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Real Madrid and Barcelona neck-and-neck as world’s most valuable football brands in the face of COVID-19

Published

6 years ago

July 30, 2020

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Real Madrid remain world’s most valuable football brand, but Barcelona narrow the gap to just €6 million
COVID-19 causes total brand value of top 50 clubs to decrease for the first time in 6 years – €751 million or 3.7% is knocked off
English clubs dominate the ranking with six brands in top 10 and 19 in top 50
Liverpool inches two spots up into 4^th place, following historic Premier League win
Bundesliga’s 1. FC Köln is this year’s fastest-growing brand, followed by Leicester City and RB Leipzig – all recording over 40% growth
Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium takes top spot in Buro Happold’s Venue Performance Rating

Real Madrid remain the most valuable football club brand in the world for 2020, according to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual. Boosted by winning the LaLiga title for the first time since 2017, the club retained its position at the top of the table in the football industry, but against a backdrop of economic and social disruption, caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic, Real Madrid’s brand value has declined by 14% to €1,419 million.

Real Madrid’s disappointing on-pitch performance prior to 2019-20, which saw an earlier-than-normal exit from the UEFA Champions League in 2018-19 and a second successive season adrift of LaLiga champions Barcelona, eroded the club’s dominance of the Brand Finance ranking. The situation was exacerbated by COVID-19, along with a lack of stability around the management of the team. Barcelona, Real’s fierce rivals, are just €6 million behind Real with a brand value of €1,413 million, supported by strong and diverse revenue generation and continued domestic performance in Spain.

COVID-19 knocks off €751 million of brand value

Real Madrid is not the only club to see a drop in brand value this year. COVID-19 has caused the total value of the top 50 football brands to decrease for the first time in 6 years. Through its effect on the three main revenue streams – Matchday, Broadcasting, and Commercial – €751 million or 3.7% has been knocked off the cumulative brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable football clubs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged professional football worldwide and across all levels. Matchday income for the 501 games remaining in the big 5 leagues dropped to zero, but it is often the smaller clubs and leagues which are more reliant on this revenue stream – in Scotland it makes up 43% of total revenue, compared to only 13% in England.

There have been some positive signs, as Southampton vs Manchester City on BBC broke the Premier League TV audience record with 5.7 million viewers, but the longer-term damage to the game’s economic structure has yet to be revealed.

Richard Haigh, Managing Director of Brand Finance, commented:

“Top-level football has been confronted with the largest existential threat since the Second World War. Loss of income, coupled with health concerns about mass gatherings, have raised question marks about the future of the industry and the financial resilience of clubs across all levels. The full damage of the COVID-19 crisis has yet to unfold and it is not inconceivable there will be casualties in the form of club bankruptcies and changes in ownership.”

Despite the huge implications of COVID-19 for football clubs and their financial results, the majority of the brand value is secured by the clubs’ long-term future – provided they can survive the initial shock. For example, only 21% of Real Madrid’s brand value is delivered by the next five years’ financial results.

Premier power

Real Madrid and Barcelona are followed by a cluster of English Premier League clubs in the Brand Finance Football Annual 2020 ranking, with Manchester United in 3^rd position after their brand value fell by 11% to €1,314 million. Liverpool, who won their first league title since 1990 in runaway style, are in 4^th spot jumping above Manchester City in terms of brand value, rising from €1,191 million in 2019 to €1,262 million, a 6% increase. Chelsea dropped one place in the table to 8^th after their value fell for the fourth consecutive year to €949 million. This was arguably due to the club being absent from the UEFA Champions League and also suffering a transfer ban after being charged with breaking Financial Fair Play Regulations.

Crash Games

ICONIC21 launches Arrow Chase, a continuous multiplayer multiplier game

Published

12 minutes ago

May 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

iconic21-launches-arrow-chase,-a-continuous-multiplayer-multiplier-game

ICONIC21 has launched Arrow Chase, a new iGaming title the supplier says is designed as a continuous experience rather than a round-based game.

The game is built around an arrow that “endlessly” moves across the screen towards multiplier blocks. ICONIC21 said players choose multiplier blocks to bet on and receive instant payouts when blocks are hit, with the experience running without “rounds, resets” or downtime.

ICONIC21 is also positioning Arrow Chase as a multiplayer product, with all players watching the same on-screen action at the same time. The company said the concept aims to combine timing-driven play associated with crash-style mechanics with a continuous flow.

Edvardas Sadovskis, Chief Product Officer at ICONIC21, said: “Every few years, something comes along that makes the industry stop and reconsider what a game can be. We believe Arrow Chase is one of those moments. We built something with no round, no reset, no interruption, because we believe that is what the next generation of players will come to expect. What comes after it is a conversation we are very much looking forward to having.”

ICONIC21 said Arrow Chase was informed by ongoing discussions with operator partners on player behaviour and demand, and suggested the format could evolve into a new category with naming still to be defined.

The post ICONIC21 launches Arrow Chase, a continuous multiplayer multiplier game appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Betina Todorova Smartico Partnerships Manager

Honoré Gaming and Smartico Join Forces to Drive Player Engagement

Published

12 minutes ago

May 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

honore-gaming-and-smartico-join-forces-to-drive-player-engagement

Honoré Gaming, the trailblazing online sportsbook platform and tech provider, has teamed up with Smartico, a specialist in CRM automation and gamification, to improve its player engagement and retention features.

In preparation for the expanded World Cup, the incorporation of Smartico’s sophisticated CRM solution transforms the Honoré Gaming platform into a holistic entertainment ecosystem, signifying a strategic advancement in its progression toward a more intelligent, automated, and player-focused future.

Smartico’s adaptable features will bolster Honoré Gaming’s broader goal of providing operators with top-tier tools to enhance revenue and improve customer analytics, establishing CRM as a fundamental element of its platform offerings. Intelligent interactions will be a crucial factor for achieving favorable outcomes in Honoré’s main markets in French-speaking Africa and Central America, where comprehending player behavior and providing pertinent interactions are vital for long-term growth.

Emphasizing gamification and automation, Honoré Gaming will implement tailored engagement strategies influenced by local market specifics, while adhering to the key elements that contribute to a platform’s success – from deposits to gameplay, winnings, withdrawals, and return play.

Honoré Gaming CEO, Christophe Casanova said: “Smartico’s CRM solution is a critical pillar in our mission to better serve our operators and end users. Our partners can now implement data-driven customer experiences that increase player LTV ahead of a major World Cup summer. The integration of Smartico’s AI-driven technology represents a pivotal shift in Honoré Gaming’s operational scale, transforming its analytical depth and redefining how the platform communicates and interacts with players.”

Betina Todorova, Smartico Partnerships Manager added: “We believe that the combined strengths of our AI-driven technology and Honoré Gaming’s platform will deliver significant value to operators. Working together across African and Central American markets will benefit local partners and ultimately create more engaging player experiences.”

The post Honoré Gaming and Smartico Join Forces to Drive Player Engagement appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

AI

SportVot raises $3.6m to expand sports production platform into Europe, US and West Asia

Published

12 minutes ago

May 12, 2026

Wladimir P.

sportvot-raises-$3.6m-to-expand-sports-production-platform-into-europe,-us-and-west-asia

SportVot has raised $3.6m in a new investment round as it plans to expand across Europe, Australia, the United States, and West Asia. The company said the funding will support international growth and further development of its AI-led production and analytics capabilities.

The round was led by Indian Angel Network’s IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from Anicut Capital, SucSeed Indovation Fund, LVX (LetsVenture), Capital-A, and other global investors.

SportVot positions its platform as a unified workflow covering capture, production, distribution, and monetisation for competitions outside top-tier broadcast ecosystems. The company said its cloud-based setup supports remote production in real time and includes automated highlights, graphics, insights, multi-angle viewing, decision review systems, and virtual advertising.

The company lists customers and partners including Junior Super Kings (Chennai Super Kings’ Junior’s Tournament), All India Football Federation, Rugby India, the International Table Tennis Federation (Oceania) and the International Padel Federation. It said that since launching operations in 2025 in Australia it has worked with organisations including Table Tennis Australia, Table Tennis Queensland, Netball Victoria, the National Pickleball League and KommunityTV.

SportVot said it has delivered over 500,000 matches across its core markets, reaching more than 100 million viewers in 30+ countries. In Australia, it said it streamed 12,000 matches over the past year across 30+ partner organisations.

Tim Anderson, Managing Director, SportVot Australia, said: “Over the past year, we’ve seen strong adoption from sports organisations across Australia looking to scale how their competitions are captured and distributed. The ability to deliver consistent, high-quality production across different sports and formats has been key. This next phase allows us to build further on that momentum, both within Australia and in closer alignment with global markets.”

Sidhhant Agarwal, Founder & CEO, SportVot, said: “What we are seeing globally is not a lack of sport, but a lack of structured systems to capture and distribute it at scale. Our focus has been to build something that can work across geographies, sports, and formats without adding operational complexity. As we expand into new markets, the goal is to enable more competitions to be seen, experienced, and sustained.”

The post SportVot raises $3.6m to expand sports production platform into Europe, US and West Asia appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.