Premier League team Watford have roped in Dogecoin as their shirt sleeve sponsor for the 2021-22 season. It will be a collaboration between their main shirt sponsors Stake.com and the deal is reported to be just under US$1 million, which breaks their previous sponsorship deal and creates a new club record. As part of the deal, Stake.com has also announced a 10 million DOGE giveaway, which is reported to be worth US$2 million.
The club have reported that their new shirt sponsor paid for the deal in cryptocurrency. Watford, who were promoted back to the Premier League last season, previously had Bitcoin as their shirt sleeve sponsors in 2019 and Sportsbet.io as their principal shirt sponsor from June 2019 on a three-year deal. After their relegation to the Championship at the end of the 2019-20 season, they had been looking for a new shirt sponsor. Subsequently, Stake.com has replaced Sportsbet.io as their main shirt sponsor and Dogecoin has replaced Bitcoin as the sleeve sponsor for the 2021-22 season. Dogecoin’s logo will now appear on Watford’s home, away and third kits.
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Speaking about their new sponsorship deal, club chairman Scott Duxury spoke about how the club and sponsor had an ambitious outlook and commitment to innovation and how exciting it was for the club as they returned to the Premier League.
Dogecoin, which was created in 2013 as a joke on the then payment system in cryptocurrencies has gained significant popularity over the last few years mainly due to Elon Musk’s promotions of the cryptocurrency. Dogecoin has seen a meteoric rise – of 8,185% – in its value since last year. Crypto, in general, has seen a massive rise in its value, especially in 2021, with reports suggesting that its market value stands near US$1.95 trillion.
The 2020-21 Premier League season saw eight clubs have online betting companies as the shirt sponsors with 17 clubs having them as advertising partners. Gambling sponsorship has come under scrutiny in the recent past in the UK, with the British government pondering on whether to ban gambling sponsorship or not in football.
Outside football, Formula One team Aston Martin is also sponsored by Crypto.com. With the world seeing a massive crypto boom, more and more sports teams are partnering with crypto-companies.
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