On the eve of their departure for the summer tour in the United States, Milan announced the start of a new innovative partnership with Kraft Analytics Group, a leading company in data and analytics within the sports and entertainment world.
Following the announcement, the club's new partnership prompted CNBC to delve into the popularity of soccer in the United States with a discussion featuring Gerry Cardinale, founder and CIO of RedBird Capital, and Jessica Gelman, CEO of Kraft Analytics Group.
The Milan owner began by discussing soccer in the USA, particularly referring to MLS: "I believe the Major League Soccer officials have done a phenomenal job, but they’ve been hampered by the fact that the players in the US ecosystem are not part of the global ecosystem. And until there is integration with players at the peak of their careers—not nearing retirement—coming to America and being part of that system, it will be very difficult; technology now brings live games from Europe and kids grow up watching that quality of play."
"Part of the reason we’re committed to doing these friendly tours in the United States is the enormous demand from America for European soccer. So, this is a really important opportunity for us. We’ve owned Milan for two years. Our goal is to bring it back to the world stage. We have 550 million fans worldwide. We have 50 million fans in America and we want to focus on those," added Cardinale about the Rossoneri club.
Regarding the differences between the USA and Europe, Cardinale explained, "Most players head towards the European system where there is no salary cap, different rules are played with, there’s a transfer market, and relegation. It’s a very different ecosystem. In Europe, there has been a sort of 'arms race,' especially for talent and players."
"And that’s why we see sovereign funds, companies, and institutions investing in European soccer. It will come to the United States too, but there’s still much to be done to attract players at their peak on a more consistent basis. Ironically, at Milan, one of our most iconic and popular players is Christian Pulisic, who is often called Captain America and has done a phenomenal job with us. So, the conversation goes both ways. The fact that Christian came out of the American system and is able to play at the level he has in Europe and now with Milan is a testament to what the United States is doing. But there are other ways," he added.
In closing, discussing the deal with Kraft, RedBird’s founder focused on data analysis, "the heart of our collaboration. Jessica has always dealt with on-field players with Moneyball, but data and data analysis are also applied off the field, and I’ve been observing this situation for 15 years."
"When Jessica and the Kraft family founded Kraft Analytics Group 15 years ago, they had an intuition about the value proposition for fans. Today, sports is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and it’s driven by the fan value proposition. Most people think that the value created in sports is only about media revenues. Well, the new frontier will be the monetization of live events," he explained.
"15 years ago, when Jessica founded Kraft Analytics Group, we created a company called Legends Hospitality with the Yankees and the Cowboys, precisely to monetize the fan experience in those two stadiums. And six years later, we created a company with the NFL, On Location, to do the same thing. It’s been a 15-year journey," Cardinale concluded.
