Manchester United have announced their third major sponsorship deal in a week with Africa’s largest mobile telephone operator, MTN Group Ltd. This is the club’s third lucrative agreement in the space of a week.
Following on from high-profile partnerships with Telekom Malaysia and Turkish Airlines, Manchester United have added a seven-figure contract with African telecoms giant MTN that will see the company become their exclusive South African telecommunications partner for the next three-and-a-half years.
The deal will see MTN become the South African extension of the club with exclusive mobile content and online inventory such as match highlights, player profiles, ringtones available to customers for download through the MTN Play entertainment portal.
Additionally, MTN has the rights to produce co-branded premiums and will receive signed memorabilia to use in competitions to reward its customers. It will also offer exclusive United-branded MTN products such as airtime vouchers and will run competitions for its customer base where some lucky fans will get an opportunity to have one-on-one interactions with players in the local and international football arena.
Man United Chief Executive David Gill said: "The partnership with MTN is a very important step in the club's plan to get closer to its fans based all over the world. MTN's strength, particularly in the pre-paid market will provide us with the perfect platform to achieve that."
Edwin van der Sar, Antonio Valencia and Patrice Evra were at Old Trafford for the announcement of this partnership.
Sir Bobby Charlton also attended the launch. The United legend said: "I’m delighted to welcome MTN to our club. The fact we have sponsors in various parts of the globe and millions of fans in different countries makes me feel quite proud. But it’s not a surprise to me because ever since I was a player here, I’ve always been well aware that our fans are everywhere in the world.”
