Big players smiling all the way to the banks

Daire Whelan/Business of Sport 2003 has been a big year for sport and an even bigger one for the owners, investors, shareholders and sponsors. So who were the big winners and big losers off the pitch? Who saw their investments make a tidy profit and who saw their dreams of success go down the drain? The accolades may still go to the winners on the field but more and more it's the millions being made that are making the headlines.

Here then is a synopsis of the year for Ireland's biggest sports bodies, the GAA, IRFU and FAI, as well as two extreme examples in the English Premiership, Manchester United and Leeds, and a look at the success of rugby union. Let me know your own selection of the successes and failures of 2003 (email dairesport@eircom.net).

GAA

More county sponsorship deals than ever before (Boyle Sports with Louth). More boot and gear deals (Dublin and adidas). More newspaper, TV and radio coverage (with increased TV viewing figures). More corporate interest (for example, the Erin Under-21 Hurling Championship). High-profile Vodafone and Guinness TV ads. Increased attendances (up by an average 33 per cent). A new Sony PlayStation Gaelic football computer game being developed. Higher county shirt sales (up to 70,000 for Dublin). More revenue (up from the €70 million of 2002).

But with success comes fall-out: more training and demands on amateur players; high-profile media interest in the personal lives of the stars like DJ Carey; the loss of Setanta Ó hAilpín to the professional game of Aussie Rules (how many more to follow?); assaults on referees and players; managers playing out their tribulations in the media; and the vexed question of pay-for-play. What we're seeing is the unashamed commercialisation of Gaelic games.

How much longer can the romantic amateur ethos of intercounty GAA survive in the context of ever-increasing media and corporate pressures? Despite the debt of Croke Park hanging over its head and the failure of the Government to deliver the 38 million promised, the GAA's future is looking ever rosier. Football and hurling are set to build on their standing with sponsors, media and the corporate sector. And opening up Croke Park will add to the revenue stream.

Verdict: Success for the GAA and county coffers.

FAI

After the squabbles and bickering, the FAI finally agreed to new CEO Fran Rooney's contract and duties in September. His deal is said to be worth about 250,000 per annum but more important has been his role in the implementation of the Genesis recommendations to restructure the FAI and make it more commercially viable. To this end, eircom are set to extend their sponsorship of Irish soccer and the international team to the tune of 7 million over the next five years. However, some 80 million will need to be generated (in tandem with the IRFU) for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and there could be trouble over how much the FAI get from rental income from the stadium.

Verdict: Success.

IRFU

Quarter-finals of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Prize-money of €356,000. New sponsorship deals (€5 million three-year deal signed with Permanent-TSB in March). More media coverage and sponsorship than ever before. Yet still the IRFU is haemorrhaging money. Threats to axe Connacht for financial reasons were met with stiff resistance and shelved for the present but a three-province structure is still likely. Trying to hold on to the likes of Brian O'Driscoll will mean cutbacks in other areas and all the while English and French clubs are keeping a weather eye out for discontent with wages among Irish players.

Meanwhile, Munster signed a new Bank of Ireland sponsorship deal, Leinster announced plans to redevelop Donnybrook, and Ulster and Connacht continue to thrive. But, that's all before we come to the bugbear of Lansdowne Road, where limited capacity is costing an estimated 2-3 million in revenue at every international. The redeveloped stadium will cost the IRFU and FAI about 80million but a modern Lansdowne Road should enable the IRFU to reap huge commercial benefits - but that's all in the future and as of 2003 all plans for Lansdowne are merely that: plans.

Verdict: Failure.

Rugby Union

England's World Cup win will see them increase their annual £74 million turnover by 20 per cent as the country is swept by rugby mania. Jonny Wilkinson is the David Beckham of the oval ball while players like Jason Robinson and Martin Johnson will also earn fortunes through sponsorship and appearances.

The 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia was a huge commercial success, bringing in record profits of 150 million Australian dollars. Though overpricing for some games did deter fans, 1.8 million attended the games while TV audiences were particularly high in Ireland and Britain despite the early-morning kick-offs.

Rugby's premier club competition, the Heineken European Cup, more and more resembles the Champions League. Earlier this month the first tranche of final tickets (5,000 of them) for Twickenham in May was quickly sold out. Now Sky Sports have signed up for the next three years to broadcast European Cup games, media coverage will be even more hyped, more games will be shown and more money will be generated.

Verdict: Success.

Manchester Utd Premiership winners again. Record profits (22 per cent increase to £39.3 million). Biggest turnover for a football club (up 18 per cent to £173 million). More shirt sales (2.5 million per annum). The colossus that is the Manchester United brand shows no signs of shrinking. United lead the world in sports branding.

And yet the sale of David Beckham to Real Madrid meant the loss of the world's most famous footballer and the associated revenue.

Rio Ferdinand has been banned for eight months for failing to take a drug test, and FIFA's Sepp Blatter and WADA's Richard Pound publicly criticised the club's handling of the affair.

And then there is the one about their manager, Alex Ferguson, a horse and the club's majority shareholders. When is the Hollywood film coming out? As Ferguson seeks to take on shareholder John Magnier over Rock Of Gibraltar and all sorts of "Irish mischief" reaches the papers about Ferguson's tenure, people wonder which of the two men will blink first - and what will be the result for the club.

Verdict: First half of 2003, Success. Close of 2003, Failure.

Leeds United

From the top to the bottom. What else can go wrong? Debts of £79 million; managers sacked; players sold; relegation looming. The very future of Leeds United is in doubt as the administrators circle Elland Road. After the dizzy heights of a Champions League semi-final in 2001, the club has nosedived. It is a tale of how badly things can go wrong when so much is invested off-field for on-the-pitch success and it fails to materialise.

Whether Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa can be the saviour is another question but the book How not to Run a Football Club for Dummies should be in the shops soon.

As the year ends, caretaker manager Eddie Gray has steadied things on the field and they are at least off the bottom of the table. Who knows - maybe they can avoid relegation and even begin making money again. Just don't rush out to buy their shares.

Verdict: Failure.