London (AFP) – Frenzied fans, dreams of hitting the Premier League jackpot and “the smell of weed in the tunnel”: Snoop Dogg’s arrival at Swansea heralded the latest chapter in the English Championship’s celebrity-inspired makeover. American rapper Snoop was given an ecstatic welcome on Tuesday when he watched the Swans for the first time since becoming a minority owner of the Welsh club. Dressed in the club’s all-white colours, with a Swansea crest on his jacket and his trademark dark glasses, the 54-year-old was greeted by supporters whirling white towels in the stands during a prolonged lap of honour before the 1-1 draw against Preston.
From playing an invitation-only gig in the canteen of Swansea-based Au Vodka to inspiring a sell-out crowd at the Swansea.com Stadium, Snoop’s presence sprinkled stardust on a working-class south Wales town not accustomed to celebrity visits. It is a feeling Championship clubs are starting to enjoy after languishing in the vast shadow of the Premier League. While Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are global brands followed by millions, with stars on the pitch and in the stands, the English second tier has traditionally been a more prosaic affair.
Yet the Championship has become one of Europe’s most watched leagues in recent years, and its popularity has hit a new high this season. The Championship is the wealthiest non-top-flight division in the world, with the second highest per-match attendance of any secondary league outside of Germany. In 2022–23, the Championship’s average attendance was 18,787. That figure has rocketed to 21,925 for the current campaign, with Coventry, Leicester, Southampton, Ipswich, Derby, Sheffield United, and Birmingham all pulling in close to 30,000 fans for every home game.
The boom has seen Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s transformative takeover of Wrexham start a growing trend of celebrity involvement in previously unfashionable English clubs. Currently sixth in the Championship, Wrexham’s journey from non-league obscurity has been captured in the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series that has given the north Wales club a cult following around the world. Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady is a part-owner of Championship play-off hopefuls Birmingham, while Snoop, US television host Martha Stewart, and former Real Madrid star Luka Modric have all invested in Swansea over the last year.
Although the cost of buying a Premier League club is prohibitive, even to most celebrities, the Championship offers a tempting opportunity. For a smaller initial investment, there is the prospect of a substantial profit if the team earns a promotion worth an estimated £200 million ($270 million) in increased revenue. Leeds, whose minority owners include actors Russell Crowe and Will Ferrell, and Burnley, which features NFL icon JJ Watt among their investors, set the template when they struck it rich with promotion to the Premier League last season.
“All credit to the guys at the Football League who have got this brilliant spectacle out there across Europe. I remember watching Championship football 15 years ago, and it was empty stadiums and not that great,” said Oxford chief executive Tim Williams on football finance expert Kieran Maguire’s podcast. “Now it’s full stadiums, it’s exciting, it’s busy, it’s physical, it’s fast, it’s a brilliant game to watch.”
Swansea’s American owners Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen do not expect Snoop to splash his own cash to help the club win promotion. Instead, they believe his fan base of more than 100 million followers on social media will boost Swansea’s profile and bring sponsorship opportunities. “It’s not just a gimmick, he buys into what the club means and what it means to the wider city,” Swansea chief executive Tom Gorringe told BBC Wales. “We’re operating at a level we haven’t done probably ever before, even in the Premier League days, in terms of our commercial swing and the brands we’re speaking to.”
While Swansea hopes Snoop’s impact will be felt over the long-term, the hip-hop legend has already left his mark on the Championship in his own inimitable style. “I think just the smell of weed in the tunnel is where we realised something was different!” Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom said with a grin.
© 2024 AFP
