The Greek Super League board has signed off on a title sponsorship deal with online gambling operator Interwetten.
The deal is worth about €6m ($6.6m), or €2m per season, over three seasons from 2020-21 to 2022-23.
With the 2019-20 league playoffs only recently underway – having been delayed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – Interwetten’s title rights could yet take in their later stages – subject to negotiation.
The deal sees the brand step up from its existing relationship with the league, a one-season, lower-tier deal for 2019-20, worth about €250,000 per year.
The new agreement will feature expanded visibility and IP rights, including branding on corner flag LED boards and centre-line LED boards at every match, visibility on the league’s digital and social media platforms and hospitality packages for every league match.
Ratified
The league’s board of directors voted for the deal on June 5 by 10 votes to three with two abstentions (including the Greek Football Federation, which typically stays neutral).
The board of directors comprises representatives from the 14 Greek Super League clubs and one from the federation.
Clubs with betting brands as main shirt sponsors – Aris and Olympiacos – voted against the deal, as did AEL.
In May, the board agreed to move forward on a presentation of Interwetten’s proposal. It is expected to ratify the full agreement in the coming weeks.
Minas Lysandrou, president of the Greek Super League and vice-president and chief executive of league club AEK Athens, told SportBusiness that the Greek government’s exemplary handling of the Covid-19 crisis had given the board of Interwetten confidence in making the investment.
SportBusiness understands that not one of the Greek Super League’s sponsors asked to renegotiate their deals during the suspension period. Moreover, a raft of between 10 and 12 LED perimeter board advertising partners have been centrally contracted for the first time in 2020, sharing LED inventory with sponsors of the clubs.
Major market
Greece is one of Interwetten’s most important markets outside of its German/Austrian core territories.
The betting company is the main shirt sponsor of the Greek Super League club Asteras Tripolis and competes with three other betting brands holding Greek Super League club shirt rights: Stoiximan (OFI, Olympiacos, PAOK), Pame Stoixima (AEK Athens, Panathinaikos) and Betshop (Aris, Atromitos).
In Germany it has recently renewed its deals as betting partner to Bundesliga clubs VfL Wolfsburg and TSG Hoffenheim. It is also shirt sponsor of Spanish second-tier club Sporting Gijón.
