Emirates FA Cup: controversy over £30m sponsorship deal
After a season without a sponsor the FA is prepared to sell naming rights to the FA Cup
After failing to find a sponsor this season the FA Cup could be rebranded for the first time in its history in what could prove a controversial £30m deal with Emirates Airlines.
According to The Times a "provisional agreement" has been reached for the competition to be called the Emirates FA Cup for the next three years.
The move is bound to "upset traditionalists" says the paper. It explains that although the competition has had commercial backers before, but says "the FA has always preferred to use 'in association with' or 'sponsored by' rather than a direct naming-rights deal for fear of diluting the competition's identity and heritage".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The FA Cup may be the world's oldest football competition, but the FA's inability to find a sponsor for it this season has been "highly embarrassing", says Charles Sale in the Daily Mail. But the FA commerical department has now realised it "needed to offer more to attract a significant sponsor to the table".
The hunt for a sponsor proved "hugely difficult" claims Sale, but he says that Emirates had "big money" available after pulling the plug on its deal with Fifa in the wake of damaging corruption allegations. It also pulled out of the tender to be the Champions League airline sponsor, paving the way for the deal with the FA.
The FA is also looking for subsidiary sponsors and hopes that the competition will be worth £20m a year by 2018. "Commercial income is vital to the chairman Greg Dyke's plan to refocus the FA's purpose and invest more in grassroots football," says The Guardian.
But granting the sponsor naming rights is an "unprecedented move that could spark controversy", warns the Daily Mirror. A poll on its website found that two thirds of fans thought that the competition should be "sacrosanct".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 2, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Premier League's spending cap: levelling the playing field?
Talking Point Top clubs oppose plans to link spending to income of lowest-earning club, but rule could prevent success gap from widening
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
2022 FA Cup final: Chelsea vs. Liverpool preview, predictions, kick-off time and TV coverage
feature Premier League rivals go head-to-head in another Wembley final
By Mike Starling Published
-
Should the FA Cup semi-finals be moved from Wembley?
feature Man City and Liverpool fans face travel chaos on semi-final weekend
By Mike Starling Published
-
Giant killings and classic ‘cupsets’: who said the magic of the FA Cup was dead?
feature National League side Boreham Wood are through to the fifth round after a stunning win at Bournemouth
By Mike Starling Published
-
The Ronaldo effect: what big players mean for the finances of major football clubs
feature Manchester United hoping to cash in big after securing the Portuguese star’s signature on two-year contract
By The Week Staff Published
-
Betting sponsorship: sport’s next financial crisis
Why Everyone’s Talking About Football and darts will be hit hard by shake up of gambling advertising laws
By Mike Starling Published
-
Covid’s impact on football: £1.7bn loss for Europe’s 20 richest clubs
feature Barcelona top the Money League, but their finances have taken a huge hit
By Mike Starling Published
-
Today’s back pages: Eric Dier expects rap for fan confrontation and Iggy pops Rooney’s bubble
Daily Briefing A round-up of the sport headlines from UK newspapers on 6 March
By The Week Staff Published