William Hill agree England and FA Cup deals with the Football Assocation

Bookmakers William Hill have agreed a two-and-a-half year deal with The Football Association to become an ‘Official Supporter’ of the England football team, and ‘Official Supporter’ and ‘Official Betting Partner’ of the FA Cup.

The deal with the FA, the first of its type for the betting industry, comes into effect on January 7th and continues through to the end of the FA and FIFA World Cups in 2014.

The agreement features a wide and unique range of image rights, advertising and promotional opportunities.

Ralph Topping, Chief Executive of William Hill told Crunchsports.com: “We have been looking for sponsorship opportunities from which we can reward and engage with our customers for the events they most enjoy.

“This deal with The FA will help us to achieve our objectives of developing the prominence of our brand and increasing market share in all our business channels.

“Our ‘Official Betting Partner’ status of The FA Cup complements our existing partnership with the Scottish Football Association and our sponsorship of the Scottish Cup with which we are already extremely delighted and it becomes a welcome addition to our quality range of sponsorships within darts, snooker and racing.

“The next two and a half years are an exciting time for UK football and we’re delighted to now be part of all of those events.”

Kristof Fahy, Chief Marketing Officer for William Hill, added: “This is an excellent deal for both parties and it gives us some very good opportunities to develop our brand across a wide variety of channels.

“The England and FA Cup branding and imagery will enable William Hill (including via williamhill.com) to promote its services and products that we can offer to our Casino, Games, Sportsbook, Bingo and Poker customers.

Henry Birch, Chief Executive Officer of williamhill.com said the deal with the FA is an provided the company with “a strong platform for our brands and products both in the UK and internationally.”

Peter Daire, the FA’s Head of Sponsorship said William Hill will benefit from an association with two of the highest-profile football sponsorship properties in the world.

“We are delighted to have William Hill on board,” he said.

“They have a strong track record in sports sponsorship and a considerable online and high street presence that will enable us to strengthen our communication platforms for England and The FA Cup.”