Case Study: City Football Group drives sponsorship growth with GWI

How they're driving sponsorship growth across clubs with more consistent, far-reaching insight

City Football Group (CFG), the global sports organization behind eight clubs including Manchester City F.C., needed a more consistent way to understand audiences across very different markets. With limited comparable insight across clubs and regions, the team struggled to quantify opportunities, prioritize partnerships, and build a strong commercial story for brands. GWI helped provide the market-by-market data and audience insight they needed.

Using GWI’s platform, CFG analyzed fan profiles, audience sizing, and consumer overlap across global, local, and regional markets to strengthen sponsorship pitches and partnership planning. The extra layer of insight helped CFG position its clubs more effectively, support rebrands, and tailor partner messaging by market. According to CFG, GWI has been a game-changer, adding data depth they otherwise couldn’t access and helping drive sponsorship growth, especially for Manchester City.

City Football Group

Pasi Lankinen

Vice President Partnership Strategy and Operations