Tuesday 1 September 2009

Something for my football watching friends

The English premier league is the number one football interest in Thailand. Though corporations were major patrons of sport tournaments in Thailand, none had ever become sponsors of an international team until Thai Beverage (Chang Beer) last year sponsored Everton
Now Charoen Pokphand Foods (Thailand is the worlds biggest exporter of chickens and CP is the biggest company in this business), wants to sponsor a Premier League club. Now, if it were really interested in investing in a Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur appears to be quite the right choice.
The club are currently on top of the table for the 2009/10 season, and if CPF was to invest in them this year, they would definitely make the brand very visible.
A peek into the club's history reveals that Tottenham are second to none. They are one of the oldest clubs, established in 1882, and the first in the 20th century to achieve the double - winning the league and FA Cup in the same season, 1960/61. In 1963, Spurs became the first British club to win a major European trophy - the European Cup Winners' Cup.
But the most suitable reason for this sponsorship lies in the club's emblem.
A close study revealed that of the 20 clubs, eight feature animals in their crests - Chelsea have the blue lion, Aston Villa the yellow lion, two lions for Sunderland, a wolf for Wolverhampton Wanderers, a tiger for Hull City, an eagle for Manchester City, the liver bird for Liverpool and a fighting cock for Spurs.
Liverpool would have been a good choice given that its crest features a bird and that CPF is a major supplier of poultry. However, the liver bird is seen as an emblem of Liverpool City, so connecting it to poultry raised for consumption just doesn't feel right.
On the other hand, Tottenham's crest carries a fighting cock - standing on top of a football - and perhaps fits in perfectly with CPF's motto of beating challenges. Besides, a spur is a short spike that is used to drive a horse forward - another perfect fit with CPF's belief that one day it will become a major food supplier to the rest of world.
With Everton players carrying the Thai word for elephant - Chang - on their chests, it would be good to see the CPF brand, preferably sitting above a fighting cock, on other players.

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