The talk of recent weeks has been to move away from shirt sponsorships in the Premier League in order to stay ahead of the U.K. government deciding to do it for them. So it comes as a surprise that two clubs have recently signed record breaking deals.
Fulham FC has signed a contract with W88. The betting firm will be Fulham’s front-of-shirt sponsor for their men’s and women’s teams, replacing telecommunications network World Mobile, who are on the shirt sleeves.
W88, which has a strong presence in Asia, sponsored other teams in the Premier League.
“We’re pleased to welcome W88 on board as main team partner this season in a record sponsorship deal for the club. The deal provides significant revenue to assist with our commercial objectives, enabling us to compete in a challenging and exciting Premier League campaign,” said Fulham sales director, Jon Don-Carolis.
The Premier League wants clubs to support the phasing out of shirt sponsorship by gambling companies to avoid a ban imposed by the government.
The Fulham Supporters’ Trust told The Athletic last week: “We know that many fans are uncomfortable with gambling shirt sponsors, and a significant number have told us they don’t buy replica shirts and other merchandise because of it.
“With the likelihood of a voluntary ban on gambling front-of-shirt sponsors being agreed by the Premier League imminently, it appears Fulham, along with other clubs, are taking the last opportunity to get revenue from overseas gambling companies that don’t operate in the UK.”
Everton signed a similar record shirt sponsorship last month.
Supporters of the ban say clubs can be pressured to stop sponsorships or else be forced to do so by the government. The league has a reprieve before voting on a league-push to drop such sponsorship, according to the Telegraph.
The league has also received an 11th-hour plea from more than 100 victims of problem gambling as discussions intensify around a voluntary ban on betting sponsorships. Anti-gambling campaigners say betting sponsors have more influence on children in soccer than in any other sport.
“Despite our preference for government action, we still believe football can do the right thing regardless of what policy-makers do and when they do it,” the letter says. “We will continue to campaign to parliament throughout this legislative process, but we are also urging you to vote to end gambling sponsorship. It is the very least your clubs can do to prevent the devastation we experienced from happening to anyone else.”
Other clubs have signaled that they are open to some sort of clampdown to fend off the threat of the government bringing in legislation that would make gambling sponsorship illegal.
The 20 clubs will not rush into any agreement, however, as a long-anticipated white paper on gambling reform will not be released until former prime minister Boris Johnson’s replacement is named.
Fans can likely expect a vote in September, but the English football league and racing are likely to be spared any shut down due to the potential hardship it could cause.
