FA Unsure If Emirates Will Renew £10M-A-Year Cup Sponsorship

The FA faces a "battle" to keep FA Cup sponsor Emirates, whose three-year deal has one more season to run, according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. Emirates, which pays £10M ($13M) a year, is "thought to be frustrated that the competition is still not widely referred to as the Emirates FA Cup." But the tournament, whose previous backers had only "in association with" status, is "so iconic that it would take decades before any sponsorship became synonymous with it." For Emirates to withdraw would be a "huge blow" to the FA, which is already looking for a new England team sponsor when Vauxhall's contract expires after next year's World Cup in Russia. 

NOT EXPECTED TO RENEW: Royal London, which backs the England & Wales Cricket Board's int'l and domestic 50-over competitions, is "not expected to renew" its sponsorship after the summer. The life insurance firm is "unhappy" that NatWest, from the same financial sector, was given the England team sponsorship, thus "diluting" its impact (DAILY MAIL, 5/29).