Week 3 Discussion response – JRC

In my considered opinion, the primary factors to consider when launching a professional football team in Asian countries where it has not been practiced before will entail expanding the national league by establishing the required infrastructure to promote the sport. This will also encourage other countries where the sport is dominant to honor invitations to grace local completions. These two factors can play an important role in generating interest and awareness in the new sport. 

I concur with the view that the establishment of sport facilities in such countries will be instrumental in increasing awareness and interest to the local athletes. In cases where sport infrastructure is well developed, interest and awareness is stimulated leading a growing popularity and success. A case in point can be derived from the United States which has 300,000 swimming pools even though swimming was not its traditional sport. This has made the country to become one of the leading nations when it comes to swimming competitions (Taylor, 2019). Similarly, setting up of stadiums, Training fields, and football academies in such Asian countries will help to stimulate interest and awareness in the sport which will ultimately make it a popular sport with time. It is, therefore, not enough to travel to other countries to learn how they run football because without such facilities, the interest and awareness of the sport will be negligible. With such facilities, local athletes get the opportunity to practice and compete with other teams at home. It also presents an opportunity for home fans to regularly support their upcoming teams which help improve its popularity. It is only when the sport is promoted at a local level that positive results can be seen. Foreign teams should only be engaged through invitations to create a sense of pride to the local fans for their home team. By playing with foreign teams, which are known to be leaders in the sport at home, creates interest and awareness both to the players and fans alike.

It is also equally important to expand the national football league of such countries to feature foreign-based teams. This initiative will help the local teams to gauge and bench-mark with well-established foreign-based football teams. Consequently, it will create a spirit of competitiveness and interest in the sport at home. It is a good initiative that has already proven to function well in different countries. One tactic that is commonly used by many countries to create awareness is offering invitations to well-established teams to visit the host country and display their skills and techniques to the local players and fans. The Rugby World Cup in Japan can serve as a good example. During this event, The New Zealand Rugby Team, which is famed for being the most consistent and successful team in the sport visited Japan as a participant in the event. The team generated a lot of interest and awareness of the sport in Japan and this was taken up by a series of commercials which increased popularity in the sport (McEleny, 2019). This type of marketing strategy is more powerful than using any sport as a political or social tool. The difference is that this strategy only highlights certain features of the country which need to be addressed but does not, in any way, create a significant amount of interest and awareness of the sport in question. In this regard, therefore, it is important to consider the establishment of sports facilities and inviting well-established foreign teams when one is considering introducing a new sport in a country.

References

McEleney, C. (2019, July 23). AIG and the All Blacks teach tourists how to drive in Japan ahead of Rugby World Cup. The Drum. Retrieved from https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/07/23/aig-and-the-all-blacks-teach-tourists-how-drive-japan-ahead-rugby-world-cup

Taylor, L. (2019, October 10). Fascinating Facts About Pools, Spas, Swimming and Safety. The Spruce. Retrieved from https://www.thespruce.com/facts-about-pools-spas-swimming-safety-2737127