It might be an international break from the Premier League action, but there is no rest in the football business world.
In today’s column, we take a little looksie back at some of the BIG DEALS that have been happening at boardroom level.
Chelsea don’t miss a Beat
Partner this, partner that. Is there a Premier League football club who doesn’t have an official partnership partner in this day and age? ‘Beats by Dre’ have just extended their deal with Chelsea to be the club’s ‘official sound partner’ which just makes me smirk to be honest. Why football club’s need ‘official sound partners’ is beyond me when we all know it is just a glorified sponsorship deal. Still, I am sure all the Chelsea players are loving their new complimentary headphones.
Chelsea star Eden Hazard, who is also a Beats ambassador, said of the extension:
“I am a big fan of Beats. Music is important to me and the way I get ready for games, especially as we travel and are away a lot. All the Chelsea players enjoy the Beats products and it’s great that this is set to continue, for us and for the Chelsea fans.”
Chelsea will look to continue making, er, beautiful sounds on the pitch when the Premier League resumes this weekend.
West Ham’s rent doesn’t cover the bills
Let’s make one thing very clear before we get into this one – you can’t blame West Ham for signing the deal-of-the-century getting a brand new shiny stadium for the price of some Panini stickers and a can of Coke and then being asked to pay rent that equals a bag of crisps. Yes, there is still a lot of emotion surrounding how they left the Boleyn but once that decision was made they would have been mad to turn down the deal that was put in front of them.
But, this gets quite amusing.
They pay £2.5m a year in rent. That £2.5m doesn’t come near the cost it costs to run the stadium. As a result, the owners of the stadium are in danger of going bust.
LLDC are blaming the club for paying such low rent but the club, understandably, deny that it is their fault putting this statement out there;
“West Ham United initially offered to purchase London Stadium but our request was denied,” a club spokesman told BBC Sport. “We were given a tenancy agreement because we were the best offer by far on the table.
“As LLDC acknowledged at the hearing today the losses at the stadium are due to a number of factors, including the extraordinary cost of moving the retractable seating, inefficient operating costs and the absence of a naming rights partner.
“There are other commercial opportunities that they have ignored. West Ham United have offered our experience, expertise and opportunities for shared endeavour every step of the way but these have so far been rejected, as well as considerable cash for additional rights, all of which have also been rejected.
“All we have ever done is honour the terms of our tenancy agreement which has 97 years to run.”
So there, LLDC. So there. Next time, do the maths.
This England is ‘Head and Shoulders’ above any other
Yeah, you can guess where this one is going. The FA have done a deal with American ‘haircare’ giant Head and Shoulders. The anti-dandruff brand are now the ‘official haircare partner’ to the Football Association. Why couldn’t they have sorted this before the World Cup? It would have definitely come home then.
Celine Hernandez, head of haircare brands for Procter and Gamble in the UK and Ireland said:
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with The FA as the official haircare partner of both the men’s and women’s squads at such an exciting time for English football. Head and Shoulders has always strived to provide confidence to both men and women who need it the most when in the spotlight. We are looking forward to supporting both sets of players as they continue to inspire future generations of male and female footballers and build on their recent successes.”
Oh, and it’s another kick in the teeth for Joe Hart as we believe he has been dropped by these guys now, as well.
