The cost of Ronaldo’s rejection of Coca-Cola

This scoreboard assesses the winners and losers of Ronaldo’s public rejection of Coca-Cola, rounds up the highest FT coverage of the Euro 2020 football tournament and explores the inequality gap in Grand Slam tennis.

The price of Ronaldo’s refusal to Coca-Cola

“Agua”, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo After removing the bottle of cola planted in front of him this week Euro 2020 Soccer tournament. “number Coca Cola“.

This was the most followed person in the world Instagram, It’s no stranger to tell millions of young sports fans to throw away sweet sodas for water and become viral because of his misuse on the pitch.

This was a marketing disaster for the US beverage giant, who has long sought to build relationships with world-leading athletes by approving top competitions. It has been sponsoring the euro since 1988.

It is difficult to calculate the economic impact of Ronaldo’s disapproval. The press reported breathtakingly that the actions of footballers wiped out Coca-Cola’s market capitalization of $ 4 billion. This is based on the fall in the company’s stock price on Monday.

However, there are differences between causality and correlation.

Scoreboard’s own analysis of trading activity suggests that many of the declines in Coca-Cola stock value occurred before players attended the press conference. But story excellence may have helped push Coca-Cola’s stock even further down these days.

When it is difficult to calculate the direct economic impact, the incident symbolized the growing corporate knowledge of top athletes.

Previously with Coca-Cola Kentucky Fried ChickenRonaldo has recently cultivated an image of a healthy life. Endorsement transaction With the sportswear giant Nike And dietary supplement companies Herbalife..

Still, top-notch soccer players should be aware of attacking brands that have paid for being related to the game.

Top football clubs often reward the best players in both wages and “image rights” transactions. This is a large payment for team sponsorship and participation in marketing campaigns.

Image rights transaction Many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, have lower tax rates than payroll. English Premier League, The most valuable domestic soccer contest in the world.

If a player withdraws from a club’s marketing deal, senior European football executives said it would draw the attention of enthusiastic tax authorities who could question the value of image rights trading.

Its impediment is unreliable by Uefa, European football governing body. We will provide the national team with prize money, but we will not pay the players directly. As a result, sponsors and tournament organizers may need to rethink their marketing strategies.

“Is there a better way than doing a brutal product placement at a press conference?” Tim Crowe, A veteran sports marketing expert. “Bottles under lighting are not very appetizing.”

Read FT’s analysis of Ronaldo’s impact on sports sponsorship Here..

It’s all the beginning: the best of Euro 2020

Summary of FT coverage for this week’s tournament:

• World Champion France Get off to a good start Against Germany, Comes with a display that suggests that you have the best players in the tournament. FT columnist Simon Kuper wrote The choice of that team real Madrid striker Karim Benzema It caused an attack from the far right of France, but only the latest twist of the long cultural war surrounding the national team. Since the 1990s les Bleus It was a tool for the country to discuss with race Banlieue.

• FT Chief Diplomatic Commentator Gideon Rachman Wrote a special feature on life and art About the nationalist undercurrent of the euro.Leader from Hungaryof Victor Oban And Turkeyof Recep Tayyip Erdogan I have tried to get on with the enthusiasm of the people just to see their country lose. For most fans, politics is set aside for the often abandoned hope that their team will achieve the glory of an unusual sport.

• Denmarkof Christian Eriksen Collapsed on the pitch During the match with Finland I had to revive in front of thousands of shocked fans. The swift action of athletes, referees and medical staff ensured CPR and defibrillation immediately after cardiac arrest. Eriksen later said he was recovering well at the hospital. There was intense criticism of the decision to end the match shortly after the incident.

• Uefa saysEmergency response planKeep the Euro semi-finals and finals away from London’s Wembley Stadium if the UK Government does not lift strict quarantine measures against foreign fans and VIP representatives seeking to participate in the game. Negotiations for compromise continue.

• Italy Became the first team to participate in the knockout stage. Abandon the country’s past defensive tactics, The number of free-flowing Italians has skyrocketed in the past Turkey Comfortably defeated Switzerland on Wednesday night in the opening match of the tournament. Belgium And Netherlands We guaranteed their position in the next round as well.

• Thousands Scotland Fans moved south prior to the match England Despite official advice on a pandemic trip on Friday night. As a Scottish correspondent for FT Reported by Mure DickieMany Scottish fans have considered being in London with the latest version of the oldest rival of international football as “innate rights”. The match ended with a 0-0 draw. As reported by FT, Scotland fans cheered loudly, but received boos from England supporters.

Bridging the wage gap between tennis elites

WimbledonThe oldest of the four “Grand Slams” of tennis has a purse strapped.

The· All England Lawn Tennis & Croquette Club, A 153 year old organization that runs tournaments, Reduce the prize pool offered to players £ 35m, up 5.2% at 2019 levels.

Wimbledon was isolated from last year’s worst pandemic. Cancel For the first time since World War II, thanks to infectious disease insurance.

However, due to the lack of fans, the organizers faced a difficult decision to earn a prize. The All England Club’s solution was to strain the best performing singles players. Winning men and women each earn £ 1.7m, down almost 28% from two years ago.

Instead, payments will increase in all rounds of pre-semi-final singles. In qualifying, where low-ranked players often drop out, prize money increases at a double-digit rate.

Similar changes are underway throughout tennis.This year Australian OpenThe total prize pool was flat at A $ 71.5 million. However, losing the first round player increased by 15% from 2020 to A $ 100,000.

last year’s U.S. OpenThe total prize pool has decreased from more than $ 57 million in the previous year to $ 53 million. The organizers reduced their prize money in the last five rounds, with the best performing players making the biggest cuts.

The pandemic provided an opportunity to solve the problems being discussed in sports. Tennis players are independent contractors and are involved in volatile businesses. Their salary is primarily a bounty and must be earned enough to cover the costs of travel, training, equipment and more.

This is not a problem for the top players in the world. Roger Federer Dropped out on the way French Open,and Rafael Nadal I will miss this year’s Wimbledon. Both quoted their physical effects on the body. Naomi Osaka, The World’s Most Highly Paid Female Athletes Miss Both Slams Protect her mental health..

Most professionals can’t afford to make these choices. In 2013, only men in the top 336 ranked earned more prize money than withdrawals. International Tennis Federation.. The equivalent ranking for women was 253.Findings prompted a call to Increase junior prize money..

Definitely how the player Potential investment From a private equity farm CVC Capital Partners Benefits all levels of the game.And when you are Positive Covid test away The stakes are even higher because you miss them.

highlight

• The· Tokyo Olympics will Need $ 800 Million Public Relief When the game progresses without a local audience at a live event. Japan must weigh the financial impact on advice from public health experts who warned against risking the Covid-19 epidemic.

• The Japanese government has asked to cancel the $ 66 million contract for the tech group NEC Develop a smartphone app aimed at tracking foreign visitors to the game. This system is not needed as the pandemic bans foreign fans.fall out Emphasize the increasing risk to the enterprise Of the relationship with the Olympics.

• Share with Draft Kings Fell after reporting Along Hindenburg Research A technology subsidiary of a sports betting company claimed to make half of its revenue from the illegal gambling market. This is the latest move by a short seller targeting companies exposed through special acquisition companies.

• Pro14, An annual rugby tournament by teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. I’m changing the brand name “United Rugby ChampionshipFT reported exclusively this week. This is the first glimpse of how private-equity fund CVC Capital Partners is aiming to renew the tournaments it has invested in in recent years.

• English Premier League clubs posted Their biggest collective loss In the history of football tournaments, according to a professional service company Deloitte.. The £ 1 billion pre-tax loss underscores the economic blow suffered as a result of the pandemic.

• RedBird Capital is Trying to sell 40% stake To OneTeam Partner, A licensing company primarily managed by the Players Association National football league And Major League Baseball.. The $ 800 million worth of shares was first acquired by a private equity firm in 2019.

Final whistle

When a US gas station becomes a big game Kyle Klaus bought Serie Aof Parma Calcio Last year, a new owner Hoped his investment would help Vault Italian football returns to the top of the Global League.This week, Parma has a veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon You’ll be back in the club, dating back to the glorious years of the 1990s.

The great exposure of Buffon’s signature outweighs America’s prosperity, thanks to its cinematic luster and cameos from Klaus himself. Still, everyone involved seems to be living the best life.Watch the video Here..