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Saturday November 28, 2009

EPL clubs are good investments, says Chelsea's Kenyon

FORMER Chelsea supremo Peter Kenyon believes that English Premier League clubs are viable takeover options for Asian and Middle-Eastern billionaires.

“When we started (1993), only 27 countries received televised EPL matches, now more than 200 do. And now almost all the major consumer brands are attached to the league as well as individual clubs,” he said.

“We (the clubs) are genuine business opportunities.”

Citing the example of Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung’s takeover of Birmingham City, Kenyon said that the EPL’s international flavour was attracting foreign ownership.

“Look at Chelsea. We have 14 different nationalities in our squad and we have seen the impact players of different countries have made to the league. Yet, despite having a foreign owner, Chelsea are fundamentally still an English club with a core English fan base.”

He, however, cautioned that the quality of ownership and how the clubs were funded was important.

Kenyon was in Kuala Lumpur recently as a panellist for The International Football Arena – a series of dialogues and talks involving the major movers and shakers in Asian and world football.

Being the CEO of two of the biggest clubs in the world, Manchester United (1999-2003) and Chelsea (2003-2009), has given Kenyon a high profile in the world of football.

His reign at both clubs coincided with a period of unparalleled success – United won the treble in 1999 and were League champions throughout Kenyon’s tenure while Chelsea were also League winners and Champions League semi-finalists five times during his time there.

Kenyon stepped down as Chelsea CEO in October, but remains a non-executive director of the club. He continues to represent the club at the UEFA and FIFA councils.

In town: Chelsea FC non-executive director Peter Kenyon (second from left) with Sportfive Asia business development director Hass Aminian (left), AsiaPromote Ventures principal Wan Zaleha Radzi and Samsung Electronics corporate vice-president for global public relations and sports marketing Kwon Gye Hyun (right) at the International Football Arena Forum in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. — AZMAN GHANI / The Star

He has also joined the UK-based Creative Artists Agency, with a brief of expanding the company’s international sporting client base.

“My new job means that I will be in Asia more often. This gives me a chance to see up close how football is expanding in this region,” he said.

Kenyon has fond memories of Malaysia, having led both United (2001) and Chelsea (2008) to summer tours here.

“There is no denying that Asia and South-East Asia, in particular, offer tremendous marketing potential for many EPL clubs,” he said.

“I think Liverpool are the favourite club for many of the fans here, with United not far behind. Chelsea have increased their fan base here in the last five years.

“Malaysia is definitely one of the countries Chelsea will come back to because we recognise that there are many loyal and knowledgable supporters here.”

Kenyon denied that the club was out to make a fast buck by selling more replica kits in the region. “Our partnership with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) means that we will be giving something back to the grassroots ... in the form of coaching clinics as well as taking on board and training local coaches.”

Having been with club for six years now, Kenyon has become a firm Chelsea supporter and believes that the squad this year is the strongest ever.

“I know people are saying that we need to go out and buy players during the January transfer window because we are going to lose some key players for the African Nations Cup. But why would we want to spend millions on footballers who will only be used for the three-week duration of the tournament?,” he said.

“I think Carlo (Ancelotti) has built a fantastic squad and, even though there’s a long way to go yet, we have a great chance in both the Champions League and the EPL.”

For the full interview checkout The
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