Record-breaking new shirt sponsor: SportPesa

Monday, 15 May, 2017 105comments  |  Jump to most recent
Online gaming giant displaces Chang

A new logo after 13 years of Chang

Everton have announced a club record, five-year shirt sponsorship deal with online gaming giant SportPesa. The company will replace Chang Beer on the front of the club's kits next season after Everton agreed the biggest sponsorship in their history.

SportPesa, who also sponsor relegated Premier League side Hull, will set up a new European headquarters in Liverpool which will create over 70 new jobs.

The Kenya-based company has experienced rapid growth since its launch in 2014 and is now the title sponsor of Kenya's top-flight and African gaming partner to La Liga.

Speaking at the club's AGM in January, Everton chief executive officer Robert Elstone confirmed that the club would secure £75 million from their new shirt sponsorship and the naming rights to Finch Farm, which were sold to USM.

Article continues below video content


"We're pleased to have secured the biggest commercial partnership deal in the club's history with an ambitious and growing, global company," Elstone said in a statement on Monday.

"From the outset we have been impressed by SportPesa and the company's plans for the future. Over the coming months and years we will be working closely to realise our ambitions together.

"SportPesa are committed to significant investment not only into Everton through this partnership but also in the city as they open up a new European Headquarters that creates new jobs in Liverpool.

"The Liverpool office will give SportPesa the chance to engage with supporters through a number of fan activities and we look forward to an exciting partnership together."

SportPesa replace Chang as Everton's main partner, with the Thai beer company recently agreeing a three-year community partnership after 13 years as the club's shirt sponsors.

Ivo Bozukov, director of global strategy for SportPesa, said: "This is a proud and monumental day in the history of our organisation. Everton Football Club is a world-renowned sporting institution and a club of proud tradition and rich history.

"We are thrilled to have secured an alignment with Everton, a club weaved prominently throughout the tapestry of world football."

No figures have been revealed, but by inference, the shirt sponsorship is worth around £10M per year, with USM paying around £5M per year for naming rights on Finch Farm.

 

Reader Comments (105)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


James Hughes
1 Posted 15/05/2017 at 16:42:12
Another move in the right direction from the club and now we can stop selling that crap at the bar.

Get in a caterer that can serve you before half time is almost over and we will be looking up.

Ian Bennett
2 Posted 15/05/2017 at 16:43:38
Another step forward for the club and the city.
James Morgan
3 Posted 15/05/2017 at 16:44:36
Ker-ching!
Marc Jones
4 Posted 15/05/2017 at 16:45:51
All sounds very good until you compare to the likes of Chelsea, both Manchester clubs, Spurs etc . Whilst I appreciate we're not on their commercial level yet £75m does seem paltry for a side in the biggest commercial league and in a European comp. Still it's better than Chang.
Paul Holmes
5 Posted 15/05/2017 at 16:50:04
Koeman said he would rather have Hull's sponsor than Niasse back!
Chris Williams
6 Posted 15/05/2017 at 16:52:52
The £75m apparently covers the shirt sponsorship and the Finch Farm naming rights .

Split down and in accordance with Elstone comments that the shirt sponsorship is 3 times bigger than currently, the Echo estimates that this equates to £26.8m or £9.6m per year and the balance being for USM deal.

No comment from the club about value though.

Eugene Ruane
7 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:15:19
"My name? You call call me Robert Els...er.. Dixie. It's Cash only darlin' and I won't wear nothing red"

Link

Dermot Byrne
8 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:16:23
Oh for god's sake enough. What about Ross?

Seriously, looks like a big step forward.

Chris Williams
9 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:21:12
Yes, it is progress from where we've been. There was some mention of a sleeve sponsor too, wasn't there? Whatever one of those is.

I suppose it plays into FFP rules too. Whatever that equates to.

Dermot Byrne
10 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:21:40
"A club weaved prominently throughout the tapestry of world football."

You'd never get away with fluffy language like that on TW! Michael K...

chance of a proof reading off-spring business? We could all do zero hours contracts!

Andy Meighan
11 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:23:31
Superb, Eugene!
Gavin Johnson
12 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:44:54
Would have liked to have seen the specific details. Chang was the biggest sponsorship in the clubs history and we undersold ourselves with that deal.

Apparently this deal works out at around £9m a season and is the 7th biggest shirt sponsor deal in the league just behind Spurs who are on £16m a season. It's good news and a move in the right direction.

Ray Barnes
13 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:49:24
New kit leaked here.

Link

Nice and understated, quite like it.

Gavin Johnson
14 Posted 15/05/2017 at 17:54:16
The shirt looks okay Ray. It looks a bit like a training top too. Maybe it is?!
Alan Rodgers
15 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:10:33
Sorry, James, it looks like Chang will still be served at Goodison. They are carrying on their association with Everton by sponsoring EitC.
Colin Glassar
16 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:13:50
I suppose it's an improvement on the Chang deal but it's still peanuts compared to some other clubs. £9m a year? I hope Transfer Czar Bill doesn't think this is our transfer kitty.

Maybe I'm too cynical, or stupid, but weren't we told that the USM Finch Farm deal was supposed to be worth £75m on its own?

I guess I'm just so sick and tired of being misled (to say the least) by Everton that, whatever Elstone and co come out with, I don't believe a word they say.

Dermot Byrne
17 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:18:19
Colin, I worry you have a long and depressing summer ahead if detail like this worries you.

But, just to get it going, word from completely unreliable sources says grass seed deal only worth £50. Spurs get £60.

Dermot Byrne
18 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:21:45
Love the idea of a beer company sponsoring EitC. Free pint with detox project? Think sensibly!
Colin Glassar
19 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:23:19
Well Dermot, it looks like it's £15m a year for the shirt and the Finch Farm deals combined. Better than the £5m we were getting, annually, from Chang but still far less than mega deals the teams above us are getting.

Baby steps I suppose.

Chris Williams
20 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:23:28
Colin,

As far as I'm aware, when all this stuff was announced initially the £15m pa covered the 2 deals. The shirt deal was estimated at £48m by the Echo based on Elstone's comment that it was 3 times bigger than Chang's deal. Balance was USM deal for Finch Farm. maybe they're wrong though, because club hasn't released details. The Chang deal was quoted at £16m for 3 years.

I seem to remember that there was also a sleeve sponsorship mentioned too but whether that is over and above is not clear. Then maybe naming rights?

Apparently the shirt deal is 7th biggest in Premier League, so maybe appropriate?

It's all progress, maybe from a low base, but maybe many will be disappointed. Usually are.

Liam Reilly
21 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:29:12
7th biggest sponsorship deal in the Premier League is about right for where we are now.

There'll no doubt be clauses should the club qualify for the Champions League or, God forbid, get relegated during the term of the deal.

Would be good business to get a sleeve sponsor or a different shirt for the Europa League, but then there'd be uproar over the cost.

Paul Tran
23 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:40:10
How about a special deposit bonus offer for us ToffeeWeb punters?
Des Farren
24 Posted 15/05/2017 at 18:50:15
An online gaming company? Eh okay, better maybe than the cheap taxi ads we see in Goodison Park. Better, morally, than Chang?

Well, they claim to be... with core values of Integrity, Social Responsibility, Excellence and Transparency. You would be hard pressed though to find their core business on their website.

Eugene... with your European LHD, I take it you are a remainer. Knew it.

When, exactly, did we sell our soul?

Len Hawkins
25 Posted 15/05/2017 at 19:11:44
Well that's the name for the new stadium sorted "The Gleaming Tower of SportPesa".
Matthew Clarke
27 Posted 15/05/2017 at 20:05:39
Lem, that's just taking the pesa, mate
Eddie Dunn
28 Posted 15/05/2017 at 20:16:33
Gambling company and a crap new shirt... it's going to be a bum summer.
Bill Gienapp
29 Posted 15/05/2017 at 20:17:14
An important step in the right direction, though I'm not gonna lie – I'll miss the elephants.
Mark Morrissey
30 Posted 15/05/2017 at 20:36:28
I shouldn't be but I'm slightly underwhelmed by this bit of business. Go on their website and you see two Football team club badges, Hull and Southampton. It's not exactly Barcelona and Bayern Munich is it.

It also looks a bit 3rd division being sponsored by a company that is essentially selling catnip to gambling junkies. All a bit tacky but then the money is good... but that's so shallow isn't it?

Elstone looks happy enough but then I expect he'll be getting a free Kenyan Safari out of it. I don't want to be glum about it but that's how it's left me feeling. A bit unenthused.

Lev Vellene
31 Posted 15/05/2017 at 21:03:44
Eugene, is that how you spend your days? Collecting and cataloguing pics to link to? Great hobby, if so! I always gleefully look forward to following your links! And that one was, was, haha! I was thinking things about Elstone of yore, then wondering about the new one, but you nailed it!!!
Albert Egan
32 Posted 15/05/2017 at 21:13:05
Morals and money aside, is anyone else interested to see if this new venture will benefit the advertising of the club on a more global scale? Chang certainly hasn't helped us tear up the Asian market....
Lev Vellene
33 Posted 15/05/2017 at 21:15:49
Mark (#30),

And how does that compare with the original sponsorship by Chang? A beer nobody ever heard of before, and the money was not much to speak of?

Hull are going down; EFC and Southampton are staying up. If that company gains strength in this new market for them, then maybe more money for us in the future when we are finally up there at the end of the current deal...

And we are getting a rather good deal now, compared to what we had, as I understand it? And we are just hopeful of getting into the Champions League the next year or two, from any sponsor's view!

Sam Hoare
34 Posted 15/05/2017 at 22:01:00
Mildly encouraging rather than inspiring.

Guess performances and results have to improve on the pitch before people start paying the big bucks to be associated with us.

Chris Gould
35 Posted 15/05/2017 at 22:04:09
"From the outset we have been impressed by SportPesa and the company's plans for the future...blah blah blah..."

Translated: they offered us the most money, and we don't give a shit if they're a disreputable online gambling company. Anyway, we'll call them a Gaming company cos that sounds better.

So, another 5 years of buying home and away kids kits that don't have the sponsor on them. It's just isn't the same, and it makes the kits look less authentic.

John Malone
36 Posted 15/05/2017 at 22:10:56
I've been informed by a neighbour who is a catering manager in the Upper Bullens that they are getting rid of Chang and will be serving Fosters on tap from next season!

Result!

Colin Glassar
37 Posted 15/05/2017 at 22:22:18
I thought Chang were offering us a deal for the sleeve sponsorship? Five bob a sleeve I suppose.
Michael Penley
38 Posted 15/05/2017 at 22:30:08
Fast forward 5 years. Next Everton sponsor announced: SmackMerchants, heroin dealers. Get your fix today!
Lev Vellene
39 Posted 15/05/2017 at 23:07:32
Michael (#38)

Elstone will then tell you that this is the world of the new today, and we just have to relate to that; so as not to alienate more than the puny minority, who are actually not worth involving, as they are not the majority!!! :D

Sam Vaughan
40 Posted 15/05/2017 at 23:11:33
I've always felt the Apple logo would look great on our shirt... but maybe that's who we have lined up for the sleeve?
Peter Gorman
41 Posted 15/05/2017 at 23:34:28
I admit I have my doubts ethically about having a 'gaming company' as our sponsor but, in reality, I've no idea what would constitute an ethical sponsor. That Danish ham was pumped full of steroids.

We should just go the whole hog and print the numbers of local escorts as our sleeve sponsors.

Kevin Tully
42 Posted 15/05/2017 at 23:45:05
Peter – we've had bookmakers sponsoring us for years. Dafabet & William Hill. Or is their money any different because it's not on our shirts?
Terry Underwood
43 Posted 16/05/2017 at 00:37:39
Wow, can't be much happening elsewhere. Still, moaners gotta moan.
Eugene Ruane
44 Posted 16/05/2017 at 01:04:26
Terry (#43), 'Still, moaners gotta moan'

Well it's like the old saying goes, 'Haters gotta hate, moaners gotta moan, vacuous as fuck pointless platitude utterers gotta utter vacuous as fuck pointless platitudes.'

Bill Watson
45 Posted 16/05/2017 at 01:29:07
John (#36),

Fosters is a result??? Good grief!!!

Andrew Keatley
46 Posted 16/05/2017 at 01:32:42
This season gambling companies accounted for half of shirt sponsorship in the Premier League:

Bournemouth (Mansion), Burnley (Dafabet), Crystal Palace (Mansion Group), Hull (SportPesa), Stoke (Bet365), Sunderland, (Dafabet) Swansea (BetEast), Watford (138.com), West Brom (UK-K8.com), West Ham (Betway).

Not sure if any clubs will have a change of sponsor for the coming season, but Newcastle are sponsored by Fun88.com and Brighton will still be American Express (I think).

Depending on who wins the Playoffs it is possible that over half of Premier League clubs will be sponsored by gambling companies.

Dark times really...

Mark Andersson
47 Posted 16/05/2017 at 01:39:17
Never a dull moment on TW... Those bemoaning a Gambling company, don't we all gamble our money to watch Everton as you never know what the result is going to be or whether you get value for your cash.

We're back at being the best of the rest and I can't see it improving next season.

Michael Kenrick
48 Posted 16/05/2017 at 05:08:29
Sorry, please forgive my ignorance here... gambling (or is it gaming?) –

Has it suddenly been declared illegal?

I don't think so.

Is it then immoral? Something tolerated within the underbelly of our disintegrating society? A cancer eating away at the lives of the weak and gullible who are prone to a flutter or a weekend in Vegas?

I just don't get it. Like everything in life – alcohol, driving fast cars, bungee-jumping, mountain-climbing, smoking, kayaking, market-gardening... you make your choice... you do what you want. Why are the judgementalists out in force over this?

Where is the high-ground moralism coming from here? It's a vice, you say... yet it's something humans have clearly indulged in for centuries.

Is it that fucker, god, who has told you not to do it? I know my religious mother would glower at my father who consequently used to whisper "Whitehall 1212" into the phone (before we had rotary dialing), and would secretly put "five bob each way on Daxal in the 3:30 at Uttoxeter..."

Maybe she told me once it was a heinous crime... but I never did ask why? I just figured out it was stupid as the odds were almost always stacked against you. And my mate's dad was a bookie... he was never short of a bob or two...

Jim Harrison
49 Posted 16/05/2017 at 05:19:29
Gambling, evil and immoral. Paying pampered prima Donnas the equivalent of 4 times the average earners annual wages per week? Oh, that's fine.
Michael Kenrick
50 Posted 16/05/2017 at 05:30:32
That was a childhood memory reinforced years later when, having exhausted the pleasures of Hong Kong, we took to the Jetfoil and a quick trip across the vast Zhujiang estuary to Macau. There was only one thing there – this fabulous casino. It looked like something straight out of James Bond...

We went in and it was fairly quiet. Most of the tables were empty. But there was quite a crowd around one table, the hush punctuated by a raucous cheer as each round was completed. What on earth were they playing that would keep the attention of almost everyone in there?

We edged gingerly through the throng and close enough to see what was going on. A pile of buttons, a bit like Go pieces, and the croupier was carefully counting them out in groups of four. Beside the pile, a square, with the numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4... and stacks of chips inside or on the sides and corners.

It was a big pile and he kept counting off, 4 at a time...
Until he got to the end. 3 buttons left. A small portion of the crowd went delirious. Woop-de-doo!!! We have a winner!!!

That, I kid you not, is the game of fan-tan. Look it up. Talk about a lasting impression...

Gareth Clark
51 Posted 16/05/2017 at 06:11:31
Progress!

COYB.

Michael Penley
52 Posted 16/05/2017 at 06:45:43
Michael Kenrick – I've no qualms with gamblers, only sympathy. Might be a good idea to ask why gambling companies are so profitable these days. My bet (ha!) is that it's because it has the potential to be more of an addiction than ever.

With 24/7 access on your phone and ads screaming at you from all sources to place a bet (I still get emails from gambling outlets even though I've only done it a few times in my life) it's hard to get away from.

And if we're all on the same page that we want Everton to be an ethical club, I'm not sure how ethical it is for a small group of people to make massive profits from the misery of others through manipulating their psychological tendencies.

Darryl Ritchie
53 Posted 16/05/2017 at 07:05:00
Michael @52

"I'm not sure how ethical it is for a small group of people to make massive profits from the misery of others through manipulating their psychological tendencies."

Are you talking about gambling? I've reread your post a couple of times, and it seems to me you could be talking about every professional sport, league and club on the planet.

Michael Penley
54 Posted 16/05/2017 at 07:53:03
Darryl @53 – If you're miserable because Everton failed to kick an inflated sphere into a net on the weekend, then talk to someone who has just lost their house and life savings due to gambling addiction. Either that, or see a psychiatrist.
Darryl Ritchie
55 Posted 16/05/2017 at 08:18:48
Whoa... settle down big fella. It sounds like somebody may need a little couch time... and it's not you or me. A few may get addicted. The vast majority don't. I just think that connecting a logo on a football shirt, with some poor bugger losing his house, is a bit of a stretch.

And I not miserable. No matter what Everton manage to do with "an inflated sphere", the very act of following their exploits, whether they are successful or not, is a source of pure joy... I'm kidding. I'm a kidder... but I'm NEVER miserable because of it.

Derek Knox
56 Posted 16/05/2017 at 08:23:43
Good news!

Hope the Sportpesa lager is better than Chang.

Sotida Conrad
57 Posted 16/05/2017 at 08:40:02
Lev @33 – football is as I'm sure you know is a global sport and Chang beer is a Thai beverage and Thailand is a country visited by millions of people from all over the globe, year-in & year-out, so I would suggest you are wrong in your assumption that Chang is a beer no-one's ever heard of before.

And may I add, I was at a shopping mall in Bangkok looking for Everton shirts for my family in Thailand last year and the reply I got from the stall holders, whose stalls were crammed with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manc and RS shirts, when asking for Everton shirts, was "Who?"

Ajay Gopal
58 Posted 16/05/2017 at 08:47:23
Andrew (#46) thanks for the list of Premier League Clubs having betting companies as their Shirt sponsors. What was scary was that none of them were in the Top 7. Does that tell you something?

This deal smacks of desperation – not a sponsor I would have wanted my beloved club to be associated with. What happened to all the good old 'product' companies?

Eddie Dunn
59 Posted 16/05/2017 at 09:02:54
Darryl, in these days of austerity (in the UK) and cuts in welfare benefits etc, we see the rise in betting companies. We are told to gamble "responsibly", just like we are advised to drink "responsibly". Most of us can manage to do it, but lots can't.

We are proud of the efforts of our club to help charitable causes, and EitC is a good example of a club doing good deeds in its locality. But there are many people in society who have fallen victim to gambling.

The easier it is to do it and the more you are allowed to bet makes those who are desperate more likely to overstretch themselves. More to the point the more normal it is that we see the names of these companies plastered across our shirts gives the signal that all is okay with it.

I would rather we had no advertising on our shirts, and perhaps we could ask the players to all take a one per cent paycut and put EitC on the shirt and give the money to the homeless.

Darryl Ritchie
60 Posted 16/05/2017 at 09:10:48
Good point, Eddie
Len Hawkins
61 Posted 16/05/2017 at 09:23:00
Worldwide coverage is guaranteed when all the East African pirates start boarding the worlds shipping wearing Everton shirts.

Also the mentioned Apple emblem on our shirts – it would be just the core of an eaten apple knowing EFC.

Paul Mackie
62 Posted 16/05/2017 at 09:27:48
Not thrilled it's a betting company to be honest. Taking away the moral arguments, can you really say that this is a classy sponsor? They're on the same level as payday loans companies in my eyes.

I think the last sponsor we had that I wasn't embarrassed by was probably NEC.

Kevin Tully
63 Posted 16/05/2017 at 09:31:12
Eddie, do you think the 13-year Chang sponsorship was just as bad as promoting gambling?

What about credit card companies? Barclaycard? Visa? Some awful stories about people getting themselves into debt and committing suicide.

Everton also had a pie sponsor, what about obesity? The UK has the fattest population in Europe.

Shall we go on?


Scott Hamilton
64 Posted 16/05/2017 at 09:41:30
Clearly everything that is now happening at Everton is linked.

Finch Farm sponsored by USM, Alisher Usmanov's business.

I'm no Columbo but "Ivo Bozukov" sounds more Russian than Kenyan.

SportPesa's new European HQ will be in Liverpool (the Moshiri-consortium owning Liver Building perchance?)

Laurie Hartley
65 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:08:16
Michael (#48):- "you make your choice... you do what you want."

Can't argue with that but their might be a storm coming:

Link

Danny Broderick
66 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:15:50
Does anyone know if our new sponsor will go on the kids kits? I hope so, because my lad hates the fact the Chang is missing from his kits currently.

When I was growing up, I didn't feel the need to buy anything from NEC, One to One etc, so this idea that you can't put Chang on a kids top, or the name of a gambling company, is frankly ridiculous to me.

Also, this notion that people might be coerced into betting by the logo on our top is just as ridiculous. We are responsible for our own actions.

Geoff Williams
67 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:19:27
Sponsored by a gaming company.... mmmmh, not the route I would follow but, then again, I would never vote Tory or Brexit so I'm in the minority.
Joe Foster
68 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:21:28
I could care less who the shirt sponsor is as long as it brings more money into the club than the last sponsor.
Stan Schofield
69 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:23:05
Danny, I agree. Regarding betting, Everton's great era in the 60s was financed by the Sir John Moores betting empire.
Graham Duffy
70 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:24:07
Scott (#64) – good point! Were going places here, on the up. Not the best sponsor but, after 13 years, I still couldn't find Chang in many places. Sadly, money talks. I got more issues with the wages players 'earn' and agents... (sigh).
Craig Walker
71 Posted 16/05/2017 at 10:38:50
I'm just thankful the sponsorship wasn't Fruity King after all.
Brian Murphy
72 Posted 16/05/2017 at 11:06:02
Look the Premier League has become a cesspool and its always going to attract betting companies and other companies/people with very low morals.

The Revelations about payments to Raiola and other agents in the last few weeks has to be honest made me sick. I find it very hard to think that when I put my hand in my pocket to buy a ticket/jersey that Raiola is going to walk away with a huge bunch of (mine & yours) cash for making a few calls to London or France or Spain (when Rom Fucks Off).

It's difficult to get my head around the fees the players earn but at least I can look at these guys and go, "Okay, they are doing the training, they have the talent, it's an open market, make as much as you can." But these agents... I'm sorry.

Gary Edwards
73 Posted 16/05/2017 at 11:15:14
This is very average business at best and about as good as can be expected with Elstone involved. 7th highest in the Premier League currently; wait until the start of the season, Hull get relegated and we get their sponsor... well done, Elstone, top business.

Is it ironic or simply '2+2' journalism that the purported £75m sponsorship income corresponds to the £75m transfer kitty being quoted in some rags? And so the Flowerpot Men smoke and mirrors summer show begins. Someone please pass the weed...

Update: Mystic Meg predicts that Everton fans will be up in arms come September wanting to know what happened to the Lukaku, Barkley, McGeady, McCarthy, Sunderland 3, Jagielka, etc. etc money as Everton (lying mid-table at that point) conclude their transfer business with a net saving of £50m. Kenwright will reveal that players were sold to finance stadium financing whatever that means.

John G Davies
74 Posted 16/05/2017 at 11:34:49
Some Bible-bashing Quakers appearing. The good Lord will strike you down if you sanction being sponsored by Beer... Gambling companies.

Grow up, boys. Working man's pleasure – a bevvy and a bet.

James Marshall
75 Posted 16/05/2017 at 11:51:22
I don't understand why everyone is suddenly up in arms about a betting company, when we've just been sponsored by a brewery for 13 years!

Alcohol/gambling, what difference is there?

Aside from that, I just looked at some of the leaked photos of next seasons kit, and while I don't really care what the kit looks like since I haven't worn one since about 1992 anyway, it does look quite drab and dull. It's not even the right shade of blue.

John Raftery
76 Posted 16/05/2017 at 12:21:01
Nothing like a dose of negativity on TW to counter what was intended to be a good news story.

If we had not attracted a betting or drinks company, just who do people think might have sponsored us for the sums being bandied around? The big global tech brands with wads of money to throw around such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook etc are well outside our league.

Manufacturers and retailers generally are struggling across the developed world. The few with money to spend on advertising/sponsorship generally look for high profile clubs which will consistently be competing for and winning trophies – not those who qualify for European football once every few years, occasionally have a domestic cup run and generally achieve 'best of the rest' status.

'Best of the rest' is not what global brands aspire to. This sponsorship takes us forward, helping us to be more competitive in the years leading up to the building of the new stadium.

Lenny Kingman
77 Posted 16/05/2017 at 12:44:34
The many gaming sponsors reflect the state of the British High Street. Betting shops and not much else.

On another tack, the head of global black ops doesn't sound Kenyan but is just another Russian hell bent for footballing leather and cash.

Sportpizza will be replaced by Rolls Royce once the revolution arrives. That is if they are still making them when it does.

Mike Berry
78 Posted 16/05/2017 at 13:23:18
The "ethics" is not a problem here when you look at numerous other shirt sponsors around the world, you would assume something illegal is going on from some of the posters.

The important thing is the deal, but also the shirt and its design. From what has been leaked and if accurate then you have to wonder how easy it is to be a designer whether your output is accepted or not.

From what has been shown, if true, then it's damn poor and would definitely benefit from white under the arms – not dark blue. The sponsor's lettering is drab too. Looks more like a training top knocked off in a Hong Kong sweatshop!

It's about time the club consulted the fans on the shirt; maybe hold some competition with young blues input then put it to a vote, maybe some charitable donation attached to the vote. (Just thinking after a lot of Chang, you understand!)

Eddie Dunn
79 Posted 16/05/2017 at 13:54:43
Kevin Tully, the fattest nations in Europe are as follows..

Andorra
Turkey
Malta
Israel
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
Poland
Slovakia
Spain
France

As we are only 6th, I suggest we look for sponsorship from Aunt Bessie.

This is in a WHO report from September 2015.

Declan Young
80 Posted 16/05/2017 at 13:55:02
Just for mine, struggled with gambling addiction for a while so this is something that puts me off the shirt, and means I won't be buying it. I also know it means kids won't be getting it, in my family at least.

If it means money for the club, can't argue with it too much though. Betting sponsers for some reason scream midtable at me, guess it is up to the lads to change that.

Kevin Tully
81 Posted 16/05/2017 at 14:45:12
Apologies, Ed. The data only includes Western Europe. Bunch of fatties.

Britain: 'the fat man of Europe'

Patrick Murphy
82 Posted 16/05/2017 at 15:25:47
My sentiment on the subject is best explained by this extract from Ripping Yarns (about 2 mins into the video).

It's not important

The players rather than what they are wearing is what I pay my money to watch and, so long as bookmakers, brewers etc are legal, then I don't have a problem with the sponsors. I can't wait for 7pm tonight and await the outrage about the design of the new kits.
Eddie Dunn
83 Posted 16/05/2017 at 15:35:03
Patrick, I love it! Bugger the bloody kit, I'll get the missus to knit one.
Tony Waring
85 Posted 16/05/2017 at 15:38:00
I do wonder sometimes why the FA or Premier League permit the connection with gambling – though I'm not personally averse to a flutter myself – when you consider how they punished Joey Barton, however wrong he was. I also take exception Michael (48) to your description of God; with your skill as a wordsmith I'm sure you could have done better.
Eric Myles
86 Posted 16/05/2017 at 15:51:03
Graham (#70), Chang weren't our sponsors to encourage UK football watchers to consume the beer – it was to encourage the Thais to drink the beer.
Steavey Buckley
87 Posted 16/05/2017 at 15:57:36
No great future sponsorship deals will happen until the new stadium is built down by the old docks.
Eric Myles
88 Posted 16/05/2017 at 16:00:33
Ajay (#58), isn't this team with the BetVictor shirt in the top 3?

Link

Jay Harris
89 Posted 16/05/2017 at 16:20:41
"Let him that be without sin throw the first stone"

Can we please drop the moral judgements and concentrate on the deal and what it means for EFC.

I am sure that gambling addicts are not rubbing their hands in glee saying "Oh good Everton have signed a deal with a gambling company so I can put an extra tenner on Blue boy this week" the same way alcoholics will not retreat into their shells because Change are on the out.

Just wait till pot is legalised then youll have something to moan about.

Gary Hughes
90 Posted 16/05/2017 at 16:57:35
More dull uninspiring Umbro shite no doubt. Is there some reason we can't have Adidas or Nike?
Liam Reilly
91 Posted 16/05/2017 at 17:30:54
Adidas would make a good change, Gary – three stripes down the side on a retro look.

Wonder why the unveiling of the new kit is not until 7 (according to the Echo). Some last-minute changes perhaps.

Dan Davies
92 Posted 16/05/2017 at 17:34:26
Sure, Nike bought Umbro to get their hands on the England kit. Hence our shirts were made by Nike now we got Umbro!
Brian Wilkinson
93 Posted 16/05/2017 at 18:48:11
Does anyone know if the shirt release was deffo 8pm tonight, or has this been decided in the last few Days to release it at 8pm?

Could be the leaked top did not go down well and, as we speak, an updated top is being worked on, hence the 8pm release instead of this afternoon... just a thought and wishful thinking.

Lewis Barclay
94 Posted 16/05/2017 at 19:13:39
The logo is nearly as bad as the Everton one from two years ago.
Scott Hamilton
95 Posted 16/05/2017 at 19:32:48
Dan (#92) – Nike did own Umbro but offloaded them to another US company in 2012.
Paul Hewitt
96 Posted 16/05/2017 at 19:33:36
There paying us £15 million a year. Who cares what they do?
Nicholas Ryan
97 Posted 16/05/2017 at 20:29:53
New ground name: 'The Leaning Tower of Pesa'.

By the way, isn't 'Chang' the name of a notorious prison?!

Sotida Conrad
98 Posted 16/05/2017 at 20:33:20
Nicholas @105 – Changi prison, Singapore!
Paul Burns
99 Posted 16/05/2017 at 20:41:54
Whoever reckons the UK is only sixth on the European list of fatties hasn't clocked the birds by ours – you'd need 3 hands to strangle most of them.
Kieran Kinsella
100 Posted 16/05/2017 at 23:02:41
I know morality has no place in football but the biggest issue for me is the sponsor. Average annual wage in Kenya is 800 quid. So we are advertising a scumbag company built off the exploits of people living on Dixie Dean wages. We use that money to pay our Under-23 players 40,000 a week. The world has gone mad.
Laurie Hartley
101 Posted 16/05/2017 at 23:38:04
Paul (#96) – me.

Jay (#89) – "Let's drop the moral judgements." Not a good idea in my opinion.

Hugh A Ross
102 Posted 17/05/2017 at 02:56:44
I have researched on Google the owners of our new sponsors!!

Bulgarian / Kenyan Mafia according to Wikipedia and Google. Are they sponsoring our club shirt... or are they about to take the shirts of our backs?!?

Kristian Boyce
103 Posted 17/05/2017 at 03:14:40
Back in the late '90s, I did my uni dissertation on football shirt sponsorship and used us and One-2-One as my case study. The club allowed me to spend a week at Everton One to survey fans. Amusingly, people had no clue what Danka or Hafina did/made but many refused to drink Carlsberg.

From doing that paper, I've always had a geeky interest in shirt sponsorship. While people might moan about the morality of a gaming company, at the moment it probably was the only company/industry willing to pay us the money that we were requesting.

The six teams above us all have established international brands as their sponsors, and are getting reimbursed handsomely for it. Only when we break that top six and challenge for the league, then we'll have a known brand as our sponsor.

Take Tottenham for example. They had a gaming company a few years back (Mansion), but regular top four/five finishes saw them move up to a more respectable finance company sponsorship.

I was a little surprised that we signed a five-year deal as I think that is a little short sighted by our commercial team as I imagine our benefactor has a goal of getting Champions League football before that time. But these are the same guys that persisted with Chang for 13 years, so I'm not overly surprised.

Many people do not see the impact having a good sponsor can do for a club and its exposure globally. I currently live in SW Florida and my local Costco warehouse also sells tyres. Right in the front of the store is a huge Yokohama tyres display, along with pictures of the Chelsea team and a framed Chelsea shirt.

Man Utd get even more exposure with national TV ad campaigns with Chevy as well as pictures of players in Man Utd kits at my local Chevy dealership.

This also applies to the kit sponsors as well. While we are putting up with the bland Umbro junk, at my local mall, the Under Armor store has a massive billboard-sized picture of half the Spurs team.

The mall also has a New Balance store, which I refuse to enter now as it has a huge RS logo in its window.

Dan Egerton
104 Posted 17/05/2017 at 19:15:57
Good post, Kristian Boyce.
Joe McMahon
105 Posted 17/05/2017 at 19:37:05
Kristian (#103), a well reasoned and accurate article of where Everton are commercially. Sadly, it's way behind.

I can't see us anywhere until we are in a new stadium. Goodison has been holding us back for many years now, and who knows when we can leave it?

I'm 47 and I remember thinking when I was 40 we will have a new home by the time I'm 45. Let's face it, I'll be 50 and we will still be in bloody Goodison Park... I just hope we won't when I'm 55. How long can the Bullens Road stand last?

Raymond Fox
106 Posted 17/05/2017 at 21:23:43
Why do we get all this sanctimonious crap every time gambling is mentioned? Life's a gamble, is it not, in all sorts of ways.

We all take out insurance, don't we? What do you think that is? It's a gamble on something happening.

What about credit cards, why not ban them because some jerks cant stop spending!

Ian Jones
107 Posted 18/05/2017 at 05:27:34
Perhaps there will come a time when players' agents will sponsor teams or an individual player. Love to see the comments if that ever happens.
Andrew Ellams
108 Posted 19/05/2017 at 14:55:24
Does anybody know if the contract has any sort of clause that means the revenue to the club goes up if we were to qualify for the Champions League?

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


About these ads