In the 2020-21 European soccer season, Spanish side Villareal won the second-tier UEFA Europa League for the first time. In doing so, the club set a new record as the team from the smallest municipal area to win a major European trophy, with Villareal only having a population of 50,000.
While many would assume that this is a record that may never be broken, given that the commercial strength required to compete at the top of European soccer often necessitates strong and expansive home market bases, The 2024-25 campaign, however, may yet see that record beaten thanks to Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt.
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Despite the Norwegian city of Bodø boasting a population of only around 42,000, Bodø/Glimt has won the country’s top-flight Eliteserien four times out of five since 2020, and since the 2021-22 season has reached the knockout stage of European competition, be it in the Europa League or tertiary Conference League, each year.
The current 2024-25 campaign has been no different, and tonight (May 8), the team will face down English giants Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final second leg at the club's 8,200-capacity Aspmyra Stadium, knowing that if they overturn a two-goal deficit they will be in with a chance of becoming the first Nordic side ever to win any of the three current UEFA competitions.
Balancing Bodø/Glimt’s strong on-field performances, which have come about through shrewd tactical planning and scouting, has been an equally shrewd commercial strategy aimed at maximizing the benefits from European qualification. This is all while securing a sustainable model for the club, should on-field success falter. This has allowed the club to capitalize on these performances by investing in a new, modern, 10,000-seater home stadium.
Speaking to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport), Bodø/Glimt international marketing manager Joe Foster explained just how the driving revenue growth and balancing it with sustainability, in one of European soccer’s smallest local markets.
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How has the club leveraged strong on-field performances and late runs in UEFA European competitions in recent seasons into commercial success, and is this sustainable in the long term?
"We’ve leveraged these performances by sustainably reinvesting the money. One of the key elements for this has been our investment in people, both on and off the pitch. This recruitment has been easier in recent seasons, with our sustained on-field success leading to European football places, which has enabled us to recruit more effectively.
“We are now in the process of translating this into sustainable off-pitch success by expanding our corporate partnership network throughout Europe.”
How has the restructuring of the UEFA competitions affected this? Have more group games improved Bodø’s revenue-driving efforts, or does the lack of a fall from the Europa League to the Conference League reduce the safety net?
“While the lack of a Conference League safety net does limit some opportunities, the increased revenue from the Europa League has offset this. One core reason for this is that, as a club, we never plan for success in Europe past our “guaranteed” matches.
“For a club of our size, the increase in group matches is better for us commercially simply due to the fact it gives us more opportunities to draw 'globally recognized' teams and get our club in front of more fans.”
Given the relative market size of the Eliteserien in Europe and how small Bodø is as a hometown, does the club have to get creative when promoting itself internationally, and if so, how?
“Yes, we definitely have to get creative. Our country is very sparsely populated, numbering only 240k in a space roughly half the size of the UK. We are often reliant on tourism, with our city being a key ferry stop on the route to the Lofoten Archipelago & Arctic Coast.
“In seasons past, for example, we’ve partnered with hotels to offer discounted match tickets to tourists as part of booking their hotel rooms. However, we are now seeing that our club is providing football fans a valid reason to travel to Bodø, and we are now becoming a bona fide tourist attraction ourselves.”
Do you look to what other clubs in similarly sized leagues are doing as an example?
“Within our specific geographic context, it’s a case of looking at other leagues and learning rather than just lifting ideas and copying them. What may work for other clubs, even within our league, may simply not be possible for us due to the geographic context.
“The Eliteserien does differ from most leagues in this respect, as we are firm believers in the concept that “the rising tide lifts all boats”, and we all seek to learn from each other and collaborate on ideas, when possible, especially due to the relative impact of UEFA solidarity payments having a more pronounced effect on teams in our league than other larger leagues.”
What are the biggest difficulties the club has with expanding its commercial business and growing revenue?
“For a long time, the biggest difficulty we have faced has simply been the remoteness of Northern Norway and the Arctic Circle. However, in the digital age, we are seeing more and more fans interacting with us from all over the globe, and simply becoming more aware of Bodø via the outsized impact that Norway is currently having on the sport.
“We now have flight connections over the whole of Norway, and the airport expansion project is looking to be completed in 2029, which will hopefully allow more international flights directly into Bodø.”
With over $60 million in revenue secured in 2024, close to $20 million more than in 2023, is the club looking to invest purely on the pitch or put more emphasis on off-the-pitch commercial activities?
“For us, the most important aspect of investment is finding balance. Ultimately, one of the most important factors in commercial success is on-pitch success, so we have to keep finding ways to play exciting football. We are, however, looking at new and innovative ways to promote the club, and we firmly believe that the key to keeping us competitive on the pitch is to continue our current financial stability.
“Our key corporate aim now is to bring in partners from outside Norway to take advantage of the current level of European success, and keep our name in the minds of global football fans should we drop out of European Competitions.”
With other Norse clubs such as Molde and Rosenborg also having posted strong financial results in recent years, is the Eliteserien doing enough to support teams as they grow, and is it positive to see other Norse clubs performing well?
“We think that the Eliteserien and Norwegian Football Federation are doing a great job in assisting the clubs in Europe, especially with keeping the schedules flexible enough to allow us to compete in Europe effectively, whilst still managing home dates.
“The support apparatus has also been key in helping us transition Aspmyra Stadium from an arena teetering on the edge of UEFA’s regulations to being an example to other clubs on how to transform a stadium without breaking the bank.”
What is the goal for Bodø/Glimt in the long term, and how is the club looking to achieve it? Is it simply to continue to dominate the Eliteserien or more?
“Our biggest current project is the construction of our new stadium, which will turn our home into a stadium that our fans, supporters, and partners will be proud of for decades to come. This will also enable us to drive more commercial success via new partnership opportunities that are simply unavailable to us in our current stadium.
“Our long-term goal is to become the flagship team in all of Scandinavia. We believe we are on the right track in terms of building a team that can compete year in and year out in the Eliteserien, and that if we continue to perform well in Europe, we can capture enough interest globally to set our club up for decades to come.
"The key way we will achieve this is through sustainability, not just environmental sustainability, but financial and social sustainability.”
