UK soccer shirt sponsor shuns Asian approach

16.05.2008

The short sponsor for Cardiff City FC, CommsDirect, claims to have turned down a GBP 500 000 offer from an Asian online gambling company to buy their advertising rights for the weekend's FA Cup final.

Welsh-based CommsDirect, which sells 3G mobile phone contracts, said it intended to take advantage of the “once in a century” opportunity to have global television exposure at the Wembley fixture between Cardiff and Portsmouth.

Matt Burge, managing director of CommsDirect, told reporters his company was approached by a sports marketing agency with an offer from an undisclosed online gambling business based in Asia. The agency offered half a million pounds to have its clients’ name emblazoned on Cardiff’s strip for the final instead of CommsDirect.

“The offer was tempting, but after discussing it with our board and then with Cardiff City we decided to reject it," said Burge, adding that the football club management had left the final decision to CommsDirect.

Under the terms of its two-year shirt sponsorship deal with Cardiff City, CommsDirect could have sub-leased its rights to have its name on the shirts. The total value of the firm's deal with Cardiff is believed to be in the region of GBP 500 000, and the contract ends after the Cup Final.