Improving Competition and Community Engagement

Sports experts, analysts, and observers agree that club football, especially in Europe, is characterized by increased prosperity and popularity. Football has experienced tremendous prosperity and success over the past decade. The increased popularity and prosperity of football clubs has been characterized by the emergence of numerous commercial opportunities and more involvement of fans in the management/running of football clubs. Sports clubs are increasingly exploiting the commercial opportunities through lucrative sponsorship and television deals. Therefore, the success of football clubs in the current sports environment requires increasing capacities to compete with better funded clubs and enhanced community engagement.

Competing with Better Funded Clubs

As the sports industry has become more prosperous and popular, clubs have attracted lucrative sponsorship and television deals as well as other kinds of funding. Currently, there are better funded clubs in the league, which have the money to attract and keep the best players. Given the relatively limited funding for the club, it is increasingly clear that we are unable to compete with better funded clubs based on our current management framework. The club is currently facing difficulties in its ability to attract and keep star players, which in turn contributes to poor results on the field. While star players are the key to better results, our lack of financial muscle makes its difficult to compete with better funded clubs, especially with regards to finances. Consequently, we need to change our strategy in order to enhance our competition with better funded clubs.

Even though money plays a crucial role in the running and success of football clubs, money doesn't necessarily generate the desired success on the field. There are numerous examples of football clubs across the globe that have achieved and maintained success because of better funding as well as those that have made such achievements with limited funding. Therefore, this club can achieve success both on and off the field even with limited funding, but...
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The club should increase its investment in identifying, recruiting, and nurturing young talented individuals. This will require establishing a sports academy through which young talented players rise through the ranks and into the first team. The increased investments in a sports academy would help ensure that the club has a large talent pool. Through this, the club will increase its capability to compete with better funded clubs by ensuring that it has a huge talent base. Secondly, the club should ensure that its current players are given long-term contracts in order to prevent them from leaving the club. Long-term contracts help in keeping current players at the club, especially if their financial demands are met.

Enhanced Community Engagement

The popularity of football clubs has been characterized by the increased involvement of fans and other stakeholders in the running of the club. Through engaging the community, the club in turn enhances its popularity, which results in an increase in the fan base and enhanced overall profitability of the club. This implies that community involvement is an important aspect of the management of football clubs and eventually contributes to enhanced success and profitability of the club.

Based on the current management approach and framework, the club does not engage the community, which in turn shows lack of trust and respect. This has damaged the club's reputation as the community does not feel engaged in the affairs of the club despite the significance of involving the community in management of football clubs. The relative failure to engage the community has in turn contributed to decreased profitability of the club because of challenges in increasing the fan base. Therefore, there is a huge need for the football club to reconsider its community engagement approach and framework.

In this regard, I recommend that the club should develop social media strategies…