England football team tops sponsorship rich list

by Drew Barrand, Marketing 09-May-06, 08:30

LONDON - The Football Association is the world leader when it comes to attracting sponsorship, according to exclusive research undertaken by Marketing.

The English FA has netted more sponsorship income than any other national governing body at this year's World Cup, with annual revenue from such deals totalling more than £49m.

Lucrative contracts with brands such as Nationwide, McDonald's, Pepsi, Carlsberg and Umbro put the FA more than £22m a year ahead of its nearest counterpart, the Italian FA, which brings in £27.6m a year in sponsorship, followed by France with £25.5m, Japan with £16.58m and Brazil with £16.57m.

Marketing's research also showed that of the 20 richest footballers in the world, based on annual income derived from personal-endorsement deals, seven are English -- a higher proportion than any other country.

Not surprisingly, England captain David Beckham tops the players rich list. He earned £12.85m last year from tie-ups with brands including Adidas and Pepsi. This places him significantly ahead of Brazil striker Ronaldo with £9.12m and France midfield star Zinedine Zidane's £4.56m.

Top 10 teams by annual sponsorship income
1. England - £49.1m
2. Italy - £27.6m
3. France - £25.5m
4. Japan - £16.58m
5. Brazil - £16.57m
6. Germany - £10.4m
7. Spain - £8.7m
8. USA - £7.7m
9. Netherlands - £7.3m
10. Switzerland - £1.8m

Top 20 sponsored players
1. David Beckham - £12.85m a year
2. Ronaldo - £9.12m
3. Zinedine Zidane - £4.56m
4. Christian Vieri - £3.80m
5. Alessandro del Piero - £3.66m
6. Thierry Henry - £3.25m
7. Ronaldinho - £2.76m
8. Michael Owen - £2.21m
9. Oliver Kahn - £2.14m
10. Wayne Rooney - £2.07m
11. Raul - £2m
12. Michael Ballack - £1.96m
13. Luis Figo - £1.45m
14. Ruud van Nistelrooy - £1.42m
15. Steven Gerrard - £1.38m
16. Francesco Totti - £1.31m
17. Frank Lampard - £1.24m
18. John Terry - £1.24m
19. Patrick Viera - £1.17m
20. Rio Ferdinand - £0.91m