Chinese conglomerate Fosun International has extended its commitment to Wolverhampton Wanderers by agreeing a sponsorship deal with the English Premier League football club which includes naming rights to its training ground.
Fosun has invested heavily in Wolves, which won promotion from the Championship last season, since acquiring the West Midlands club in the summer of 2016.
The new partnership, which started at the beginning of the 2018-19 season but was formally announced yesterday (Monday), will see Wolves’ state-of-the-art training base sponsored for the first time in its history.
Originally opened in 2005, the complex will now be known officially as the ‘Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground sponsored by Fosun International’.
The site underwent significant re-development in 2014 and once again this summer in preparation for the club’s return to the Premier League. The complex is named after the club’s former owner Sir Jack Hayward, who helped steer the club from financial insecurity to the top flight between 1990 and 2007 whilst investing over £70m (€78.6m/$89.6m). Hayward died in January 2015 and had a statue unveiled in his honour at the club’s Molineux stadium in June this year.
In addition to sponsorship of the training ground, Fosun International will also benefit from a host of other marketing rights including media backdrop branding, LED advertising and static branding at Molineux, digital advertising, access to players and matchday hospitality. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Wolves managing director Laurie Dalrymple said: “The facilities at our training ground, and the elite player development that our coaches provide, align seamlessly with Fosun International’s commitment to health, happiness and social responsibility, with a particular emphasis on self-improvement, teamwork and performance, making this sponsorship opportunity a great fit.
“We’ve invested heavily in redeveloping our training facilities over the summer, which is why we have saved this announcement until completion of the works, but this deal means we can continue to improve year-on-year to provide a best-in-class environment for our academy players, right through to the first-team.”