By David Owen
May 14 – The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has unveiled betting company Ladbrokes as its new title sponsor, in a two-year deal running from 2015 until 2017.
The organisation described the arrangement, which is a significant boost, as “the biggest ever of its kind in Scottish football” without disclosing its value, which has been reported at around the £4 million mark.
Clydesdale Bank was the last company to act as title sponsor for the top echelons of Scottish club football, in a deal covering just the Scottish Premier League. That arrangement, reported to have been worth some £2 million per annum, ended in 2013, the year in which a restructuring of the league under a merged governing body was agreed.
The new deal includes rights across all four leagues and 42 clubs. It will result in the top four tiers of Scottish football becoming known as respectively the Ladbrokes Premiership, Ladbrokes Championship, Ladbrokes League 1 and Ladbrokes League 2.
Neil Doncaster (pictured), SPFL chief executive, said the body was “absolutely thrilled” to welcome Ladbrokes to its “growing family” of key sponsors. Describing the betting group as a “perfect partner” for the SPFL, he said both organisations had a “shared vision of a positive future for professional league football in Scotland”. He said the announcement was “the result of significant investment of energy and effort and further strengthens our optimism about the future health of the game in Scotland”.
Jim Mullen, Ladbrokes chief executive, said: “We love football so we are delighted to be working with the SPFL on one of the best opportunities in British sport…
“The Scottish game deserves a committed supporter and our financial backing will help to ensure every level of the game benefits from Ladbrokes’ involvement.”
Wednesday’s announcement comes towards the end of a season in which three of the biggest clubs in Scottish football – Edinburgh duo Hearts and Hibernian along with Glasgow Rangers – have been competing in the second-tier Championship.
In one of those ironies that sometimes crop up in sport and business, SPFL chairman Ralph Topping, spent more than four decades with Ladbrokes rival William Hill, retiring as chief executive last year.
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