at university in Manchester - he's a Liverpool fan though - sends them to me. If you're lucky you find them here second-hand. That's very popular.

Debbie Malumbe (27)
Bank secretary, Manchester United fan

I used to support Spurs because I liked Gazza, but now I follow United. Gazza was the Beckham of the early 1990s. But nobody is better than Beckham. He is good-looking, but he is a real footballer. This season United will win nothing - Leeds will win the Premiership - because we are not together any more. You see that in their play and in their interviews on the internet. The reason is because Alex Ferguson is leaving and he doesn't care. The glory days are not over but this is a bad patch. But I will never leave this team, not even if they are relegated. I have been to England and I have been to Old Trafford twice with my brother, though he's an Arsenal supporter. My family is divided into three Arsenal fans and two with Manchester.

ASIA

Hong Kong
Time 7.30pm
Venue Main bar, South China Athletic Club, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tiffany Tong (30)
Financial analyst, Liverpool fan

Seeing Michael Owen play got me into watching English Premiership games. He's so fast, so exciting and scores so many goals that Liverpool are the only team I wanted to watch. I just knew he'd score tonight. English soccer is much more exciting than the games from Italy and Spain, and that's why so many Hong Kong people like it. The personality of Hong Kong is like English football. This is a fast and exciting city where people like to work hard and play when they are finished. It's like a release from the stress of work as well. Many of the players are like superheroes here. I watch the games in a bar because I don't have cable TV. My dream is to go to England on holiday and watch Liverpool for real. They were in Singapore last summer but didn't come here.'

Zarina Chang (48)
Civil servant, Manchester United fan

It was the 1998 World Cup which got me interested in football in the first place, and I think it was the same for lots of Hong Kong people because that was the first time we had almost all the matches live on TV. David Beckham made me like English football especially. Mostly it was because of his performances, as he's so silky. I don't care if he was sent off for kicking out in that game; it wasn't his fault, he was young. And he's gorgeous, of course. I never miss a game now when Manchester are playing and I often come and watch other games too because my husband likes English soccer too. We always come here because the atmosphere is so good and it's happy-hour prices when the Premiership is on! When Alex Ferguson leaves I think Eric Cantona should be made the manager. He's never been a manager before but every Manchester fan loves him and I'm sure he would want the job.

AUSTRALASIA

Sydney
Time 10.30pm
Venue Cheers sports bar, downtown Sydney

Patrick Tam (27)
Scientist, Liverpool fan

I used to follow rugby league but Rupert Murdoch got rid of my team when his TV company moved in on the sport. So I started watching soccer. I supported Liverpool because of the TV programme Bread. Billy Boswell had a poster of the team above his bed. They were a Catholic family, and I'm from a Catholic family, so I thought: 'That'll do for me'. I usually watch the games on TV at home but come to the pub for big games like this. The last FA Cup final, when they beat Arsenal, was one of the best nights of my life. There were about 150 people crammed in front of the screen here. Nick Hornby said that when a goal is scored, look around and you see a sea of contorted faces. I felt that sense of loss of control again tonight. To be able to share the moment with so many people is just wonderful. It's the closest I can imagine to being on The Kop.

George Antonas (23)
Underwriter, Manchester United fan

My twin brother Anthony and I are soccer fans; he follows Newcastle United and I'm a Manchester United fan. Our dad, who's a rugby league man, thinks we're idiots because we spend so much time following the game but likes the fact that we're passionate about it. Although my family is originally from Greece, we prefer English soccer. I think that's because there used to be lots of English programmes on TV. And because of Mark Hughes. He was such a fantastic player. I supported him, and he happened to play for Manchester United so I supported them too. A couple of years ago I finally went to Old Trafford. United beat Spurs 2-0. It was the best feeling of my life. When the team walked out of the tunnel I started crying. The atmosphere was a bit quiet, though, until everyone got going. We went to Newcastle as well and, to be honest, the crowd was better there. I tried to go on the stadium tour but it was full. I said, 'I've flown from the other side of the world for this moment'. But they still said no and blamed the fire regulations.





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