Newsdesk - AC Milan Seal $69 million Emirates Deal; EPL Partner

(WFI) AC Milan have agreed a €50 million ($69m) four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Dubai national carrier, Emirates.

The deal is expected to be unveiled in Milan later this week by the airline’s chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.

Emirates will take over from Austrian gaming company bwin as the seven-times European champions sponsors in July.

Contrary to speculation in the Italian media the deal will not include the Dubai royal family taking up a stake in the club, although the possibility has not been discounted in the future.

Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has been repeatedly linked with a sale to Arab investors but despite the speculation has remained adamant that the club is not for sale.

"It's a friendship, it can become love or remain a friendship," a source was quoted by Reuters. "What is certain is there is enthusiasm in Dubai for this deal."

Premier League seeks match officials partner
After successful sponsorship deals with Air Asia and Emirates, the English Premier League is searching for a new principal partner for referees from the start of next season.

The partnership, which was introduced shortly after top-flight referees turned professional a decade ago, includes branding on officials and training kits and is linked to a host of other promotional and PR opportunities.

“Both of our previous partners, Emirates and Air Asia, gained valuable exposure across the globe as a result of the sponsorship, and this is an excellent opportunity for a brand to align itself with,” said Mike Riley, the former Premier League referee, who now heads the Professional Games Match Officials (PGMO), the body responsible for all professional match officials in English football.

“Our officials are seen as professional, athletic, good communicators, efficient, reliable and organized, as well as being highly regarded across the world of football.”

Riley will this week help host six Asian Football Confederation referees, who are visiting England as part of the Future Referees project. The scheme was set up by EPL chairman Dave Richards and Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam to promote knowledge sharing with developing countries.

As part of the program, Riley’s PGMO colleague Keith Hackett has just spent a week in Kuala Lumpur lecturing Asian referees from 41 countries.

Although such trips are low key, privately the EPL stress how such development work helps the image of English football overseas – particularly under the watchful eye of FIFA Ex-co members, such as Bin Hammam.

SA government: World Cup preps on target
South Africa’s Inter-Ministerial Committee, the body overseeing the government’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup, says all plans for the tournament are on schedule.

“The IMC is satisfied with the preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. All the bricks and mortar are in now in place,” said the chair of the IMC, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

The committee reported its satisfaction with progress across the project, after receiving updates on venue preparations and the management and training of protocol officials charged with handling high-profile guests and heads of states attending the June 11 to July 11 tournament.

“Most significantly, the meeting welcomed the report that all stadiums have been completed on time. This means no spectator will sit on wet cement come June 11 kick off,” Motlanthe was quoted on FIFA.com

England 2018 sponsors Soccerex session
The England bid for the 2018 World Cup is to sponsor the VIP reception on the first day of the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester, March 2 to 3. The networking evening will offer Soccerex delegates the chance to discuss England’s progress with senior members of the bid team and its ambassadors.

England 2018 chief executive Andy Anson said: “This forum provides another opportunity to present our bid to a prestigious gathering of football industry executives from around the world. We’re looking forward to being in Manchester next month”.

Representatives from the 10 bids for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup are expected to attend the forum. More than 100 European football clubs will also have a presence at the football business conference.

For more information, visit www.soccerex.com/europe or call +44 (0)208 742 7100.

Written by James Corbett and Mark Bisson
Your best source of news about the global football business is World Football Insider

Get Free WFI news bulletins
Click Here

(Copyright 1992 - 2010, all rights reserved. The information in this report may not be published, excerpted, or otherwise distributed in print or broadcast without the express prior consent of World Football Insider and Around the Rings, Inc.)