The Gunners are one of only a handful of true global brands in the Premier League and in European football altogether.
And, Like Liverpool, Man United and increasingly Man City, they are accelerating their programme to extract maximum cash from emerging markets.
Kai Havertz of Arsenal
during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on May 19, 2024 in London, England.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
This has led them to strike commercial deals with the likes of Omani property developer Sobha Realty, not to mention their continued relationship with UAE airline Emirates.
Arsenal’s front-of-shirt deal with Emirates and and kit deal with Adidas are sewn up until 2028 and 2030 respectively.
However, the third most lucrative element of their sponsorship inventory is up for renewal very soon.
Arsenal can now strike lucrative new sponsor deal
Since 2018, Arsenal have worn Visit Rwanda’s logo on their shirt sleeves.
The partnership, which was last extended in 2021, will have been worth £40m over the course if its four-year contract.
But 2024-25 is the last year of the current iteration of the deal with the East African nation’s tourist board, meaning Arsenal will now be considering the terms of a potential renewal.
Significantly, Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame – a huge Arsenal fan who has been a regular at games at the Emirates – has just been re-elected for a fourth term in a landslide election (The Guardian).
The 66-year-old, who often posts about Arsenal to his 3m followers on X, was the driving force behind the commercial link-up.
His continued presence will allow Arsenal to renegotiate what both parties insist has been a successful collaboration.
The North London club has face criticism to cancel the deal with Visit Rwanda, particularly in late 2023 following the UK supreme court’s ruling on the Conservative government’s Rwanda asylum plan.
However, Arsenal persisted with the deal despite accusations that it was a ‘sportswashing’ exercise.
TBR Analysis: How can Arsenal bridge the commercial gap between themselves and the Big Six?
Arsenal’s commercial income is a source of concern.
At £173m at the last count, it is well behind their rivals in the so-called ‘Big Six’ – it is almost half of what biggest earners Man City earned, for example.
A large chunk of the gap between themselves and closest rivals Chelsea, who earned £210m over the same period, is attributable to their absence from the Champions League in recent years.
However, the likes of Man United have managed to weather the storm during their own periods of absence from top European football.
Detailed view of the club badge on the outside the stadium ahead of the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium...
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
And while Arsenal are showing signs of recovery in this department, they need to innovate if they are to eat up the ground between themselves and their elite Premier League peers.
For example, a 2022 report from industry experts CLV Group found that Arsenal could pick up an extra £79.9m by implementing more direct-to-consumer experiences in emerging markets.
0 Comments