Supporting Successful Players, Britain Falls Short in Snooker Perspective

Supporting Successful Players, Britain Falls Short in Snooker Perspective

Rewritten Article:

The thrilling World Snooker Championship recently wrapped up at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, a venue that's been its home for a whopping 48 years. This year's tournament was a massive success, drawing nearly 200 million viewers worldwide to watch the historic first Chinese world champion, Zhao Xintong. At the start of the millennium, those viewership numbers were barely above 5 million.

However, the next edition could very well be the last one at the Crucible, as its current agreement with the World Snooker Tour comes to an end. The WST is eyeing a larger, modern venue, possibly hosted in Saudi Arabia or China, with financial backing to match. The commercial argument is crystal-clear.

The global snooker market is experiencing rapid growth, fueled by a grassroots explosion in China and the Middle East. These regions are filling large sports stadiums and offering rising prize money. The Crucible, with its capacity under 1,000, is a tad confined and not much has changed in half a century. Compared to other modern sports, the prize money for the world champion, currently £500,000, is modest.

Money's magnetic pull has already enticed several sports to move to locations with the deepest pockets. The cricketing scene has gravitated towards India, with the Indian Premier League being the largest global cricket franchise. Boxing now has Saudi Arabia as its global hub. A Saudi-backed alternative golf tour took off three years ago.

This external shift is not confined to sports. Companies like ARM (semiconductors), DeepMind (AI), and Darktrace (cyber security), once UK leaders, were scooped up by international bidders, growth they're now regretting after the sale. The UK is now trying to nurture the superstar businesses needed to shape industrial strategy and spark growth.

One sector where the UK has a rich history of success is sports. Football, birthplace of the 19th century, is the world's most popular sport, with massive participation and revenues. Despite representing less than 1% of the global population, the English Premier League leads the pack by revenue.

Modern tennis, another 19th-century English invention, ranks among the top 10 global sports, with sustained revenue and popularity growth expected. Wimbledon, the premier tennis tournament in the world, raked in £400 million last year.

Snooker, a game designed by British Army officers during the same era, is making significant strides in revenue and participation, especially in expanding markets like China, the Middle East, and potentially India, where it was first introduced. Neglecting snooker at this juncture could be as short-sighted as selling ARM, a leg, or a Deepmind.

Regional growth is vital for the UK to achieve national growth. Municipal leaders have been entrusted with more power but less money. Chancellor Rachel Reeves' growth speech in January barely mentioned regional growth or sports. However, backed by investment, sport has proven to be a powerful driving force behind local growth. Areas like Stratford in east London, site of the 2012 London Olympics, have undergone transformations from dereliction to gentrification thanks to over £9.3 billion in public money and a focus on legacy.

The All England Club, Wimbledon's host, has invested over half a billion pounds upgrading and extending its estate, with government support for grassroots tennis running into tens of millions. Comparing Stratford and Wimbledon with Sheffield and snooker, the situation calls for attention. I, an avid fan of both sports, find it unfortunate that the government isn't investing as much as it should in Sheffield. Investment per capita in the city of Sheffield is less than half that of Manchester and one-tenth that of the London borough of Westminster. Investment in the Crucible Theatre has been minimal.

As a sport, snooker has received no public money. If we're serious about regional growth beyond the South East, the playing field needs to be leveled. The chancellor's Spending Review in June presents an opportunity to do so. Investing in snooker in Sheffield could anchor it as the global hub, attracting the private finance that generates wider growth benefits, as enjoyed by Stratford and Wimbledon. And an investment in snooker's grassroots would create the talent pipeline necessary for sustaining success. China boasts 300,000 snooker clubs, while the UK has only a few hundred, yet the Chinese champion, Zhao Xintong, trains in Sheffield.

Wimbledon and Sheffield could become the north and south poles of English sport, catching, rather than selling, a rising sports star driving local growth and boosting the UK's global standing. In this century, Sheffield and snooker could become as synonymous and internationally recognized as Sheffield and steel were in the previous one. Industrial strategy isn't about picking winners but sticking with them. For the UK economy, sport, snooker, and Sheffield are a winning team and a rising star. An investment here would deliver the holy grail of local growth, meeting national objectives with global ambition. In the wise words of England's finest 20th-century philosophers, Chas and Dave, it would be "snooker loopy" not to.

1. The rapid growth of the global snooker market, particularly in China and the Middle East, is attracting interest from major financial backers, potentially leading to a move from the Crucible Theatre.
2. The increasing popularity of snooker is indicative of its potential as a significant revenue generator, much like football and tennis, which are already highly profitable sports.
3. The commercial argument for relocating snooker events to larger, more modern venues with financial backing is a compelling one, given the growing markets in Asia and the Middle East.
4. The UK has historically been successful in the sports sector, with football and tennis ranking among the top 10 global sports in terms of revenue and popularity.
5. Ignoring the potential growth of sports like snooker could be as shortsighted as selling off valuable UK assets, such as ARM, DeepMind, and Darktrace, which were subsequently regretted after their sale.
6. Investment in sports has proven to be a significant driver of local growth, as seen in the transformation of areas like Stratford and Wimbledon.
7. The government's lack of investment in Sheffield, despite its rich history as the home of the Crucible Theatre and the birthplace of snooker champions, is a missed opportunity for both regional and national growth.
8. The chancellor's Spending Review in June presents an opportunity to invest in Sheffield and snooker, potentially anchoring it as the global hub of the sport and attracting private finance for wider growth benefits.
9. Investing in snooker's grassroots would not only create a talent pipeline for sustaining success but also align with national objectives for regional growth, just as investments in sports have bolstered the UK's global standing in the past.

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