Manchester United to unveil Tezos deal

Tezos to be unveiled as the club’s training kit sponsor.

According to The Athletic, Premier League giants Manchester United have reportedly signed a multi-year training kit sponsorship deal with blockchain platform Tezos.

The multi-year deal is reported to be more than £20 million per year. United have reportedly already finished shooting for the promotional materials. 

The English team will be looking to take advantage of the US-based firm’s technological expertise and collaborate into the metaverse and Web 3.0. Although the Tezos logo will be present on United’s training kit, the company will not attach its name to United’s Carrington training ground, which was the case with its predecessor, Aon. 

Bringing Tezos on board means United have finally replaced US insurance company Aon, whose eight-year partnership with the club, which was worth £15 million per year, ended last season. British e-commerce company The Hut Group was favourite to replace Aon, but United shut down talks following concerns over fan campaigns aimed to boycott their commercial partners as part of protests against the Glazers’ ownership of the club. This meant United started the 2021/22 season without a front-of-training-shirt sponsor. After multiple discussions with other companies, United have now finalised the partnership with Tezos.

A more energy-efficient blockchain platform, Tezos has its own cryptocurrency token — Tez. The United partnership will see Tezos strengthen its sports sponsorship portfolio. It already has partnerships in place with Major League Baseball’s New York Mets as well as Formula One teams Red Bull Racing and McLaren Racing. Tezos is also the front-of-shirt sponsor of French esports team, Team Vitality.

Both Tezos and Manchester United are yet to confirm the partnership.