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In what must be one of the first decisions of its kind, Bolton Wanderers have quickly dropped a sponsorship deal with a pay day loan company after protests from fans and local politicians. They had satisfied themselves that QuickQuid were regulated and responsible, but said they did not want to damage relationships with the local community for commercial reasons.
How does one market a club like Monaco, newly promoted to France’s Ligue 1? Given the size of the principality, it’s difficult to generate big crowds. With a population of just over 36,000, Monaco is the second smallest country in the world and the smallest with a coastline. Only Vatican City is smaller.
Sunderland AFC has announced that BFS Group Limited will become the club’s new principal partner from season 2013-14. BFS Group is the main UK operation of The Bidvest Group Limited, which is headquartered in South Africa will replace Invest in Africa as the team’s main shirt sponsor.
The Bidvest Group is a global business operating across a range of sectors with over 105,000 employees across four continents. It also operates the largest global foodservice business outside North America and has significant presence in the UK market.
The Football League is still without a sponsor after a proposed three year £10m per season deal with B & Q fell through at the last minute. The Football League has a cumulative attendance larger than that of the Premier League. However, the lack of a global footprint holds it back: that is what top brands are looking for.
Christian Seifert, chief executive of the Bundesliga, says Germany can learn from the Premier League’s success in selling commercial and media rights overseas. The idea of developing club brands gloobally is more developed in England, he believes.
In Germany most club sponsors are German companies. Mr Seifert told the Financial Times, ‘I’m sure we’ll see more international-oriented sponsors in the next few years.’ German clubs must become more financially savvy if they were to sustain their success.
Whether David Beckham was a good or a great footballer has been debated on Radio 5 this morning, but he was certainly the greatest footballing celebrity of his generation. Having played at two of the greatest clubs in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid, he then went to the ultimate celebrity destination, Los Angeles, and topped it off with a stay in the home of cosmopolitan chic, Paris.
Many United fans seem underwhelmed by the appointment of David Moyes as new Manchester United manager. The fact that he was the choice of Sir Alex Ferguson does not reassure some of them. They think that Sir Alex wanted someone in his own mould, not least a fellow Glaswegian.
Arsenal are set to sign the biggest kit deal in English football with Puma as they bring to an end their 20-year association with Nike at the end of next season. A number of improved commercial deals for Arsenal are in the offing.
The five-year deal with the German sportswear manufacturer is reported to be worth as much as £170m – more than £30m a year That’s even more than sponsors Emirates pay to have their logo on the Arsenal shirts, and will give Arsene Wenger, or his successor, extra financial clout in the transfer market.
Portsmouth fans and staff have signed a £10,000 deal with new replica kit partner Sondico. The cheque – which will be used to purchase 10 community shares – was the first instalment of revenue from the ‘In Pompey We Trust’ commemorative t-shirt campaign which has gone down well with fans.
Sir Alex Ferguson believes that you should not retire but stay active and engaged. He is living testimony to the wisdom of such a course. He is already planning to strengthen his squad over the summer and United chief executive David Gill has pledged that the money will be available.