What will the Champions League final bring to London?
Mastercard, the main sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, calculated the contribution of the final match to be played in London on June 1 in terms of sports economy. According to the study prepared by analyzing the data of expenditures made on cards for the final matches played in previous years; The Champions League final match is expected to have an economic impact of approximately 40 percent on the host city in an average of 2 days compared to the normal period.
The final excitement of the UEFA Champions League will be experienced in England on June 1 this year. Mastercard, a leading global technology company operating in the field of payment systems, shared an analysis on the economic contribution of the final match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium in London to the city.
The analysis was done using data from Mastercard’s card spending in previous finals. According to the study, the match to be played on June 1 is expected to increase the approximate revenue to England for the weekend period covering Saturday-Sunday by 40 percent.
According to data prepared by Mastercard; Last year, on the weekend of June 9-11, which included the day the final was played in Istanbul, there was 72 percent more tourist spending compared to the same weekend of the previous year and 39 percent more compared to the previous week. It is noteworthy that tourists coming from Italy and England, the countries of the teams playing the final match, increased their spending approximately 4 times compared to the same weekend of the previous year and 2.3 times compared to the previous weekend.
39 percent increase in card spending
The research stated that there was a 39 percent increase in tourists’ card spending in the host cities compared to the previous weekend and a 32 percent increase compared to the following weekend.
On average, finals increase tourist card spending in host cities by an average of 40 percent. The increase in the number of transactions made with card is 60 percent compared to the previous weekend and 52 percent compared to the next weekend.
When the spending behavior of Spanish and German tourists is analyzed; While it is observed that the expenses of Spanish and German fans spread throughout the year, it is observed that it peaks in July and August. While 42 percent of the spending of Spanish tourists in the UK passes through London, 33 percent of the spending of German tourists in the UK passes through London. The average transaction volume of Germans is approximately 29 percent higher than that of Spaniards. The sectors where tourists spend the most are accommodation, food, clothing and healthcare.
The highest spending increase is expected in the food and beverage sector
While almost two-fold increases were observed in areas such as various food and restaurant expenditures in the host city on the weekend of the final, accommodation and air transportation expenditures also stand out at this point with approximately 70 percent increases.
The size of the football economy in the world is estimated to be around 800 billion dollars. According to research, clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are generally at the top of the list of clubs with the highest income in world football.