English Premier League football club Everton has signed African online sports betting company SportPesa as its new shirt sponsor.
The five-year deal runs from 2017-18 to 2021-22 and grants SportPesa front-of-shirt exposure on the Liverpool-based club’s jerseys.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but Everton confirmed the deal represents the “most lucrative” in the club’s history.
Everton chief executive Robert Elstone said: “We’re pleased to have secured the biggest commercial partnership deal in the club's history with an ambitious and growing global company. From the outset we have been impressed by SportPesa and the company's plans for the future. Over the coming months and years we will be working closely to realise our ambitions together.
“SportPesa are committed to significant investment, not only in Everton through this partnership but also in the city as they open up a new European headquarters that creates new jobs in Liverpool. The Liverpool office will give SportPesa the chance to engage with supporters through a number of fan activities and we look forward to an exciting partnership together.”
Elstone confirmed in January that new revenues totalling £75m (€88m/$97m) had been secured for the club, including a shirt sponsorship agreement and a naming-rights deal for the club’s Finch Farm training ground with USM Holdings, the holding company for the business interests of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
SportPesa will replace Thai beer brand Chang as Everton’s shirt sponsor. Chang will continue to serve as a community partner of the club under a three-year deal covering the 2017-18 to 2019-20 seasons. Chang has sponsored Everton since 2004.
SportPesa’s investment in Everton and the city of Liverpool will result in the creation of more than 70 jobs.
Shaun Simmonds, SportPesa’s UK marketing manager, said: “A huge factor in our decision to form this partnership with Everton, was the club’s passionate and committed fans. The club already does a fantastic job of making Everton accessible for its fans, and we look forward to amplifying this globally.”
SportPesa already holds a shirt sponsorship agreement with recently relegated Premier League team Hull City and also holds partnerships with Southampton and Arsenal. Last month, the company signed a three-year regional partnership with LaLiga, which operates the top two divisions of Spanish football.