June 29 – Unibet has secured a SEK 1.2 billion (+ €100 million) title sponsorship of Sweden’s top two leagues that will at the start of 2020 and run for six years with the option of Unibet renewing for a further six years.
Unibet will replace state-owned gambling operator Svenska Spel as lead sponsor of the Allsvenskan and Superettan leagues with a stated mission to “develop Swedish elite football; to enable the football family to contribute to society by providing the clubs with more funds; to continue the fight against match-fixing through enhanced partnerships.”
Breaking down the deal for Svensk Elitfotboll; SEK 100 million will be for the main sponsorship and split between the clubs in Allsvenskan and Superettan; SEK 25 million will fund Swedish talent development and integrity work; SEK 20 million will be allocated to the clubs based on requests from Unibet customers; and SEK 5 million is earmarked for a special Swedish initiative aimed at European tournaments.
Unibet-owner Kindred said in a corporate statement: “The sponsorship agreement will run for six years with an option for an additional six years at a total value of up to SEK 1.8 billion – making it one of the biggest investments in Swedish sports ever.”
Dersim Sylwan, general manager of Sweden for Kindred Group said: “We are very proud to have made this historic agreement with Svensk Elitfotboll. The agreement includes a significant long-term commitment to Swedish sports, an opportunity we have been fighting for during the last 20 years. We are very pleased to announce the partnership and we look forward to contributing to the development of Swedish football.”
Sweden is in the process of regulating the online-betting market in the country with a view to seeing more money from the betting business filter through to Swedish sport.
“The new gaming license will finally make it possible for Swedish sports to gain market value for their partnerships, which is positive for the clubs, the associations and of course for the athletes. Our new agreement with Svensk Elitfotboll will, for instance, give the association substantially more income, compared to previous partnership deals,” said Sylwan.
Svensk Elitfotboll chairman Lars-Christer Olsson added: “In Kindred Group, Svensk Elitfotboll sees a new serious partner who, together with us, can take responsibility for the healthy development of games in our leagues while supporting elite football development in Sweden.”
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