The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has stated that there is no ban on club sponsorship deals with betting firms despite rejecting a similar deal for the national side.
The news comes following the recent announcement of betting sponsorship deals by League of Ireland clubs Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk.
Current champions Shamrock Rovers revealed yesterday that the club had agreed a two-season sponsorship deal with gambling heavyweight 888.
In December of last year, 2019 champions Dundalk FC announced a record-breaking commercial deal that saw BetRegal become the club sponsor.
Following Shamrock Rovers announcement yesterday, new FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill felt it was necessary to clarify the ruling body’s stance on sponsorship deals saying that club matters were internal.
It’s a viewpoint that has been reiterated by League of Ireland director Mark Scanlon. In a statement to the press Scanlon explained that the league had no intention of banning clubs from securing sponsorship deals.
“We are quite happy with our own stance but club matters are internal. As long as they fit within UEFA regulation and FAI regulations, we’re happy with that.
Every sponsorship deal decision would have to go through the board. Clubs internally have to make those decisions themselves and who they want to bring on board as partners.”
Image credit: Gavin Golden / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.