REIGNING Premier League and European champions Manchester United are set to unveil an innovative marketing tie-up, thought to be worth more than £10m, with the biggest phone company in the Middle East
The club have partnered with Saudi Telecom in a five-year deal that will grant the phone company rights to use Manchester United’s logo and imagery in its marketing within Saudi Arabia. The arrangement is said to be one of the biggest nonshirt sponsorship deals in British football. As part of the tie-up, Saudi Telecom will be able to offer its mobile customers video clips of match highlights, a text news service and other related content.
The Manchester club, which has been owned by the American Glazer family since 2005, will regard the Saudi deal as the first commercial fruit of the team’s tour to the region at the start of the year.
United’s main sponsor is AIG, the American insurer, which signed a record £56m shirt-sponsorship deal with the club in 2006. Its other marketing partners include sportswear giant Nike, Budweiser beer and Betfred, the bookmaker.
