February 4 – The Football Conference, which organises the fifth and sixth tiers of English football across three divisions, is looking for a title sponsor following the decision by current sponsor Skrill, to finish its relationship with the league at the end of the year.
The deal with Skrill, an online payment provider, has lasted for just a season. Skrill took over the sponsorship from Bet Square in July 2013.
A statement on the league’s website said: “The Football Conference and Skrill have mutually decided that the current title sponsorship by Skrill will not continue beyond the end of this current season.
“Skrill has undergone a number of changes since the agreement was entered into and will be aligning any future sponsorship activity to its global strategy.”
The Football Conference is often regarded as the hardest league of all the English competitions to win promotion from. With most of its top clubs now being full time professional (though the league is often referred to by the misnomer non-league football), the competition to win one of two promotion spots into the Football League is fierce.
Estimates put the value of title sponsorship at between £300,000 to £400,000. The league has a broadcast deal with BT Sport that sees one live match broadcast per week.
The league is now starting the process of seeking tenders for a new title sponsor to commence in 2014/15.
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