Branded
There was an interesting bit of news on the BBC Football website this morning:
Sevilla striker Fredi Kanoute has been allowed to wear a shirt without the club's sponsors 888.com on it, as the company promotes online gambling which is against Kanoute's Muslim faith
This is the frist time I have heard of a footballer refusing to wear a sponsor's name on their shirt due to moral/religious reasons and it brings up an interesting area. I think that we have just got used to seeing sponsors' names splashed across the front (and back and sides and sleeves in some cases) of football shirts that we don't really see them there anymore. They are as much part of the shirt as the badge.
But they are there and they are seen by millions across the world. Whenever Man Utd play, people will see 11 adverts for "AIG", when it is Inter Milan "Pirelli" is plastered across the front in nicely contrasting white letters. In some cases where clubs have longstanding associations with sponsors, the logo becomes an integral part of the kit (imagine Ajax's red and white striped shirt without "ABN Amro" running vertically down the side of it). Fans who buy the shirt are not only showing their support for their team but also carrying around a mini-promotion on their chest. The only time I have heard of clubs having to play sans sponsor is when Liverpool played in Europe, and some countries ban advertising of alcohol on television. Therefore, the 'Pool had to remove "Carlsberg" and play with a simple red shirt. This highlights the fact that what they are doing week by week is just that, advertising alcohol on television.
The Kanoute case is interesting because the world of online gambling has pushed its way into a prominent position over the last couple of years in the area of shirt sponsorship. Middlesborough, Blackburn, Aston Villa in England have all had sponsorship from online gambling, meaning that kids in the north east, the north west and the midlands are, no doubt running around with little adverts for gambling on their fronts and watching their heroes endorsing it by default. Good on Kanoute for standing up and highlighting the morals of the situation.
The solution to this? Maybe everyone should look to Barcelona, who still deign their red and blue stripes to be too precious to sully with a sponsor's logo. They have continued to stick to their guns, despite effectively plugging that route of income.
This is the frist time I have heard of a footballer refusing to wear a sponsor's name on their shirt due to moral/religious reasons and it brings up an interesting area. I think that we have just got used to seeing sponsors' names splashed across the front (and back and sides and sleeves in some cases) of football shirts that we don't really see them there anymore. They are as much part of the shirt as the badge.
But they are there and they are seen by millions across the world. Whenever Man Utd play, people will see 11 adverts for "AIG", when it is Inter Milan "Pirelli" is plastered across the front in nicely contrasting white letters. In some cases where clubs have longstanding associations with sponsors, the logo becomes an integral part of the kit (imagine Ajax's red and white striped shirt without "ABN Amro" running vertically down the side of it). Fans who buy the shirt are not only showing their support for their team but also carrying around a mini-promotion on their chest. The only time I have heard of clubs having to play sans sponsor is when Liverpool played in Europe, and some countries ban advertising of alcohol on television. Therefore, the 'Pool had to remove "Carlsberg" and play with a simple red shirt. This highlights the fact that what they are doing week by week is just that, advertising alcohol on television.
The Kanoute case is interesting because the world of online gambling has pushed its way into a prominent position over the last couple of years in the area of shirt sponsorship. Middlesborough, Blackburn, Aston Villa in England have all had sponsorship from online gambling, meaning that kids in the north east, the north west and the midlands are, no doubt running around with little adverts for gambling on their fronts and watching their heroes endorsing it by default. Good on Kanoute for standing up and highlighting the morals of the situation.
The solution to this? Maybe everyone should look to Barcelona, who still deign their red and blue stripes to be too precious to sully with a sponsor's logo. They have continued to stick to their guns, despite effectively plugging that route of income.
posted by Ween at 8:57 AM
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