WHU announce record £20m shirt sponsorship deal with Betway

West Ham United have announced a new record shirt sponsorship deal with online bookmakers Betway, less than a month after their previous sponsor went bust.


West Ham were left without a sponsor after their deal with their main commercial backer, Alpari, collapsed when the Swiss company went into liquidation last month. However the club has moved quickly to secure a new partnership with Betway, which is the biggest commercial deal in West Ham’s history.

It is understood that the agreement will see Betway pay West Ham £20m over the next three and a-half years. It dwarfs the previous deal with Alpari, which was worth £3m per year, and comes a year before West Ham’s move to the Olympic Stadium. West Ham are set to leave Upton Park for their new home at the start of the 2016-17 season.

“We are pleased to welcome Betway to the club as our new principal sponsor, in what is our biggest-ever commercial deal,” West Ham’s vice-chair, Karren Brady, said. “Like us, Betway are an ambitious, forward-thinking company and the size of the agreement reflects our status as one of the fastest growing brands in world football.

“Betway join us at one of the most exciting periods in our history and we will be working closely with them as we prepare to bid an emotional farewell to our home of more than 110 years before moving into our stunning new stadium in 2016.”

The Betway logo will be on West Ham’s shirt for the first time when they host Manchester United at Upton Park on Sunday.


By Jacob Steinberg, Guardian