Saudi Telecom and Manchester United have signed a five-year agreement uniting the two number brands in marketing campaigns and promotional activities. STC will have a presence inside the 70,000 capacity Old Trafford stadium and will be featured on the club’s website. STC will be conducting prize draws to attend Man U matches and each year 70 Saudi students will train at the Manchester United Academy.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be playing ball with Manchester United,” said H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Chairman of Saudi Telecom. “The partnership will significantly raise STC’s global profile since the club has a huge fan base throughout the world and a strong following among football fans throughout the Middle East and especially in Saudi Arabia.”

Dr. Al-Jasser went on to explain some of the advantages of the prestigious partnership: “As sponsor, STC will have a presence inside MUFC’s 70,000 capacity Old Trafford stadium and will be featured on the club’s website, which is the most visited sports website in the world. In addition, STC will be conducting prize draws in which the winners can attend key Man U matches and also, the club will send four emails a year to registered fans in the region. Furthermore, under the terms of the agreement, each year 70 Saudi students will have the opportunity to go for a period of training at the Manchester United Academy, one of the world’s most prestigious football training centres.”

As part of the agreement, all STC’s business units will have full use of the Manchester United logo in marketing campaigns and usage of the club’s logo and players’ photographs in STC retail centres. 

“One of the most exciting aspects of our partnership with Manchester United is that it gives us the opportunity to attain new levels of marketing excellence,” continued Dr. Al-Jasser. “The club has a brilliant track record of global success in branding and we will be working closely with a specialist marketing team from MUFC to develop innovative ideas to support the partnership. As an example of what’s to come, in line with the popular trend in cell phones STC is already in the process of creating and activating a Manchester United mobile.”

Announcing the deal, David Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United said: “Manchester United is delighted to announce a new five year partnership with Saudi Telecom, the largest telecommunications company in the Middle East. This historic deal will give Saudi Telecom exclusive rights as the official mobile communications partner of Manchester United in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with access to unique mobile phone content, including player interviews, goal replays and match reports.

He went on to say: “This ground breaking partnership will bring the action of Manchester United direct to our millions of fans across Saudi Arabia. Our match earlier this year in Riyadh demonstrated the passion our Saudi fans have for Manchester United and we are excited to be partnered with Saudi Telecom, the region’s biggest player.” 

Sport is big in Saudi Arabia and provides numerous opportunities for marketing communications and CSR initiatives. STC was in the forefront in recognizing this and was quick to act when the Saudi Youth Welfare Organization in charge of all sports clubs decided to make the clubs self-funded. 

After the YWO gave the clubs the right to sell media spots for their own games and to market club merchandise such as team jerseys, STC came up with an innovative program called “nadeek yo nadeek - “Your club is calling you.” 

STC went to the clubs and said: “You have extensive content and you have your fan base. Let us connect you with your fans so that they can be continuously updated about your movements, match schedules, player selection and match results. We will partner you, buy the copyright from you, brand it, campaign it, advertise it, sell it and share the profit with you 50-50.” 

The proposal was something that the clubs had never thought of and they liked the idea. STC closed deals with all of the 12 major league clubs and to give them additional support also bought the jersey rights and the sponsorship rights for the TV stations that aired the league games. 

By adopting a holistic approach STC has achieved tremendous success and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first and only company to sponsor 12 clubs in the same league at the same time and still holds the record to date.

Arabian Business Reports that Bahrain-based Gulf Air announced it has signed a three year, $14 million deal to sponsor of Queens Park Rangers (QPR), a club currently in the Coca-Cola Championship, the second tier of the English league system.

Gulf Air joins Emirates and Etihad who also sponsor their own clubs in England's capital.

The scale of the deal depends on success. Only 1 million pounds per year will be paid while the club remains in the Championship, but will increase to 3 million pounds for any year spent in the lucrative Premiership along side Emirates-sponsored Arsenal and Etihad-sponsored Chelsea.

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