It's not just the team

In my new guise as Commercial Director of the Oman Football Association, we view is undoubtedly going to be Middle Eastern, Asian primarily moving forward.  However, we focus remains world sport and with a growing interest in USA to complement my Ozzie and Brit experience - stay tuned.

Since I arrived a week ago - Oman has picked up 4 points from 2 tough FIFA world cup qualification games - and what seemed a lost cause a short time ago is now a very real prospect of progression - which would be outstanding.

The fact tat only 5,000 came out to watch Oman take on Australia (the best team in the group) at home was due to the drop off of interest after recent poor performances, and the perceived lack of quality / chance to progress.  The win there and a draw in front of 60k+ Saudis has given the team (and the sport) the shot in the arm in needed.

Now - there is an expectation (no pressure then Nic) that we will have 30,000 cheering us on at the end of February - when we face Thailand.

So it’s simple then isn’t it - team plays well - good crowd, teams plays badly = poor crowd.  Well - yes to a degree in that a good performing team is obviously one of the most important factors to drive your business.  But if you think that is it - and we should al pack up and go home - think again.

The job of a sports marketeer is to reduce the impact of the team’s performance to a minimum.  When every team is doing its utmost to beat you - you cannot rely on your team to win all the time (maybe unless you are the All Blacks - 85% win record Graham was it??).

Our job is to do everything else well - interact and energize your fan base, cultivate, nurture, and grow your corporate support; build a growing and meaningful database; dominate the relevant media you require; present your organization in the right image; build for the long term.

If the team wins along the way - then Heh!! - use that to your advantage.

But please - no moaning about poor performance off the pitch when the team loses.  The growth of the franchise, or the association is down to you - so get to work!!