As Cyprus football teams get ready for the season kick off this weekend, recently rescued Omonia FC has announced a major sponsorship deal with online sports betting company Fonbet – €1 mln for the next three seasons, double the size of any commercial deal in the past few years.
The deal was announced by Omonia FC’s new General Manager, Demetris Gregori, at an event at the Hilton Park in Nicosia to present the new kits that will have the new sponsor’s name emblazoned on the front of the footballers’ shirts.
“We were searching for a game changer partnership,” said Gregori, who headed a team of investors and executives to manage the new company set up by New York based investor Stavros Papastavrou earlier this year.
Gregori said that the historic Nicosia club is implementing an ambitious plan and wants to combine this new beginning with a new, fresh and strong partnership. One that would send that message that Omonia is back.
“The club has withstood the hardships and is back with dreams and ambitions. We were looking for a brand name to equal Omonia’s legacy”.
Andreas Demetriou, the club’s spokesman told the Financial Mirror that they feel they have clinched an excellent sponsorship deal.
“Omonia has just announced one of the country’s top sponsorship deals. The deal with Fonbet is close to sponsorship received by teams that in previous years were also playing in the group stages of the European tournaments,” explained Demetriou, suggesting deals equal in value to MTN’s support of Nicosia rivals APOEL that twice made it to the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champion’s League.
Omonia’s spokesman said that the deal is an even bigger success if one considers that the team had just witnessed its worst season in decades, finishing sixth in the league. “To be able to attract big names such as Fonbet, while being at probably the worst phase of our 70-year history, says a lot about the club’s brand,” said Demetriou.
Fonbet’s Head of Regional Marketing, Kirill Ustinovich, said that the main element of their marketing strategy is to support sports in a variety of ways, including sponsoring events or teams.
“This is the main reason why Fonbet has decided to become the major and long-term partner of the most popular team in Cyprus,” Ustinovich said.
Fonbet’s parent, Nicosia-based Fortune Entertainment RG Limited, is the largest sports betting company in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Apart from football, it accepts bets on sporting and cultural events around the world such as MMA, boxing, hockey, basketball, volleyball, tennis, eSports, the Eurovision song contest, Oscars, etc. In 2017 Fonbet’s parent secured a license to operate in Cyprus and has since been active in the Cypriot market as well.
Ustinovich added that Fonbet plans to enhance its presence on the island with betting stores in the near future.
