Newcastle United have become the richest club in the world after the recent takeover by Saudi-Arabian company PIF. Another profitable deal has been the partnership with gambling operator FUN88. Due to the recent talks about banning gambling operators from team kits, Newcastle United is now looking for an early exit from their current deal.
The current sponsorship deal
When the home kits for the 2017/18 season were revealed it was with a new head sponsor on the front of the shirts. The Chinese gambling operator FUN88 had agreed on a three-year deal as the team’s official sponsor. Since then the team penned a long-term extension in 2020 with the company, and they were looking to continue their cooperation for years to come.
However, now it may look as like the deal will be terminated early due to new rules coming into place and the recent takeover of PIF, who are rumoured to want to bring in a new sponsorship deal with Saudia Airlines or Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Aramco. This will most likely be even more lucrative than previous deals and enforce the club’s reputation as the richest football club in the world.
The new ban
At the moment, it is yet to be banned to have a sponsorship deal with a gambling operator. However, the Premier League seeks clubs’ backing for a voluntary ban by the clubs in the English top flight. In a letter to the clubs, they have asked the clubs to phase out gambling operators from the front of their team kits within the next three years.
So far it has not worked, but it is expected that there will be a vote at the start of September, where the Premier League clubs will sit down and discuss the matter. The proposal will need 14 out of the 20 clubs’ support to be approved. It is not expected to receive a lot of resistance as a no for the proposal might result in no advertising being allowed on the front of kits. This would be a costly affair for a lot of the clubs, as sponsorship deals are an important part of covering the running costs.
Early exit might be good for Newcastle United F.C.
With the Magpies eying an early exit from their current sponsorship deal at the end of the season, it might even be more profitable for them. A new sponsorship deal will be more incoming than earlier due to the club’s marketability in an entirely new market.
For the supporters, this might mean that they don’t know where to put their money when they need to gamble in the future. It can be hard to find a new operator but if you follow reviews such as https://www.casinohawks.com/reviews/bet-uk you can get first-class advice from casino experts, who have tried gambling operators out for you. Another good thing is that you won’t be angry with your team’s sponsor and maybe the team as you can separate the two of them.
Whether you are a gambler or not it will be exciting to find out who will feature on the front of next year’s shirt. Until then “Pogo, if you love the Toon!”.