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IAN AYRE,
LIVERPOOL COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, Q&A
 Liverpool
FC commercial director Ian Ayre was there in person to witness Adrian
Valles clinch the Superleague Formula by Sonangol crown for Liverpool in
Jarama. A fortnight on, he discusses how highly the title ranks and the
role Superleague is playing in the club’s commercial expansion abroad.
SF: Another season and another title for
Liverpool FC. What does it mean to have become Superleague Formula
champions?
Ian Ayre: It's important for this club to win things. Anything that
represents us successfully as a football club is important. We've got a
great team and a great driver and for the last two seasons we've been
very successful in Superleague Formula. The pinnacle of that was winning
the championship and winning it well. We had our Madrid supporters' club
there and for all these fans it was a great day. I was there alongside
other members of our team and it's great to see how the interest is
building. About 30,000 people turned up, so it's clearly growing as a
sport and an event. We're contracted to stay involved for several more
years and it looks like an exciting proposition. They're expanding where
they race and are talking about places in the Middle East and Asia.
These are areas where we're very big as a football club so it's a great
synergy and a great fit.
SF: Tottenham were your closest rivals for
much of the season. It must be satisfying to have beaten a fellow
Premiership club?
IA: Their driver, Craig Dolby, was the only one who could have beaten
us. He needed to win the second race last weekend and he was actually
leading, but Adrian was able to get sufficiently up the rankings to win
overall. It was a little bit like the Formula One championship in that
Jenson Button didn't win the race but clinched the series. The
celebrations were unbelievable. It looked like Adrian had his entire
village from Spain up on the podium with him. There was lots of
champagne being sprayed about.
SF: Adrian visited Melwood and
Anfield in the week leading up to Jarama. No problem with the language
barrier I suppose?!
IA: We're all aware of the clear Spanish connection Liverpool Football
Club has and having Adrian is great. He had a great day at Anfield the
week before. The players keep in touch with him. I know Pepe Reina is a
bit of a petrol head and has been in regular contact. Rafa also sent a
great message of congratulations to him on the day. He's fitted in
really well and is clearly a rising star of motor racing.
SF: Why did the Superleague
Formula concept appeal to Liverpool?
IA: There's two things, for me. The first is us licensing our club logos
and brand to Superleague. They have a similar arrangement with a lot of
other teams. This is a financial opportunity for the club. The second
thing, which is perhaps more important, is that it spreads the awareness
of our football club. Superleague races in markets that perhaps we don't
go to very often as a football club. It attracts a different type of
audience and means motor racing fans who perhaps aren't big football
supporters become attracted to Liverpool. By the same token, established
Liverpool fans can see a bit of motor racing and have a good day out.
It's a family event with great access. They have a pit walk and you can
walk along the grid as they are preparing for the race.
SF: Is this an example of the
way the club is moving forward off the pitch?
IA: Commercially we are making great progress. It's great to see things
like this improving our financial position commercially. It's always
important to have different commercial strands in a football club. We
have grown our family of sponsors and we've improved our retail business
- we now have four stores on Merseyside. Our online business is also
growing, so in all those areas we're doing well. Superleague is an
example of how we're doing with regards licensing, which is another area
where Liverpool Football Club has value. People see that value and can
create products of their own, and this has a financial reward for us.
The combination of all these things is what will continue to increase
our revenue and our position. |
