Reply to Establishing Competitive Advantage
Discussion 1
Q – Please read the discussion below and prepare a Reply to this discussion post with comments that further and advance the discussion topic.
Please provide the references you used.
Ensure zero plagiarism.
Word limit: 250 words
Discussion
Establishing Competitive Advantage
In 2008, MCFC was purchased by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, which led to the implementation of several competitive initiatives. To start with, MCFC invested significantly in acquiring top talent, spending 1.35 billion and 250 million on new players and new facilities like the Etihad Campus during this 10-year period (2008-2018) (Lassas, 2021). The Etihad Campus held top-class training infrastructure comprising pitches, accommodation, sports science amenities and the club’s admin offices. Investment in human and physical resources has paved the way for MCFC to attract and groom an elite set of players and coaches.
Secondly, MCFC introduced an international scouting network of talented individuals worldwide. By having numerous clubs under the City Football Group’s (CFG) umbrella and sharing academies worldwide, MCFC might benefit from an extensive talent pool while experiencing entry issues with work permissions (Zlch et al., 2020). The club network represented an outstanding tool for MCFC’s talent detector.
Youth development became a major priority within the club, reinforced by the world-class academy facilities and the “City Way” training methodology focused on technical skills and possession-based attacking football. All CFG club teams have adopted this systematic playing style to ensure the youth players’ comfort in the movements between clubs. The approach by MCFC was primarily through collaborative agreements with schools for joint football and education sessions. In addition, the latest technology, like SAP’s analytics platform, was used to lead the team, customize training, monitor fitness, and analyze post-match (Archer, 2022). Data analytics became the backbone of strategic approaches such as player recruiting, tactical analysis and youth development. Therefore, MCFC capitalized on the worldwide fan base and commercial revenues using global brands like Etihad Airways and Nike.
Value Creation through Diversification
MCFC may make money once it joins a multi-club collection led by City Football Group (CFG). On the other hand, the ownership of different clubs in different countries facilitated the distribution of resources and knowledge across boundaries, as well as the standardization of the playing style and “City Way.” Lastly, this uniformity of style and format made joining players and various clubs easy (Dubinsky, 2023). As a company network, the international footprint possessed by CFG became a significant advantage in locating and attracting the best global young talent and overcoming work permit obstructions. Besides that, the multi-club arrangement brought new business potential through global marketing deals that could capitalize on the combined brand power of CFG and the fan base of different cities. CFG held that the expenses incurred to open clubs worldwide were intense, and there was the risk of possible conflicts between one club and the parent divisions.
Influence of Resources and Capabilities
Club MCFC’s most vital financial supporters were Abu Dhabi owners, who provided it with rich financial backing that could support all the massive investments needed to fulfil the CFG’s strategy of diversification (Bidder-Potts, 2020). Nonetheless, the club’s features, like organization management practice, scouting, youth training, analytics, and marketing, were also very significant. With these skills at our disposal, we were able to join the ranks of established club management organizations and work on refining a multi-club management model successfully (Brannagan & Reiche, 2022). The main illustrations are centred on developing services like City Football Services to share expertise and utilize the latest technology through scouting, training, and management of performance and marketing know-how to create a shared global identity with the City clubs. The comprehensive financial means and the solid set of sports and business skills that are part of the MCFC allowed it to start its international upscaling.
References
Archer, N. (2022). UEFA at the movies: producing space in the 21st century football film. Sport in Society, 25(8), 13891404.
Bidder-Potts, D. (2020). To what extent is the regulation of sport effective in the financial management of clubs? An evaluation of corporate and financial governance in the context of failing football clubs and salary cap clauses. LJMU Student Law Journal, pp. 1, 82104.
Brannagan, P. M., & Reiche, D. (2022). The Politics and Power of Small States: The 2022 World Cup and Qatars Global Sports Strategy. In Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change (pp. 47-83). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Dubinsky, Y. (2023). Clashes of cultures at the FIFA World Cup: Reflections on soft power, nation building, and sportswashing in Qatar 2022. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, pp. 114.
Lassas, A. (2021). The strategic intent behind foreign acquisitions and English Premier League football club ownership (Master’s thesis, Hanken School of Economics).
Zlch, H., Palme, M., & Jost, S. P. (2020). Management quality of professional football clubs: the Football Management (FoMa) Q-Score 2018. Sport, business and management: an international journal, 10(5), 567-598.
