The Mexican national team gains in defeat

MEXICO CITY (Trial).- The failure of the Mexican national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar took place on November 30; the team failed the group stage for the first time since Argentina 1978. However, the negative numbers do not transcend the business that the national team represents as a brand and their coffers will continue to fill up. On a national scale, it has no competition with any other sport, so the federation and the televisions put a high price on those brands that want to be part of the team,' explains Javier Balseca, specialist in sports marketing, who has 18 years of experience in the sector and Furthermore, he is a representative of the Liga MX and Liga Mexicana de Beisbol teams in the commercial area. Let's look at what happens in the US instead: they have five top leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and now MLS). Not only that, but they are so well structured that even their calendars don't overlap and allow the fans to enjoy everything.' 'The federation sells packages to brands, the cost of these will depend on whether you want to be part of the main names associated with the selection and how long before the World Cup. The tricolor jersey has only been surpassed by Spain, Argentina and France.

The Mexico jersey is sold for 1,800 pesos and 2,600 pesos, as the brand that sponsors El Tri sells two versions: one for fans and one for professionals. In this way more than 2 thousand 800 million pesos would have been generated up to last September.

While there are no official figures for each of the deals, the agency calculates that the Mexico national team receives between $100 million and $150 million annually from that first group. Adidas is expected to pay the Tri $80 million annually. While the average income for other star sponsors would be between 15 and 30 million dollars.

Brands that are not considered Type A enter the selection with an approximate average of five and $15 million 50% complement. The rest, cites Havas Media Group, is distributed between the broadcasting rights, 30%, and the proceeds from ticket sales, 20%.

Last May, the FMF renewed a six-year contract with Soccer United Marketing to promote Mexico's matches in the United States, a contract which includes the women's national team and which will include the World Cup by 2026. According to El Economista newspaper, the La The men's Mexican team generates $9 million a game in the United States, and the previous contract called for FMF to receive $2 million of the nine generated.

Furthermore, to these numbers we must add that each team has guaranteed a collection of 9 million dollars just for participating in the group stage during the Qatar 2022 World Cup and, from there, the rankings rise based on the results of each national team. Thus, the FMF entered $9 million, even though the goal was to enter at least $13 million by the time it reached the round of 16.

Balseca explains that regardless of the place that Mexico will reach at the World Cup, the FMF will not lose, because before the results they had already sold a package to the brands and even these, despite the elimination of those directed by Tata Martino, do not resent, because they knew they were taking risks given that every four years El Tri's story is practically the same: staying in the round of 16.

The specialist clarifies that he would not recommend a brand to be associated with the Mexican national team. He hints that ultimately the decision will depend heavily on the goals of the associate sponsorship (brand recall, whether it outperforms direct competition, and return on investment). The reason he mentions this is that while it is clear that the World Cup is a great showcase for showcasing a brand, it is not seen directly on the pitch, as of the 17 official sponsors of Qatar 2022, seven are FIFA Official Partners and they are the ones who end up taking the field.

He assures that if people were asked who the Tri sponsors are, they could name up to five, meaning all the money paid to associate with the national team product is not accounted for.

'Mexico at the World Cup draws a fine line between quality and visibility for sponsors. Of course you will have more reach, you pay to be exposed, but it will also depend on how much you gave to appear.

'I'd like to know what the return value of the main brands in the selection is. Those who pay to be sponsors of Mexico are only featured in the training kits and televised recaps. It's not profitable, but it confers status.'

those who lose 'A 20-second commercial on open television during the match between Mexico and Saudi Arabia cost 1.5 million pesos. If Mexico had gone to the round of 16, it would have risen to 2.5 million pesos per spot.

'Although the advantage of the television stations is that they have made packages because they have sold the space of the matches that Mexico played in the group stage and have calculated an extra amount that the clubs could invest if they reach the round of 16 or if they continue to advance, such that there was a bonus or extra income.'

Furthermore, he adds that Mexico having been eliminated at such an early stage, broadcasters are forced to squeeze and wear down issues such as 'If Mexico were still in the World Cup, would they play against...' or 'Who will be the new national technical director ?'. But he insists that eventually the brands will receive the rating obtained by the television station they have partnered with, will examine how many Mexicans have seen the World Cup and will try to project themselves for 2026.

In this sense, according to ESPN journalist John Sutcliffe, the loss represents, for a single television broadcaster, the absence of revenue for just over 10 million dollars, which would correspond to extra products that they could offer if the box, then directed by Gerardo Martino, would have entered the round of 16.

Arturo Vega Martin, president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Small Services and Tourism (Canacope), explained that an economic fallout of 3.2 billion pesos was expected in Mexico City during the Qatar 2022 World Cup, although before the World Cup warned in El Economista: 'In the past World Cups we have found that when they were eliminated the public lost interest and the level of average spending decreased'.