Vodafone pulls plug on Manchester United shirt deal

Vodafone has announced that they will end their sponsorship of football club Manchester United at the end of this season.

The mobile phone firm has sponsored the Premier League club since 2000. The current deal, worth £36 million, was expected to run for four years. However, it was confirmed on Wednesday that the contract would now end in May 2006.

It has been reported that Vodafone will focus on sponsorship of the Champions League.

Vodafone and Manchester United announced the decision in a joint statement, which said: “Manchester United and Vodafone have agreed to end their shirt sponsorship. The club believes that the shirt sponsorship has greatly increased in recent years, while Vodafone wishes to build on its successful sponsorship of Manchester United in new, exciting areas.”

However, the statement said that both parties were “keen to continue their successful relationship” and were exploring an ongoing sponsorship deal.

Manchester United said that it was confident of securing a new shirt sponsorship deal. Commercial director Andy Anson said: “The Manchester United shirt is the most iconic in sport. The club feels that, in the current market, there is a genuine chance to attract significant additional investment.

“Initial soundings and discussions with a number of world class potential partners have been very encouraging and we are confident of securing a new deal in the coming months.”

The current biggest sponsorship deal in English football is the five-year contract which current Premiership champions Chelsea have with Samsung, which is worth £50 million.

Vodafone is only the second shirt sponsor that Manchester United have had in their history. The mobile phone company replaced Japanese electrical firm Sharp, who had sponsored the team’s shirts since 1982.

(KMcA/SP)