Last night, English Premier League (EPL) football club Everton revealed their decision to end their sponsorship with the Kenyan gambling company SportPesa at the end of the ongoing season. As announced by the football club, the end of the deal would come two years earlier than initially planned.
Back in 2017, the two parties agreed on a five-year deal that has become increasingly controversial for a Premier League club, although it was a high-profile one. The very fact that the agreement was inked with a gambling company fuelled much criticism, prompting anti-gambling campaigners once again warn of the social costs and the possible negative consequences that could be caused by the fact that the association between gambling and football has been rising over the past few years.
Reportedly, the deal was worth £7 million a season. Now, the early termination of the agreement has followed a strategic review of the commercial operations of the football club. In fact, CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale has previously revealed that the club would prefer a “different type of sponsor” than a gambling operator. The club also wanted to increase their activities and sponsorship revenues, in line with its management policy to seek further investment and development.
Another Blow for SportPesa Following FAI Sponsorship Breakdown
The end of the sponsorship deal was confirmed by a spokesperson of Everton FC, who explained it had been a difficult decision for the club but they believed that the parting would allow the club to deliver on their commercial plan in the best way possible. As revealed by the spokesperson of the English Premier League club, Everton would now be able to take advantage of the new opportunities that open to them.
The English football club also confirmed that the sponsorship agreement with SportPesa allowed it to grow their footprint in Africa and bolster their relationship not only with the continent but also with football lovers there.
After the deal is ended at the end of the ongoing season, Everton FC is set to appoint a new main partner ahead of the beginning of the 2020/21 season.
The announcement of the preliminary ending of the deal has been another blow for SportPesa. The gambling operator has been blamed by the Kenyan government for being one of the main reasons for the rising gambling addiction rates among young people, so the domestic market of the brand toughened the regulatory approach to gambling companies. Last summer, the Kenyan Government suspended a number of gambling companies’ licences, including the one of SportPesa.
At the beginning of February, SportPesa also saw its two-year sponsorship deal with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) terminated. The football governing body faced much criticism from anti-gambling campaigners as decided to end its relationship with the operator, less than a year after its deal with SportPesa was announced.
- Author
Olivia Cole
