The Devil Came to Yorkshire: Leeds United and Red Bull

The Assistant Professor of Football: Soccer, Culture, History.

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The McDonald’s on Elland Road in Leeds, near the stadium of Leeds United, is, apparently, the only McDonald’s there is that has removed any element with the color red. Because Red, that is Manchester United, the rose of Lancaster in the badge of Manchester City. And roses, as well as soccer shirts, in Yorkshire are white… except until this Summer, when two red bulls, the logo of an Austrian energy drink, gallopped onto that white jersey, as the new main sponsor.

I have a personal past here: I was in Austria when the same energy drink bought and erased Austria Salzburg, in the Austrian Bundeliga, in 2005. Red Bull, almost killed the old Austria Salzburg then. We now have Red Bull branded and/or owned clubs all over the world. The question in Leeds, then, is not about the color on a jersey, but rather "are we next in the now almost 20 year old history of Red Bull turning football clubs into promo and marketing vehicles?"

Maybe. And maybe not. Brace for a little history lesson from me about what happened there, 20 years ago, but most of all look forward to Adam Willerton from the Leeds United Supporters Trust, the largest independent fan organization that related supporters and club heritage interests to the club, as well as Wayne Gamble who also works with the trust and is a fan of Leeds United - and Austria Salzburg.
The soundtrack to today is Luke Haines' wonderful "Leeds United," about when the devil did indeed come to Yorkshire. Here are the lyrics.
HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Leeds United Supporters Trust
LUST statement on Red Bull, 31st May 2024
The Yorkshire Evening Post from the same day covers the statement and "maximum resistance" from supporters
The Leeds Press giving voice to the "don't worry about Red Bull" camp recently
Nancy Froston from The Athletic/The New York Times on "Why Red Bull Bought Sports Teams - and the Impact on Them" a few da

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Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind
Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/