Patrick Cooke
MTA ends Sheffield United sponsorship without fanfare
MTA became the main sponsor of Sheffield United in 2008.
The Malta Tourism Authority quietly ended its three-year shirt sponsorship arrangement with Sheffield United without fanfare, following the Yorkshire club’s relegation to the third tier of English football last May.
A spokesman for the tourism authority had told The Sunday Times last May that talks were taking place between senior figures at the MTA and the football club about a new sponsorship deal following the expiration of the old agreement.
But yesterday the spokesman said there had always been an understanding that the shirt sponsorship agreement would end if the team was relegated.
He said that following top level discussions with Sheffield United, the tourism authority decided to have a nominal financial sponsorship arrangement with the club as both parties felt the relationship built over recent years should not be lost. He was unable to give specific details of this, but said the amount was a “fraction” of what the MTA paid before.
In 2008, the MTA paid £350,000 (then worth €446,215) to become the main shirt sponsor of Sheffield United when the team were a Championship club (the second tier of English league football) and seen as realistic contenders for promotion to the Premier League. The MTA renewed the deal for a further two years in 2009 for the same amount.
The deal included having the Visitmalta.com logo emblazoned on the club’s kit and displayed prominently at the its 32,700-capacity Bramhall Lane Stadium.
Sheffield United, known as ‘The Blades’, were in Malta last week on a week-long training camp, sporting the logo of their new sponsors Gilders, a Yorkshire Volkswagen dealership, and Westfield Health, a not-for-profit provider of health insurance.
United will be sharing sponsors with their city rivals Sheffield Wednesday next season after local companies expressed concern about being perceived as partisan.
The MTA spokesman said the money saved from the deal will be ploughed into other marketing initiatives.
However, he was unable to say if these initiatives would be aimed at attracting a more diverse range of tourists from the UK – Malta’s core market – which was one of the original aims of the Sheffield United sponsorship.
“We are always looking to expand and attract new tourists, not only from the UK. But we have seen a more diverse range of British tourists in recent years and the Sheffield United sponsorship may have helped us to achieve that as our branding was visible to a broad cross-section of people.”
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Liam Kelly
Jul 24th 2011, 21:32
@ S. Koludrovic
I imagine the decision making process in choosing the clubs....going around the room and everyone just suggests the club they supported as a lad for possible targets....they then quickly realising they can't afford any of the big clubs, then the last suggestion comes from the guy who supports an unusual diddy team since they once managed to get in the Premiership (theres always one)...'Sheffield United', they are chosen, he's then licking his lips as he imagines all the hospitality goodies going to be comming his way...gets free season ticket....soon realises Air Malta fly nowhere near said place so has to treck from Manchester/London to get to Bramall lane, then realises the team is actually terrible and get relegated...shake that mans hand
Mr Joe Cardona
Jul 24th 2011, 14:48
Ma kellhomx ghagla itemmu l-isponsorship. Jistghu jghidulna kemm zdied it-turizmu mill-Ingilterra?
Liam Kelly
Jul 24th 2011, 12:50
This was a bad idea from the word go. Football team sponsorship, in particular English teams is akin to throwing money down the drain due to the ridiculously inflated market costs. Thats fine if you have the money to do so or if you are offloading it for 'tax reasons'!...but somehow i don't think the MTA are.
But at least we know the MTA & Air Malta are good at something besides blowing large sums of cash; they seem to have talent in identifying English football clubs that are going down the drain, just like Portsmouth FC, and then throwing even more money down their drain.
Their product placement is a bit off as well it seems; Air Malta flies no-where near Sheffield and only recently Ryanair started flying to Leeds, Air Malta also placed an advert at Tynecastle Stadium, home of the famous Heart of Midlothian Football Club of Edinburgh; at a time when they had just stopped their direct flight to glasgow!...Ryanair promptly started flying from Edinburgh to Malta....how about that for a marketing 'own goal'!
Me thinks MTA and Air Malta use the same fantastic marketing agency.
G A Bonello
Jul 24th 2011, 16:26
Not to mention advertising at Liverpool (who are going though their most barren patch for years,Birmingham City (no km flights to/from Brum) who then got relegated, Messina (who went bankrupt), tentative talks with W Ham (relegated) .I see they also have a deal for pitch side advertising with Fulham, so put your money on them to go down next season.
Stephen Koludrovic
Jul 24th 2011, 19:32
Yeah. They probably used the friend of a friend connection, with the usual dismal results.
Mr J BaldryFarrugia
Jul 24th 2011, 11:57
What a waste of maltese money, use your heads and get your priorities in order before splashing out to bossting to the world that we are still in business, lets face it there is no more money in the kitty.
LOUIS JOSEPH BORG
Jul 24th 2011, 11:17
how about baecelona? ha ha
Mr Henry Mifsud
Jul 24th 2011, 10:49
Of course there was no fanfare! How could anyone celebrate such a big fiasco?
The words "senior figures" in the second paragraph should be changed to "senior figureheads" because the way the MTA is being run is anything but as an Authority. Those at the helm were specifically chosen by MHRA which has a very different agenda to what is really good for the country. Besides, they are very much under the influence of political intervention as all budgeting is at the mercy of government. Unfortunately those pulling the strings at government level also have a different agenda ...... getting as much political mileage as possible, constantly boasting of the number of arrivals rather than what is the actual spend of each visitor and what is the net value derived from our tourism industry.
Quo Vadis Malta?
Mr Peter Murray
Jul 24th 2011, 10:30
The MTA ended this sponsorship because they are Skint and why should the MTA talk about such a high-profile sponsorship being ended as "MONEY SAVED"?
Ginevra Alvarado
Jul 24th 2011, 14:51
They are still going to invest the money ... "The MTA spokesman said the money saved from the deal will be ploughed into other marketing initiatives."
Mr Peter Murray
Jul 24th 2011, 16:07
What money are they going to invest?Don't be fooled by false promises as you would have believing inj Gonzi's pledges next and ,in any event,here's a thought ........how about investing any money they may have in sponsoring our own national team!
Ginevra Alvarado
Jul 25th 2011, 07:26
Sponsering our own national team is a waste of money because it is like saying that you are promoting Malta with the Maltese!!
Mr C Cassar
Jul 24th 2011, 09:44
Air Malta should be sponsoring a football club in the Eurozone, probably in Germany which has the strongest economy by far in Europe. Doingthat will attract visitiors with the Euro which hasn't plummeted by 30% like Sterling. Plenty more money be spent by Eurozone visitors than thos from teh UK and a far larger market.
Malta really needs to let go of the UK, it was the past - history. Now it's Europe and the Eurozone where Malta should concentrate its focus and companies such as Air Malta should be doingthe same otherwise they'll miss a huge market using the same strong currency.
Tony Dalli
Jul 24th 2011, 10:13
Destination and awareness promotion lies with in MTA cathedra. Air Malta is a means of transport like Ryanair and Easyjet. When not ask them too to promote destination Malta?
Mr Peter Murray
Jul 24th 2011, 10:34
Air Malta haven't enough funds to sponsor a tea-party let alone a European football club and whilst it is a great idea it will remain subjunctive and hardly realistic given Air Malta's precarious financial predicament.
Mr Denis Pace
Jul 24th 2011, 11:24
This MTA not Air Malta.........................
GRAHAM BRAY
Jul 24th 2011, 15:35
Mr Cassar, the current serious Eurozone problems will probably result in the Euro being consigned to history, which is why the greater majority of Germans want to return to their own currency.
Mr Peter Murray
Jul 24th 2011, 16:11
2@DENIS PACE,, Air Malta was mentioned as a potential sponsor but ,in any event,who does it matter for none of them have any money and if they did why isn't the MTA considering sponsoring our own national football team?