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in the world of sport," said Niki Schilling, Heineken International Sport
Sponsorship Manager.
The Champions League is popular right across the Asia Pacific region, even
as far "Down Under" as Australia. Matches are shown at sports bars across
the country, such as Oneworld Sport in suburban Sydney. This stylish sports
bar and bistro broadcasts weekly matches on the Setanta Sports network
throughout the season. A special live screening of the grand final match
between AC Milan and FC Liverpool was hosted there on May 23.
"A lot of English fans came to watch the match, which was on at four thirty
in the morning," says Bronwyn Seerup of Oneworld. "It was very early and
quite cold, but we just turned up the heaters. We had a really good turnout."
It's a similar story in the United States. Tommy Smyth is an Irishman who
has lived in New York since 1963. He is a football analyst with ESPN TV
responsible for the broadcaster's coverage of the Champions League. "We
cover one game live as well as eight other games weekly for our American
audience, as well as for our international audience. We also broadcast a
one hour highlights show," Smyth explains. "These shows also go out to
Latin America and to the Pacific Rim countries, including Australia."
He says that this kind of extensive coverage is beginning to make a real
difference to the popularity of the sport, and the Champions League in
particular. And this in a country where European football has traditionally
been seen as an alien import. "What I've noticed more than anything else in
the forty years living in New York is that kids today play soccer in the
streets, as opposed to more traditional American sports. And they're all
wearing named shirts from the Champions League."
The European players most popular in the US are "Ronaldo, closely followed
by Ronaldhino," Smyth says. "But Henry, Beckham, Cannavaro, Buffon, even
Roy Keane, are ever-present." Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona, Arsenal FC
and Manchester United FC, Juventus, AC Milan - all the big teams - have
fervent fans in New York. On a Champions League match night you'll hardly
find a bar without the Champions League action on the big screen, says
Smyth.
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