Manchester United extends sponsorship deal with Saudi Telecom

Manchester United

English Champions Manchester United has agreed a five-year extension in their sponsorship deal with Saudi Telecom.

As a part of the deal, the Saudi-based company will bring the club channel MUTV to the Gulf region through television, online and mobile. The two parties have been partners since 2008 and the current deal will take the partnership through to the 2017-18 season.

“There is a lot of potential to grow the sports rights market in the Middle East, and this deal will ensure that STC continues to lead the way in this sector. STC continues to focus on the growing youth population and sport is one of its key ways to reach out to them, not just in KSA but also across the Middle East region. Sports marketing is an untapped area and offers huge growth opportunities for regional organisations and this will be a key growth area for STC in the coming months,” said STC board of directors member, Mohammed Al Dhoheyan.

Manchester United group managing director Richard Arnold added that the club is delighted with the extension.

“Like Manchester United, STC has demonstrated its desire to lead the way in its industry. STC was the first of our partners to launch an official Manchester United mobile app and to bring MUTV to nearly four million United followers in these countries. The renewal of our partnership will greatly benefit our fans, as STC continues to develop new ways to bring them closer to the club they so passionately support,” he said.

This is STC’s second major football sponsorship deal with the company already signing a five-year extension with Real Madrid last week.