Homepage  |   E-mail this article  |   Print

---

---

Advertisement

7:38 am, August 18, 2008
Manchester United signs up Saudi Telecom as sponsor

Manchester United could earn as much as £10m from a marketing partnership with Saudi Telecom.

The five-year deal gives the company rights to use the club’s logo and images within Saudi Arabia. It will also offer mobile customers clips of match highlights and a text news service.

Muhammad Al-Jasser, chairman of STC, said: "The partnership will significantly enhance STC's profile, benefitting from the club's unrivalled fan base throughout the Middle East and especially in Saudi Arabia. One of the most exciting aspects of our partnership with Manchester United is the opportunity to attain new levels of marketing excellence. The club has a brilliant track record of global success in branding and we will be working closely with a specialist marketing team from Manchester United to develop innovative ideas to support the partnership."

The team visited the Middle East at the start of the year, accompanied by a marketing effort aimed at finding new sponsors.

The Saudi Telecom deal involves an unusually large amount of money for a non-shirt sponsorship deal in the Premier League.

Manchester United’s £56m shirt sponsors, American International Group, has admitted losses amounting to £12bn due to the credit crunch.

Comments?manchesternews@crain.com