Ahead of Sweden regulating its online betting market, Stockholm-listed Kindred Group Plc has announced its biggest sports sponsorship to date, confirming that its Unibet brand will become the title sponsor of the Allsvenskan and Superettan leagues, the top two tiers of Swedish professional football.
Agreeing to terms with Svensk Elitfotboll, the governing body of the Allsvenskan and Superettan leagues, Kindred governance secures a 12-year partnership valued at SEK 1.2 billion (+ €100 million).
Kindred informs that its title sponsorship will begin on January 1 2020, with Unibet replacing state-owned gambling operator Svenska Spel as lead sponsor of the Allsvenskan and Superettan leagues
“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”. Kindred details in its corporate update.
Updating stakeholders, Kindred governance has emphasised that the sponsorship will primarily focus on social responsibility and further raising the profile and standards of Swedish football. Moving forward, the Unibet brand will focus on three strategic/social areas for the Allsvenskan and Superettan sponsorships:
- 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
Confirming the sponsorship, Dersim Sylwan, General Manager of Sweden for Kindred Group detailed “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”,
Further to the announcement, Kindred governance detailed a breakdown on the annual compensation that Svensk Elitfotboll would receive from the partnership:
- SEK 100 million for the main sponsorship between the clubs in Allsvenskan and Superettan, according to the distribution of Svensk Elitfotboll
- SEK 25 million to fund the association’s talent development and the value- and integrity work
- SEK 20 million will be allocated to the clubs based on wishes from Unibet customers
- SEK 5 million refers to a special initiative towards European tournaments
“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”, Dersim Sylwan further detailed.