The FA is believed to be on the verge of signing a £30M ($46M) sponsorship deal that "would mean its showpiece knockout competition being renamed the Emirates FA Cup," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. No contract "has yet been signed but discussions are believed to be at an advanced stage." Members of the FA’s commercial team "are believed to have travelled to Dubai to finalise the deal." Budweiser "was enthusiastic at the outset of its three-year deal but decided against renewing as a title sponsor, preferring instead to sign a lesser contract to become the official beer partner of the FA Cup until 2018." Similar deals are in place with William Hill and Nike and the FA "is targeting a total of six secondary partners." An FA spokesperson said on Tuesday, "We remain in discussions with a number of parties regarding FA Cup partner opportunities." The full FA board meets on Thursday, "with the deal expected to be on the agenda." The Emirates deal, which will run for three seasons from '15-16, "will ensure that the FA’s major broadcasting and sponsorship deals are largely tied up until 2018." The broadcasting deal with the BBC and BT Sport, "seen at Wembley as having helped increase the competition’s profile," also runs until the end of the '17-18 season (GUARDIAN, 4/28). In a separate article, Gibson wrote the news that the world’s oldest knockout competition is likely to be called the Emirates FA Cup from next season "has been held up by some as the latest nail in the coffin of a once-great competition or the equivalent of the ravens leaving the Tower." But many more "will shrug their shoulders." The truth is that the FA Cup "has been sponsored for years." None of the partnerships "have delivered much value for those shelling out for the privilege." And the "strong likelihood" is that going one step further and calling it the "Emirates FA Cup" is "unlikely to change that." The FA "will tussle with broadcasters and newspapers" over what it calls it in print and on air but for most it will remain simply the FA Cup. When the FA Cup had a spell without a sponsor "no one really noticed." Offering the new concession to the Dubai-based airline "has ensured the FA’s commercial department will avoid
another season without a sponsor" and will top the £9M a year that
Budweiser paid. In an age "when clubs jealously eyeing the financial success" of ManU scour the globe looking for sponsors "in an ever more bewildering array
of categories it would be odd if the FA was not doing the same." Under its new structure, with six secondary sponsors underneath the
title one, the FA "hopes to be making" £20M ($30M) a year from the competition by '18. Far more important to many "will be just what the FA does with that
money" (GUARDIAN, 4/29).
