Premier League club Manchester United has signed a multi-year training kit sponsorship with sustainable blockchain company Tezos.
The deal is thought to be worth £20m (€23.7m/$27.3m) per season, according to The Athletic sports news service, and will see the Tezos logo feature on the club’s range of men’s and women’s training kits, starting ahead of this weekend’s match against Southampton.
In addition to the branding rights, the sponsorship will include new fan experiences built on the Tezos blockchain and a pledge to support Manchester United Foundation with ongoing donations in ‘tez’, the native currency of the Tezos blockchain, to train and educate young people within the local community.
The company said the sponsorship aims to introduce Manchester United fans to ‘Web3 technology’ – the latest iteration of the worldwide web based on blockchain technology – and claims that its blockchain is “built with an energy-efficient design that allows it to operate in a cleaner and more environmentally-friendly way than other blockchains”.
The club has been without a sponsor on its training kit since the expiry of its agreement with Aon at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Commenting on the deal, Victoria Timpson, Manchester United’s chief executive of alliances and partnerships, said: “This is a hugely exciting partnership for Manchester United because it aligns us with one of the most advanced, reliable and sustainable blockchains in an area of technology which promises to truly revolutionise the way that everyone, including the club and our fans, can interact.
“We are especially pleased to be partnering with one of the most eco-friendly blockchains, using technology that is energy-efficient, limits carbon emissions and lowers costs, consistent with the club’s wider efforts to promote environmental sustainability.”
The United sponsorship is the latest made by Tezos, which is using sports to grow awareness of its brand proposition. In January, the company agreed a major three-year ‘Main Technical Partner’ deal with the French esports organisation Team Vitality, from 2022 to 2024.
The deal was described by the team as “one of the biggest in European esports history” and includes a logo presence as the team’s main shirt sponsor.
In June, the company also signed as the official technical partner of McLaren Racing, which operates teams in the Formula 1 and IndyCar motor-racing championships. The McLaren deal is geared towards the creation of a fan-focused non-fungible token (NFT) platform. Tezos is also presenting partner of the McLaren Shadow esports team.
Edward Adlard, head of adoption and business development, Tezos Ecosystem, said of the latest deal: “Tezos will enable Manchester United to use blockchain and Web3 to transform fan, player, team, and partner engagement. The decision by the world’s greatest football club to select Tezos as its blockchain of choice is further validation that thoughtful design paired with strong security, low gas fees, and community-led innovation are the essential factors driving the next wave of adoption in the new digital revolution.”
A video announcing the agreement can be viewed here.