Manchester United Stuck With AIG For Another Year

As I was saying not long ago in my post about AIG and their bizarre, irresponsible behaviour, Manchester United are seeking a new sponsor to replace the £56.5 million four-year deal with AIG which expires at the end of the 2009-10 season.

The European champions are confident of securing a lucrative agreement by the autumn and it seems most likely that Saudi Telecom or Indian financial services company Sahara are favourites to take over from AIG. However, with next season's United strip – due to be launched in China on the first-leg of the club's Far East tour in July – already in production with the AIG logo in place, moves by AIG to change its name to AIU could leave United with a redundant sponsor for the duration of the 2009-10 campaign.

A Nike spokesman said: "For the 2009-10 season all Manchester United shirts and training products have been produced with the AIG logo in line with the company's continued sponsorship of the club. The speculation surrounding AIG had very little impact on the process of manufacturing this product."

Such has become the bad feeling toward AIG in America the company's security team has been forced to warn US-based employees to take special precautions and "avoid wearing any AIG apparel with the company insignia" as a result of growing hostility towards the company following revelations of bonuses paid to employees from bail-out funds.

The company's Manhattan offices have already been renamed AIU Holdings and chief executive Edward M Liddy has admitted that AIG have no option but to change their discredited name.

Liddy said: "I think the AIG name is so thoroughly wounded and disgraced that we're probably going to have to change it."

United are due to receive the final £14 million instalment from AIG ahead of the start of next season, but the American company, rather than United or Nike, would be forced to foot the prohibitive cost of any logo changes on next term's kit.

The club will play in the four-team Audi Cup in Munich at the end of July. The two-day competition, held at Munich's Allianz Arena, will feature United, Boca Juniors, AC Milan and Bayern Munich.

United will face Boca on July 29 following their four-game tour of the Far East before tackling Milan or Bayern in the final/third-place play-off on July 30.....Back To Home Page...

Who Actually Does Sponsor Manchester United ?

If you ask anyone "Who are the sponsors of Manchester United ?" they will tell you it's AIG and they will be right. Well, they will be 11% right. The reason for this is that during these days of multi million transfer fees and sky high salaries, sponsorship of a football team has become big business, huge business in fact.

Manchester United actually have a total of 11 sponsors and I'll tell you who they are.

AIG

American International Group, Inc: They are a major American insurance corporation based at the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters are located on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in La Defense, Paris. and its Asia HQ is in Hong Kong. According to the 2008 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 18th-largest public company in the world. It was on the Dow Jones Industrial Average from April 8, 2004 to September 22, 2008.

Nike

is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon, near Beaverton. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel. and and a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of $18.6 billion USD in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according toThe Oregonian.

Kumho Tyres

formerly known as Samyang Tire, is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol") headquartered in Gwangju, South Korea. Kumho means "bright lake" in Korean. It is a subsidiary of the Kumho Asiana Group, as is Asiana Airlines, Korea's second largest airline.

Budweiser

(Anheuser-Busch) is an American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United States. Budweiser is made with a proportion of rice in addition to barley malt, for which it has received some criticism, though the company takes the position that the rice gives the beer a lighter taste. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the United States and the rest of the world. It is a filtered beer available in draught and packaged forms. It has 5.0% alcohol by volume and 145 calories per 12 oz., except in Utah, Kansas, Minnesota and Oklahoma where a 3.2% alcohol by weight (4.0% by volume) strength is available due to state laws. Minnesota and Colorado require 3.2% alcohol by weight beer only at select public events and beer being sold in grocery stores and gas stations.

The name derives from the Bohemian city Budweis (Budweiser meaning "from Budweis" in the German language), which was part of the German HRE until 1806, then Austrian Empire until 1918, then Czechoslovakia until 1993, then Czech Republic (since 1920 using Czech name České Budějovice). The long tradition of brewing beer in Budweis started in 1265. In 1795, the German citizens founded a brewery named Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu. In 1895, Czech brewers followed, founding the brewery called Budějovický Budvar.

Bet Fred

is a United Kingdom based bookmaker, named after its characterful Northern England frontman and co-founder Fred Done. It was first established as a single shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover is over £1.5 billion, a nearly threefold rise since 2003's £550 million. The company has more than 700 UK betting shops It claims to be both the world's biggest privately owned betting company, and the UK's biggest privately owned retail outlets.

Saudi Telecom

I've detailed Saudi Telecom before, here.

Hublot

is a Swiss enterprise creating luxury watches and founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco.

Hi Seoul

is an annual cultural festival held on every May 1 to May 9 in Seoul, South Korea since 2003. It is based on the "Seoul Citizens' Day" held on every October since 1994 to commemorate the 600 years history of Seoul as the capital of the country. The festival is arranged under theSeoul Metropolitan Government.

Viagogo

is an online ticket exchange aimed at the European and North American market. It aims to allow people to buy and sell live event tickets in a safe and guaranteed way, and to bring "efficiency and transparency to what has traditionally been a murky market place". It allows live event tickets to be bought and sold at any price, including above and below face value, and allows anyone to use the marketplace as long as they follow the rules. It charges buyers a 10% fee and sellers a 15% fee on each confirmed transaction......Back To Home Page.....

Saudi Telecom, Manchester United's Prospective Sponsors In Detail

Saudi Telecom (STC), Manchester United's prospective new shirt sponsors began commercial operations in 1998 as Saudi Arabia's sole telecommunication operator with six hundred thousand subscribers. At the beginning of 2000, STC had 1.4 million subscribers and with the introduction of its prepaid card Sawa ended that same year with 2.5 million.

By the end of 2002, the Saudi Government announced that 30% of Saudi Telecom Shares will be released for sale to Saudi citizens & organizations; Saudi citizens (20%), General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI) (5%), and Pension Fund Organization (5%). The IPO price was set at 170 Saudi riyal per share and generated 36 billion Saudi riyal for the Saudi treasury, By the end of the subscription period, requests for shares exceeded the number offered by 3.5 times The General Assembly Meeting of Saudi Telecom new shareholders held at the end of April 2003, elect new board members for the first time. By the time the company was listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) at the end of 2002, it had in excess of five million subscribers. By the end of 2005 Saudi Telecom was ranked as Saudi Arabia's fourth largest company in terms of market capital and 17th among member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference with over 12 million mobile subscribers and 3.3 million fixed land lines, the largest telecom operator in the Middle Eastern region. The company covers 98 percent of Saudi Arabia, about 2,600 cities and villages Through its subsidiary Arab Submarine Cables Company STC with Emirates Telecommunications Corporation Etisalat and Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company ITPC have commenced the laying of the first fibre optic submarine cable to land in Iraq; connecting the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Etisalat and Saudi Telecom have also partnered up to commission an international high capacity SEA-ME-WE 4 submarine cable that connects France to Singapore and links other nations en route. STC is the parent company of Saudi Net, Saudi Arabia's largest internet service provider in terms of subscribers, and a founding major shareholder in Arab Satellite Communications Organization, a satellite communications and television broadcasting corporation. It is also a shareholder in Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company, a satellite-based mobile telephone company. In July 2004, the government granted a second mobile license to Etisalat, which initiated a new competitive age for STC. Zain consortium won the third mobile license in Saudi Arabia in April 2007. STC's monopoly in fixed lines was broken when Batelco and its alliances, including Atheeb Group, won Saudi Arabia's second fixed-line license in April 2007.

In august 2008 they signed a five year sponsorship deal with English premier leauge club Manchester United to provide fans in Saudi Arabia with exclusive content including Goals, News updates and exclusive ringtones.

One of the most interesting issues with STC current market situation, is the fact that their services does not cover the whole of the country considering it is the oldest government owned telecom company operating in Saudi Arabia, as their focus is to services certain areas of the country where high netwroth individuals, Government bodies, Government officials and large businesses reside, case in point, Riyadh the capital of Saudi Arabia is not covered in total (Please note that this issue has been outstanding for a number of years) not to mention other rural areas, Thus, giving other telecom companies in the area a significant market share to capture.

Another interesting topic is their sponsorship deal of Manchester United, where they have gone overseas to sponsor a football team, neglecting local interests, case in point, Zain (an international telecom provider) have paid more than SR 138 Million (US$ 36.8 Million) in sponsorship to a local race track (Al-Reem International Race Track)to promote the motor sports industry being a startup industry with a huge fan interest potential and help the community that they earn their income from......Back To Home Page.....

New Shirt Sponsors For Manchester United

According to some reports Saudi Telecom are favourites to replace AIG on the famous Manchester United shirt from next season.

AIG, who signed a four-year, £56.5 million deal with United back in 2006, have been hit hard by the credit crunch, so much so that George Bush and his merry men had to bail them out to the tune of $85 Billion. Naturally, under such financial pressure they are thought to want to terminate their agreement.

Saudi Telecom already have one foot in the door at Old Trafford having signed a £10m, five-year deal in August to advertise on United's website and around the stadium. They also send 70 Saudi students each year to train with the club and are thought to be very keen to step into AIG's shoes and display their brand on the United shirt.....Back To Home Page.....

Manchester United + Hublot = More Money !!

Manchester United have signed a new multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Swiss watch manufacturers Hublot. The three-year contract comes hot on the heels of similar contracts with Saudi Telecom, Seoul Metropolitan Government and Budweiser.

It just goes to show that despite all the moaning and groaning by the Anti-Glazer brigade the United brand has become stronger and stronger, even during a worldwide economic slump which has seen West Ham's shirt sponsor XL go into administration and Manchester United's other sponsors AIG be effectively bought out by the US government.

While some critical fans vehemently opposed to the Glazer family ownership will continue to insist United's finances are precarious, club officials will point to increased sponsorship as evidence to the contrary.

David Gill, Manchester United's Chief Executive said: "We are delighted to welcome such a prestigious partner as Hublot to the Manchester United family, their reputation for excellence and innovation makes them a fitting and exciting sponsor for the club. Sir Alex (Ferguson) is known as a stickler for timekeeping, both on and off the pitch, now we have a partner that shares his passion." .....Back To Home Page