Deal good till summer 2022
English Premier League (EPL) team Fulham FC has announced sportsbook specialist BetVictor will be its main sponsor in a deal that runs until summer 2022.
As part of the two-year sponsorship, the BetVictor logo will be featured on Fulham’s first team men’s and women’s playing shirts, in addition to replica adult shirts. The Gibraltar-based online wagering giant will also be permitted to display its branding around Fulham’s stadium Craven Cottage, as well as on the club’s website and social media channels.
“We’re really excited to be teaming up with Fulham FC and are confident of a successful season ahead for both of us,” said BetVictor CEO Andreas Meinrad.
Fulham tweeted the new shirts in a 3D animation interspersed with video footage and a camera still from the club’s history:
Replica shirts decked out in BetVictor livery are already available to pre-order online from Fulham’s official website, and fans can purchase them at the stadium shop starting September 17.
Fulham gained promotion back to the UK’s top league on August 4 after defeating London rival Brentford 2-1 in the playoff final.
To Fulham the honors
Craven Cottage will host the opening game of the 2020/21 EPL season, as Fulham entertains Arsenal in a UK lunch time kickoff on September 12.
Fulham’s CEO Alistair Mackintosh welcomed the sportsbook on board, saying: “BetVictor shares our passion for success and we hope to develop our relationship further throughout the duration of the partnership.”
one MP recently talked up the likelihood of a soccer shirt sponsorship ban
While Meinrad said it’s “all eyes on Craven Cottage for Saturday’s big kick-off,” the gaze of many gambling adversaries in the UK will fall squarely on his company’s logo. Many wagering-related brands active in England are bracing themselves for the impending new UK Gaming Act. Draconian reforms are widely expected, and one MP recently talked up the likelihood of a soccer shirt sponsorship ban.
The English Football Association does not allow gambling logos on replica kits for sale to those under 18, although EPL soccer players under the age of 18 train and play matches with wagering sponsorship on their sports gear.
Spain’s pains
Online betting sponsorships in Spain’s top soccer tier are also attracting the ire of the government, with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs calling for a complete ban of La Liga shirt sponsorships.
Despite the expected government showdown looming, it has not fazed UK online wagering company Betway from partnering with RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, commonly known as Espanyol. The soccer club, which has just dropped down a division from La Liga, tweeted pictures of their new signing Óscar Gil wearing the Betway-sponsored shirt:
Betway continues to rattle the government’s cage, as it only recently completed a deal to sponsor La Liga club Real Betis. It follows Asian online gambling organization Dafabet, who announced a two-year deal with Cádiz CF. This activity has driven Spain’s Consumer Affairs minister Alberto Garzón to claim that betting brands incited “a type of compulsion that can be compulsive” when young soccer fans are exposed to them.
After Betway’s latest deal, Garzón told local radio station Canal Sur on Friday that the new sponsorships represented an “an absurd challenge” to the Spanish government.