Chelsea's proposed £25M ($37.9M)-a-year shirt sponsorship with Turkish Airlines, "reportedly close to agreement before Christmas, is understood to have stalled," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. Turkish Airlines, which has a "major individual deal with Chelsea striker Didier Drogba," is still at the table but is "believed to be cautious about paying that sky-high price." It would propel Chelsea above Liverpool and Arsenal in the EPL shirt sponsorship table and "into second place" behind ManU. Other companies remain in Chelsea talks but Owner Roman Abramovich wants his club to be No. 1 commercially. Chelsea said that former CEO Ron Gourlay's "surprise departure last October was unconnected to no shirt sponsor having been secured to replace Samsung next season." But Gourlay's exit was followed by a "commercial revamp, with former Liverpool CEO Christian Purslow brought in to find that elusive backer" (DAILY MAIL, 1/15). In a separate piece, Sale asks why does the FA Cup still not have have a sponsor? The FA concedes that it faces a "losing battle" in its botched search this season for "someone to sponsor their flagship tournament." It is "even more extraordinary" that the FA has failed to find a partner when the "new TV rights contract this season has seen the return of the BBC," which has given the tournament "huge exposure over many platforms, with viewing figures up." The FA has only itself to blame for "asking too high a price for a tournament that is in danger of losing its way in this Premier League-dominated era" (DAILY MAIL, 1/15).
