Sport
16th August
Rovers sponsor hunt: Past, priority, partners, and P&S rules
By Rich Sharpe @richsharpe89
Rovers had a three year sponsorship with Dafabet between 2015 and 2018
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As Rovers begin their search for a new sponsor, Rich Sharpe looks at how things have played out, and what the future holds.
THE BACKGROUND
10BET were announced as Rovers’ principal sponsor in July 2018 as the club geared up for their return to Championship football.
They replaced Dafabet who had been the shirt sponsors for three seasons. That agreement was signed in 2015, and announced as a ‘multi-year sponsorship agreement’ with the online gambling company.
At the time it was said the deal was worth a seven figure fee, plus bonuses, and would last a minimum of three years, the exact time the deal ran for.
10BET stepped in after another sponsorship deal fell through in 2018, which was behind the late release of shirts that summer, with Rovers having started their pre-season friendlies in the previous season’s shirt.
The 10BET deal was announced as a three years, worth a seven-figure fee across the course of the contract which was expected to run to 2021, with benefits for Rovers should they win promotion.
However, within that contract was a break clause which allowed 10BET to cut short their sponsorship a year earlier, without breaching the deal.
Speaking at the time of the deal, Daniel Corcos, 10Bet Marketing Director, said: “Blackburn Rovers are an iconic English club with a large and passionate fanbase and represent a superb fit for our growing UK brand.”
After opting for the 10BET deal, chief executive Steve Waggott said there were several interested parties, a theme he will want to continue as they search for a replacement.
Rovers will hope there won’t be a repeat of 2012/13, their first since relegation from the Premier League, where they started the season without a sponsor, until ProBiz took over in January 2013 for the remainder of the season. After that, RFS and Zebra Claims both had a year of being shirt sponsors, before DafaBet took over in 2015.
THE PRIORITY
The priority will be to find a replacement, and quickly, with the season fast approaching. What is yet to be established is the notice that was given on the break in the contract, and therefore the time that Rovers will have had to line up a replacement, or indeed, how much they will lose out on.
Sponsorship deals will be as important as ever to club who have seen their revenues plummet since lockdown in March.
Indeed, in the accounts to June 19, Rovers recorded that sponsorship and advertising revenue had doubled to £1m after promotion from League One, coinciding with the announcement of the 10Bet sponsorship.
Rovers are yet to release their kits for the 2020/21, and will be keen to do so in a bid to drive revenue at a time when many streams have dropped off. However, sourcing a new sponsor will be vital to that, as well as easing any concerns over Profit and Sustainability rules.
Some club owners have used front of shirt sponsorship as a way of investing money in to the business, however, sponsorship would need to be assigned a value, so that should a similar offer be made by an outside company be made, then a level of accountability is there, so not to not breach FFP. The same goes for sponsorship of grounds, stands, or advertising boards.
Rovers have also had a back-of-shirt sponsor for the last two seasons, after local business Watson Ramsbottom Solicitors took on that role.
They agreed a one-year extension in 2019, to run for the whole of last season, and Rovers will be keen for that to continue, or at least secure another back of shirt sponsor.
Other official club partners include Totally Wicked, Peter Jackson The Jeweller and Energy Check, The Envelope Works, while the branding of owners Venky's is also present inside Ewood.
Rovers do have another year left to run on their deal with kit manufacturer Umbro, with the training gear for the 2020/21 having already been released, and now on sale.
They begin their pre-season friendlies with a trip to Fleetwood Town on Saturday, as the players return to training today, and as well as being without a senior goalkeeper on the books, will also face a decision on which kit to wear.
THE LANDSCAPE
Last season, half of Premier League teams had a gambling company as their main shirt sponsor, as did all but seven of the 24 Championship clubs. The EFL divisions are even sponsored by one in Sky Bet.
However, last month, the House of Lords Gambling Select Committee’s report ‘Gambling Harm – Time for Action’ recommended that a blanket ban should be brought in from 2023 so that gambling companies couldn’t be present on the shirts of teams, with their presence meaning shirts sold to Under-18s cannot bear the logo.
They put forward that was enough time for clubs to secure new sponsorship, but an EFL spokesperson was quoted as saying that ‘£40 million a season was paid by the sector to the league and its clubs’.
They argued the contribution of such companies was as important as ever as the Covid-19 pandemic brought financial challenges never experienced by clubs.
Before 10BET and Dafabet, Rovers’ other previous gambling company sponsor was Bet24 who had the contract between 2004 and 2006 before Crown Paints took over.
Long-term deals saw Perspex as front of shirt sponsors between 1984 and 1991, and then McEwans Lager between 1991 and 1996.
The club say it maintains a strong relationship with 10BET, who aren’t the only online Chinese gambling company to pull out of similar agreements with football clubs.
