British gambling company Sky Bet – part of Flutter Entertainment – has signed a five-year partnership extension with the English Football League (EFL) that will see the brand continue as the League’s title partner until the end of the 2028/29 campaign.
As part of the agreement, Sky Bet will continue as the official title partner of the Sky Bet EFL and Sky Bet Play-Offs on a worldwide basis. Sky Bet will also have the rights to award the official Manager, Player, and Goal of the Month awards as well as the seasonal ‘Golden Boot’ and ‘Golden Glove’ awards in each division.
Building on a decade-long partnership, the new rights fee represents a 50% increase from Sky Bet, “providing significant revenues for EFL Clubs and support for the league’s objective to make clubs financially sustainable across all divisions.”
As part of the deal, Sky Bet will also invest £1 million ($1.2 million) per season and £6 million ($7.5 million) in total into a community fund held by the EFL to be invested into communities across England and Wales where EFL Clubs are located. Sky Bet and the EFL will use the funding to deliver activity via the EFL Trust and the network of Club Community Organisations (CCOs), with the initiatives in focus to be mutually agreed upon by the organizations.
The parties note that having first been agreed in 2013, the partnership – one of the longest in UK professional sport, as per a press release – is centered around a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organizations that set out how to deliver joint objectives “in a socially responsible way.”
The EFL and Sky Bet have agreed a record five-year partnership extension, seeing Sky Bet continue as the League’s title partner until the end of the 2028/29 campaign.
Read more➡️ https://t.co/GqwWx31uKe#EFL | #SkyBet
— EFL (@EFL) June 7, 2023
They further note that the collaboration “has always and rightly placed safer gambling at its heart, while also establishing a framework that allows us to engage the millions of EFL fans and connect them with the teams, players, and communities that they passionately support.”
The MoU will continue to put the protection of children and other vulnerable individuals at its heart, Flutter said, with both Sky Bet and the EFL making a renewed commitment to its approach in the promotion of the product.
Examples within the MoU include:
- Sky Bet will not actively market themselves or their products in family areas of club stadiums or advertise to young fans.
- The EFL will dedicate a proportion of its central inventory to promote safer gambling messaging and support Sky Bet’s safer gambling campaigns.
- Sky Bet will fund a player education program across the EFL’s 72 clubs that will focus on the potential dangers of gambling and provide support and advice.
- Both Sky Bet and the EFL will share learnings and insight from the partnership with Government, other sports, and sector stakeholders to help inform the new sports sponsorship Code of Conduct which is being developed in accordance with the Gambling Act Review White Paper’s proposals.
Steve Birch, Sky Bet Chief Commercial Officer, said: “I’m extremely proud of Sky Bet’s ongoing partnership with the EFL and delighted to have reached today’s agreement. Football is central to who we are and it’s great to be able to support the game and provide investment for clubs across the Pyramid.”
“I’m particularly delighted that we can go one step further today with the announcement of our Sky Bet EFL community fund, seeking to make a real difference for people across England and Wales.”
We are proud to announce the extension of our @EFL sponsorship, building on a decade-long partnership 📝 https://t.co/Vopv4JumvC
— Sky Bet (@SkyBet) June 7, 2023
Trevor Birch, EFL Chief Executive, said: “For over a decade, Sky Bet has been a valuable partner for EFL Clubs, offering sustained investment to help clubs navigate a volatile financial landscape and ensure fans can enjoy fantastic footballing entertainment in every corner of the country.”
“We have consistently seen our partnership evolve to move with the times and with community at the heart of the EFL, a new community investment fund is perfectly aligned and will help strengthen the partnership’s commitment to social responsibility.”
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/06/08/67449-flutter-39s-sky-bet-signs-fiveyear-partnership-extension-with-the-english-football-league
