Today 15th October 2012 Manchester United signs A
zerbaijan’s Bakcell to add to the portfolio of sponsors currently associated with the football club. The exclusive arrangement with Bakcell will make them the first telecommunications and broadcasting partner of Manchester United in Azerbaijan.
The financial benefits of the partnership with Bakcell were not disclosed at this stage. 2.6 million Bakcell subscribers will be able to access unique information about the team. As part of the agreement Bakcell, will provide unique Manchester United product in Azerbaijan, this will also include coverage of the clubs in house TV channel, MUTV. This is not Bakcell’s first venture into football sponsorship they partnered the Fifa under – 17s Woman’s World Cup which was held in Azerbaijan earlier this year.
Manchester United currently are fourth in the table of revenue earned through attracting worldwide sponsors, behind Bayern Munich (1st) Real Madrid (2nd) Barcelona (3rd). United recorded slightly under 1/3 of all turnover through sponsorship last season. A credible performance while under the grasp of the Glazers, and should be welcome to offset unnecessary wastage in servicing the disablement of the debt burden laden upon United.
The investment made in locating the Manchester United commercial arm to a prestigious address in up – market Mayfair in London, continues to provide significant growth. This capital injection to develop commercial activity shows no sign of abating with Manchester United’s world wide appeal to its reported 650 million fan-bases.
With failure to breakout of the Champions League group stages last season resulting along with early exit from domestic and the Europa League competitions, saw a fall in pre-tax profits which is partially negated by the splendid performance by the marketing people in London continuing to attract sponsorship partners of the caliber of Bakcell with Manchester United.
Some of the principal sponsors of Manchester United:
- AON: AON Shirt Sponsor of Manchester United.
- DHL: DHL Official Logistics Partner of Manchester United.
- Bwin: Official On-line Gaming and Betting Partner of Manchester United.
- Casillero Del Diablo: Official Wine Partner of Manchester United.
- Hublot: Official timekeeper of Manchester United.
- Smirnoff: Official responsible drinking partner of Manchester United.
- Mister Potato: Official Savory Snack Partner of Manchester United.
- Nike: Nike’s Mission Statement, to Provide a Competitive Edge.
- Chevrolet: Official Automotive Partner of Manchester United.
- Singha: Official Beer of Manchester United.
- Thomas Cook: Official Travel Partner of Manchester United.
- Turkish Airlines: Airline Partner.
- Epson: Office Equipment Partner of Manchester United.
- STC: Integrated Telecommunications Partner for Saudi Arabia.
Manchester United’s commercial director Richard Arnold was delighted at the new agreement with Bakcell going on to say “Our Azerbaijani fan base is ever increasing and we hope our relationship with Bakcell will allow us to engage with these fans as well as bring them exclusive access to their favourite club “.
Bakcell’s chief executive officer Richard Shearer had this to say “Being the first mobile operator of Azerbaijan, Bakwell has always been the company of ‘ firsts ‘ and collaboration with Manchester United, the world’s number one football brand is another proof to this statement.”
Manchester United tops the ranking of the most expensive sports team according to Forbes who values Manchester United in the region of $ 2.20billion.
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