The Scottish Professional Football League announced betting company Ladbrokes as its title sponsor starting in '15-16 in a two-year deal that includes rights across all four leagues and 42 clubs. The deal is the biggest ever of its kind in Scottish football and will see the nation's professional football leagues become known as the Ladbrokes Premiership, Ladbrokes Championship, Ladbrokes League 1 and Ladbrokes League 2 ahead of the start of the new season in August. It marks the latest in a history of high-profile sports sponsorship and brand associations for Ladbrokes, which plans to run a host of activations through the different rights of its SPFL title partnership (SPFL). In London, Matt Cotton reported the SPFL reached the deal after two years without a sponsor. The "exact financial details have not been disclosed," but it is reportedly "slightly more" than £2M ($3.15M) a year, which eclipses the £2M-a-year deal with Clydesdale that ended in the summer of '13 once the SPL and SFL merged. However, "the agreement is dwarfed by sponsorship deals with the Barclays Premier League" (LONDON TIMES, 5/13). In Glasgow, Graeme Macpherson reported SPFL CEO Neil Doncaster described Ladbrokes as the "perfect partner." Doncaster: "I can't go into the details of the contract due to confidentiality but I
can reveal that this will be the largest single deal of its kind ever
in Scottish football league history." Doncaster explained why it had "taken so long to land a sponsor." He said, "The
issues with Scottish football over the past few years with financial
uncertainty at certain clubs have certainly dominated the media agenda
and that hasn't helped matters. But the clubs were keen to hold out for
the right brand, the right company, the right deal and the right money
and all those things have come together. That takes some time" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 5/13). The BBC reported "the new deal takes the total SPFL prize-money fund" to £20M ($31.5M). Next season's Premiership champions will receive an additional £268,000 ($422,000) as a result, with the Championship winners receiving £45,000 ($70,900) more. Doncaster: "As much of a financial difference, there is a pride issue here. To have a league sponsored with a company like Ladbrokes -- a hugely respected blue-chip U.K. company -- who want to sit alongside you and develop the game in Scotland is hugely significant as well" (BBC, 5/13).
