Post by Bones on Dec 15, 2008 19:01:12 GMT -1
Manchester City hope to strike a record sponsorship deal with Etihad, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, after opening talks about an agreement that would recognize their position as the most richly endowed club in the world.
Although talks are described as "very early" and several other companies are also in the frame, Etihad's links to the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) have established the airline as the front-runners to replace Thomas Cook as shirt sponsors.
No figures have been agreed but City's immense financial power and marketability since ADUG's takeover has made them an attractive proposition going into a period when the club are expected to break spending records. That has led to several approaches from potential sponsors and means a new agreement could be the biggest of its kind in English football, beating Manchester United's £56.5m four-year deal with AIG.
Etihad is run by the Abu Dhabi government and, like City, backed by the royal family. The deal, however, would be a commercial one rather than just an opportunity to use one company to promote another. It would also be a further sign of the expansion into the "global brand" that the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook, spoke about earlier this season when it first became apparent that Thomas Cook's annual £2.3m sponsorship deal would not be renewed next summer.
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City fans will be pleased with that on their shirts. Etihad is apparently an arabic word that tranlates into English as 'United'
Although talks are described as "very early" and several other companies are also in the frame, Etihad's links to the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) have established the airline as the front-runners to replace Thomas Cook as shirt sponsors.
No figures have been agreed but City's immense financial power and marketability since ADUG's takeover has made them an attractive proposition going into a period when the club are expected to break spending records. That has led to several approaches from potential sponsors and means a new agreement could be the biggest of its kind in English football, beating Manchester United's £56.5m four-year deal with AIG.
Etihad is run by the Abu Dhabi government and, like City, backed by the royal family. The deal, however, would be a commercial one rather than just an opportunity to use one company to promote another. It would also be a further sign of the expansion into the "global brand" that the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook, spoke about earlier this season when it first became apparent that Thomas Cook's annual £2.3m sponsorship deal would not be renewed next summer.
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City fans will be pleased with that on their shirts. Etihad is apparently an arabic word that tranlates into English as 'United'
