‘Haalandmania’ fills the Etihad

In September last year, 38,000 people came to see the city in Champions. A year later, they were 52,000. The difference? Erling Halland. by playing emits Premier in Norway. His shares are up 10% and he has 69% more subscribers. that’s business Halland.

In September 2021, in a 6-3 thrashing against the Leipzig in the group stage of Championsalmost 38,000 people attended the stadium of city, which led Guardiola to demand more commitment from his fans. “I want more people to come the next day,” said the Spanish coach. A season later, against Copenhagen, 52,000 people (from a maximum capacity of 55,000) attended the English stadium on Wednesday.

The signing of the attacker triggered a demand for tickets during the summer, leading to the best attendance figures for a club used to good attendances at games of premier leaguelike any English club, but that is reduced in the Champions League.

But there is Halland, numbers remain in both competitions. The amount of fans that attended etihad in the first five games of this campaign they have exceeded attendances in the first five games of last season, never dropping below 50,000 and with a peak of 54,000 witnessing the 6-3 win over Man Utd.

The City of Manchester understood this root and planned a strategy to expand its brand in the Scandinavian market, traditionally dominated by its rival from Man Utdthanks to the glorious era of a player -and later a coach- as Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

This weekend, before the derby with United, City took the trophy for premier league conquered last season on tour Norwaywith the aim of contacting the country’s fans and giving them the opportunity to take a photo with the title, as well as hear the experiences of Paul Dickov, with the father of HallandAlf Inge Haaland, in the City.

“The premier league has always been very important for Norway,” he explained to EFE Adrian Richvoldsena Norwegian journalist for the newspaper Nettavisen who soon covered the presence of Halland in Germany and England. “Liverpool and Manchester United had a large number of fans, but the interest increased significantly because of the signing of Halland. I have friends who haven’t seen the Premier for years, and now they subscribe and pay whatever it takes to see the City. There is ‘Haaland mania’ in Norway. Every day there are several articles about him in the press. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added. Richvoldsen.

“Even the girlfriend of a friend, who was never interested in football, is now watching city through Erling. It’s incredible!”, qualified the journalist.

For Viaplay, which owns the distribution rights to the Premier League in Norway, signing Haaland is a goldmine that continues to deliver results. The monthly subscription price to see all of the Premier is 649 NOK, about 60 euros, and Viaplay’s latest financial results (found at Stockholm, Sweden), shows a 10% increase in the value of shares and 69% more subscribers, up to 5.5 million in all territories where the network is present.

The purpose of by playing reached 7.3 million subscribers by the end of the year, a number that will increase further due to the impact Halland is having on premier league. His 14 goals in eight games are worth 60 euros per month.