twinkletoes
Well-Known Member
Man City have held talks about a summer tour of the United States as part of their next step towards establishing a global brand and gaining ground on Manchester United's worldwide popularity.
Despite the greater financial rewards on offer in east Asia and the club's links to Abu Dhabi, City are keen to tap into the American market and have not been discouraged by the relative failure of United and Chelsea to "break" the country on recent tours.
Talks are only at a preliminary stage but the club's chief executive, Garry Cook, is keen to explore possible ways of increasing City's American fan base in a World Cup year when the US national team have been drawn to play England in the opening group. Cook previously worked as a marketing executive at Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon, and there have been talks about staging one of the games in the city. New York and Philadelphia are also under consideration.
City chose to tour South Africa last summer and played the United Arab Emirates national team during a training camp in Abu Dhabi, the home of their owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in November. When Cook addressed fans during that trip to the Middle East he spoke of City being "not just a Manchester club but a worldwide club" and he wants to act on that by promoting them in areas of the world where they may not be widely known.
United had only limited success when they made a concerted effort to win over the US with summer tours in 2003 and 2004, and have since reverted to pre-season matches in east Asia to safeguard their enormous popularity in that part of the world. Chelsea have also struggled to have a sustained impact among American sports fans but it is a country that is taking an increased interest in the Premier League and City's immense wealth has given them a new profile worldwide. The club's marketing department were delighted, for instance, to find that the infamous Welcome to Manchester billboard they erected in the city centre after Carlos Tevez's signing, with the intention of antagonising United, attracted publicity as far afield as the US, Australia and China.
City have offered Martin Petrov a new contract and are encouraged by the way the negotiations have gone with the Bulgaria international. The deadline-day signing of Adam Johnson and Craig Bellamy's impressive form have increased the competition on the left side of attack but Robinho has made it clear he does not want to return to Manchester after his six-month loan spell with Santos and the manager, Roberto Mancini, is keen to keep the 31-year-old Petrov, who is out of contract at the end of the season and eligible to speak to potential buyers.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/02/manchester-city-seek-us-tour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... ek-us-tour</a>
Despite the greater financial rewards on offer in east Asia and the club's links to Abu Dhabi, City are keen to tap into the American market and have not been discouraged by the relative failure of United and Chelsea to "break" the country on recent tours.
Talks are only at a preliminary stage but the club's chief executive, Garry Cook, is keen to explore possible ways of increasing City's American fan base in a World Cup year when the US national team have been drawn to play England in the opening group. Cook previously worked as a marketing executive at Nike headquarters in Portland, Oregon, and there have been talks about staging one of the games in the city. New York and Philadelphia are also under consideration.
City chose to tour South Africa last summer and played the United Arab Emirates national team during a training camp in Abu Dhabi, the home of their owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in November. When Cook addressed fans during that trip to the Middle East he spoke of City being "not just a Manchester club but a worldwide club" and he wants to act on that by promoting them in areas of the world where they may not be widely known.
United had only limited success when they made a concerted effort to win over the US with summer tours in 2003 and 2004, and have since reverted to pre-season matches in east Asia to safeguard their enormous popularity in that part of the world. Chelsea have also struggled to have a sustained impact among American sports fans but it is a country that is taking an increased interest in the Premier League and City's immense wealth has given them a new profile worldwide. The club's marketing department were delighted, for instance, to find that the infamous Welcome to Manchester billboard they erected in the city centre after Carlos Tevez's signing, with the intention of antagonising United, attracted publicity as far afield as the US, Australia and China.
City have offered Martin Petrov a new contract and are encouraged by the way the negotiations have gone with the Bulgaria international. The deadline-day signing of Adam Johnson and Craig Bellamy's impressive form have increased the competition on the left side of attack but Robinho has made it clear he does not want to return to Manchester after his six-month loan spell with Santos and the manager, Roberto Mancini, is keen to keep the 31-year-old Petrov, who is out of contract at the end of the season and eligible to speak to potential buyers.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/02/manchester-city-seek-us-tour" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... ek-us-tour</a>