Betvictor has recently signed a significant sponsorship deal with London’s oldest football club, Fulham FC. BetVictor are now officially the ‘Main Team Partner’ of Fulham FC, this momentous deal was secured just in time for the Premier League and has been celebrated and reported on by gambling news sites globally.
Fulham FC experienced the devastation of relegation in the 2018-2019 season. They had an amazing comeback last season and are now hoping, with the backing of a world-class sponsor such as BetVictor, they can overcome hurdles and have a triumphant 2020-2021.
What Does The Sponsorship Deal Include?
With Global Online gambling firm BetVictor Officially being named the ‘Main Team Partner’ fans will see their branding in a selection of high profile locations. Primarily players will have the BetVictor logo proudly displayed on the front of their shirts during games. This will include the club’s first team and women’s team. On top of this, fans will get to take home a piece of the action too and all adult replica t-shirts will support the BetVictor imagery.
Craven Cottage, Fulham FC’s home stadium will have plenty of prominent BetVictor branding on match days with a large array of surfaces and signage supporting the brand’s logo. Their branding will also feature heavily on the club’s website and social media channels. Betvictor will benefit from exposure to the large fanbase this historic club has and to wider-reaching dissemination via the colossal audience the Premier League draws in. The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast to 643 million homes across 212 territories with an estimated viewing number well over 3 million.
This deal is set to last for 2 years until 2022 and both sides seem to be very excited by the prospects and opportunities this symbiotic relationship will bring.
Fulham FC, Pioneers Of English Football Sponsorship
It wasn’t until the late 70’s that the FA allowed any form of sponsorship on club’s kits. Initially, local businesses were the most common sponsor however as football became a global sport larger, international businesses started investing to get their names displayed on players kits and around a variety of surfaces in the stadium. This phenomenon grew during the ’80s and ’90s, the bigger the team, the bigger the sponsor. In the early 2000s, tobacco sponsorship was outlawed by the UK government and the FA, meaning a large gap in the market appeared.
In 2002 Fulham FC made the historic decision to become the club to make the first gambling sponsorship deal in English football. This sensational sponsorship deal with Betfair caused a snowball effect and nearly 20 years later many top-flight clubs have gambling sponsors.
Fulham FC’s Upcoming Season
Of course, the last 6 months have been anything but smooth sailing with Covid-19 affecting every aspect of life, including the football calendar. Sporting schedules globally experienced widespread disruption, delays and cancellations. The Premier League was halted for over 3 months and when it did resume games were played in spectator free stadiums.
The 20-21 season is now well underway. However, the unprecedented level of uncertainty and disruption experienced this year proves the value of having biannual commercial sponsorship deals signed. Without the revenue generated from ticket sales, having the support of large industries such as Betvictor are vital to ensure the quality of sport we have come to expect.
On the 4th of August, Fulham FC fans had good reason to celebrate as the team were promoted back up to the Premier League. Manager Scott Parker is confident the team has learnt lessons from their disappointing 2018-19 season, which saw the club relegated. He believes the historic club will have a better shot playing in the Premier League this season. However, he understands that they must overcome the obstacles that lie ahead stating that “We’re going into the best league in the world, the best players, the best teams… it’s a brutal league and I realise the challenge ahead”
Since getting promoted to the Premier League and their lucrative new sponsorship deal with Betvictor, Fulham FC have boosted their team by recruiting a handful of new players. On transfer deadline day, the 5th of October, Fulham made several last-minute signings. This included buying Tosin Adarabioyo from Manchester City for an undisclosed sum and loaning Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Joachim Andersen from Chelsea and Lyon respectively.
