West Ham United hit with Premier League news amid £60m-a-year development
West Ham United and a host of Premier League clubs have agreements with gambling firms totalling £60million, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Premier League announced on Thursday 13 April that gambling companies would be banned as front-of-shirt sponsors from the start of the 2026/27 season.
Clubs will still be able to house a gambling firm on the sleeves of their kits and will have to renegotiate with current sponsors.
The Daily Mirror report (pg 62, 14 April) that Everton, Leeds, West Ham, Bournemouth, Southampton, Brentford, Newcastle and Fulham have deals which are worth up to £60million.
Rethink
This was a long time coming and certainly required. For far too long gambling firms have been the main source of advertisement in UK sport and it’s refreshing to see the Premier League take a stand. Considering it’s a ban which will impact all the clubs, there’s no real competitive edge lost due to the ruling which was made on Thursday.
As for West Ham, the owners can be trusted to get the best deal for the club moving forward. The decision-makers at the London Stadium are often criticised, and rightly so, but they are switched on when it comes to commercial decisions and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Hammers land a lucrative sponsorship deal to replace their current agreement with Betway.
However, considering how long they’ve got to make a change, this feels like an issue which can be resolved further down the line for the board. Ensuring West Ham are a Premier League club come the start of the 2023/24 season is all that will be of concern at present.