FA takes aim to kick-start online sales

The Football Association has put its online sales service out to tender as part of a strategy to boost sales and bolster its international presence.

Only a limited number of branded items are available online, despite more than 25 million official England products being sold in the year leading up to Euro 2004.

Marc Armstrong, head of business development at the FA, said: "To capitalise on the ever-growing number of consumers buying England licensed products, the FA is looking to maximise its e-commerce proposition in terms of the quality of the online store, the range of products stocked and the volume of sales generated."

The association refused to say how much it had made from online sales, claiming commercial confidentiality. So far this year, more than 2.3 million people have made five million visits to the FA.com website.

The online store is run by Etail Services, part of marketing services group SP Holdings. That deal expires at the end of July.

The new operator will be granted a licence from 2006 to 2010. The FA said the tender documents went out last week and that it hoped to make an appointment by the end of May.

"It does need to be done," said Nigel Currie, director at sports marketing agency Brand Rapport. "The potential is massive. The interest in football and the thirst for merchandise is incredible. But as they are competing against individual clubs, they have got to create something that really stands out and will attract people."

Mr Currie said the FA also needed to work on its brand, particularly if it intended to target overseas customers. "It is slightly confused and people find it quite hard to distinguish between the FA Premier League, the FA Cup, the FA itself and team England."

The FA recently signed up energy giant E.ON to sponsor the FA Cup in a £32m deal.