
The growth in retail sales of licensed sports merchandise was on account of two of its sub segments namely apparel and accessories. The two largest major leagues, NFL and MLB together represented almost half of share in North American sports licensing market. The market expanded in 2013 on the back ongoing expansion of the major US leagues internationally, but also by strong growth for football/ soccer teams globally, as well as for clubs in other sports, such as rugby, cricket, and basketball. Several of the football clubs with the strongest merchandising programs, especially in the UK and Europe, have been expanding around the world, while a large number of clubs in all sports are launching licensing programs or increasing their licensing activities in their home countries.