Hull City set the standard for rest of English football to follow
The Tigers are returning to England after their week-long training camp at the luxurious Regnum Carya resort in Antalya
Football. The working man’s game. Or so it was labelled years and years ago, but over those years, the sport at the top level has changed immeasurably, it’s barely recognisable for many of us.
The astronomical levels of money in the game from television companies and sponsors have changed the mechanics of the game beyond all recognition.
While the fundamentals of the sport may remain the same, the inner workings are so different they barely resemble football’s forefathers. Now, players at the top level are treated differently and the rest of the world is largely kept at arm’s length.
Along the way, the relationship between and its fans has become frayed. We saw during Covid how crucial supporters were to the game, or so we were told. Things have largely returned to how they were pre-pandemic, with little regard given for fans when it comes to facilities, ticket prices, the cost of shirts and so on – oh, and not to mention kick-off times – don’t even get me started on the abhorrent cost of the new England strip.
At Hull City, however, things are different. This is a club in the Championship, vying for a place amongst football’s elite. Come August, the Tigers could be playing games against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa, iconic clubs in English football, and then those more recent to the top-table party like Manchester City and Chelsea
Since the arrival of Acun Ilicali, the Tigers have been a club transformed, and once again, the East Yorkshire club showed how they’re bucking the trend of every other club in the country. There is not one single institution in the 92 like it.
This week, owner Ilicali, the Turkish media mogul and celebrity figure, paid for 100 supporters to travel with the team out to his home country and enjoy a free holiday. During that trip, the supporters, most of whom were able to handle the all-inclusive bar, were treated to a host of different activities, including watching the players train before casually mingling with them on the pitch, and then watching their friendly against Curacao at the 33,000-capacity Corendon Airlines Park, home of local Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor.
There were no player chaperones or big-time security guards being difficult, and no clockwatching, this was a refreshing exchange between players, management and fans, just chatting like normal people. Two people, engaged in conversation over a plate of Baklava generously donated by club sponsor McVities.
It can be done, and Hull City are proof that it just can be, despite what the established elite tell us. Demands on players are intense, we know that. Not least from their training schedule, but throw in club sponsorship engagements, other corporate activities – including their own – and God knows what else, it can be difficult, but City find a way. Supporters are the lifeblood of every club.
Without supporters’ money, whether that be from ticket revenue, retail, corporate offerings or paying their crazy amount of television subscriptions for Sky, TNT and the like, football in 2024 isn’t what it is now. We should remember that it’s them who fund all of this.
