For most of the England supporters, the UEFA EURO 2016 was already over when the “three lions” were knocked out of the tournament by Iceland at the Last 16 stage. The case of England truly tells the story that the financially successful English Premier League isn’t necessarily powerful enough to lead to a successful national team.

Many are arguing that Premier League clubs are focusing too much on commercial pursuits rather than player development, resulting in a scarcity of English players able to compete in a competitive way.

However, there is one English team, Southampton FC, trying to make both the commercial side and the soccer side work together as part of their growth strategy. With an international growth strategy, Southampton FC wants to expand the club with expertise and experience in player development. And more importantly, the club, like many others from Europe, has recognized the opportunity in the Chinese market.

For them, “where to make the first step” in the market is something particularly important. In a conversation, David Thomas, Commercial Director at Southampton FC, talked to Yutang Sports about their interest in the growing market and their strategy to create a presence here.

“Any football club is split into two (halves), one half is football and the other half is the commercial side. I think it is a statement of our intent that we have the commercial and the football side here. For us, this is about the two sides of the club working closely together,” said David Thomas.

“We have a word, which we believe is associated very closely with Southampton FC, authenticity. For us, everything we do, we do it in the right way, the Southampton way. For us, we are very clear about who we are and who we are not. We’re happy for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United to operate there, because that means there is actually space for us here.”

As part of Southampton’s global strategy, China is a growing market for the club to tap. Mr. Thomas and his colleagues believe if they can take the opportunity to take advantage of their reputation in developing players, then commercial development will follow.

“We want to grow the fan base internationally and ultimately further down the line this will hopefully bring commercial gain. What we want to do is to build the fan base, to give the fans a reason to believe in Southampton FC first of all. That’s why we have the “Football first strategy” which aims to develop players.  We believe if we do that properly, then fans will come. We’ve recognized that it’s a long-term (process).”

“We look for opportunities internationally to extend our expertise and experience in developing young players.  We’ve seen there is a real opportunity for us here in China. If there are business opportunities, then that comes second.”

Despite their reputation of success in developing young players, the Saints clearly know that they need to build a long-term program that can match their skills and experience in player development with the objectives of the market. So it is important to tailor programmes accordingly in different markets.

“We have a really clear view of how we believe football should be taught.  We want to take expertise and experience to the market. But how we take these to the market will depend on how the market is going to need them.”

“I think the exciting thing for us is that there is a real opportunity. So your President Xi has a vision. In order to realize that vision, the whole culture of football in China needs to be changed. That’s exciting because we think that we can add some value to that. The challenge we face is where to start. There are so many opportunities and we’re only one small club. For us, the challenge is choosing the right first step.”

Due to the unique culture in China, David Thomas believes having help from local partners to make the first step would be a good choice. Like Southampton, many other smaller European clubs are approaching Chinese market in different ways to the leading clubs. Therefore, in this regard, there are also opportunities for local companies, which have knowledge of Chinese culture and the market, to align with these clubs and help grow Chinese soccer.

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin