Leicester City 'could make £150m from Premier League win'

Leicester City's Algerian-born star Riyad Mahrez celebrates a goal

Leicester City are set for a potential £150m boost for winning the Premier League title, analysts at sports data and marketing firm Repucom have said.

The sum comprises Premier League prize money, Champions League participation cash, and increased match day revenues from ticket and hospitality sales.

The Foxes will also enjoy a higher valuation of sponsorship assets, and a growth in fan bases globally, it said.

Leicester clinched a fairytale first championship on Monday evening.

Chelsea's 2-2 draw with second-placed Tottenham Hotspur meant the north London club could not catch Leicester.

The East Midlands club will now feature in the Uefa Champions League next season, taking them to an even larger European and world TV audience.

Social media surge

Spencer Nolan, head of consulting at Repucom UK and Ireland, said adding fans worldwide remained "central to realising the club's full potential as a commercial entity".

"While it is too early to really evaluate the rapidly growing fan bases we are starting to see across Asia for example, social media provides us an opportunity to start to quantify this surge."

The club is growing its overseas Facebook presence, including in Thailand

This season, the club's Facebook page following has grown by a huge 540%, making it one of the fastest growing accounts of any sports team globally.

Algeria's 500,000 followers represent Leicester City's largest fan base on the social network (16.7%), thanks to the performances of PFA Player of the Season, team winger Riyad Mahrez.

There have also been large increases in Thailand and Italy, the homelands of the club's owners and manager respectively.

'Maximise returns'

Mr Nolan said the summer would be an important time for the East Midlands club to build its commercial presence.

"Leicester City FC's real commercial potential will become clearer in the season break as brands vie to associate themselves to the club and, in turn, the league winners aim to maximise the returns their status could command," he said.

He also said that in the 2015-16 season, Leicester's TV audiences had soared by more than 23% globally - "which will help... to increase the value of their sponsorship properties next term".

"The task now is to optimise the value of those assets and ensure they attract the incomes Leicester City could now generate."