Last Updated: Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:15
Manchester City have signed a deal with Endemol, the group responsible for Big Brother, to develop their brand globally.
The attention may be on who City are likely to bring in this summer, with Barcelona striker Sameul Eto'o heavily linked with a switch to Eastlands, but City's Abu Dhabi-based backers are now ready to push the club as a global brand.
City have signed a deal with Endemol Sport for a major website launch on Wednesday, including a site in Arabic and the development of TV ideas.
Manchester United and Real Madrid are the world leaders in terms of generating revenue from overseas support but this still represents a relatively small percentage of their turnover and for City, who have a much smaller support base, it remains to be seen just how successful this deal will be.
David Pullen, brand and marketing director at Manchester City, explained that City's performances on the pitch will affect how successful they can become as a global brand.
He said: "At the top of the list is providing a positive experience to existing fans,
"The second priority is to create a point of entry into Manchester City and what it stands for.
"We want to target certain markets, first in Arabic and English and by the end of the year, in three or four other languages."
The deal is described as "multi-year" and City and Endemol are expected to be working on this project for a number of seasons.