FA Search for E.ON FA Cup Title Sponsor Replacement Continues

With FA Cup sponsor E.ON having announced that they will not be renewing their deal with the traditional tournament for next season, the Football Association (FA) are rumoured to be struggling to find a replacement for its title sponsorship of the competition, thought to be worth around £8m (US$12.8m) a year.

It is believed The FA has been on the hunt for a replacement sponsor since summer 2010 with the start of the 2012 FA Cup competition kicking off in August.

The FA could start the competition without a title sponsor, though this would be highly unusual as they are expected to issue “competition rules” to the estimated 750 clubs competing in the cup in the next few weeks. The rules include details of the title sponsors’ demands at soccer grounds, such as branding on perimeter boards.

According to one sports agency, last week the FA sent emails to agencies that asked if their clients would be interested in sponsoring the competition. Previous sponsors include Littlewoods and AXA Insurance. The body’s hunt for a commercial sponsor is being handled by sports marketing agency IMG.

An FA spokesman said: “We have been in discussions with a number of parties since last summer regarding sponsorship opportunities at Wembley and those talks are ongoing.”

The uncertainty over the next sponsor of the competition has led bookmakers to speculate on the next likely candidate with UK firm Ladbrokes touting supermarket leader Tesco as the 4/1 favourites. Amongst the other candidates mentioned are McDonald’s, Vodafone and Vauxhall, which the FA signed as sponsor of the England national team in January.