Conference held at Auberge d'italie, MTA's head office. image: vistimalta.com/Jurgen Scicluna

MTA extend Sheffield United sponsorship

In a press conference held on the 27th of March at the Malta Tourism Authority’s head office, Mr Sam Mifsud, MTA Chairman, Mr Josef Formosa Gauci, CEO, MTA, Mr Andy Daykin, Commercial Director at Sheffield United FC (SUFC), Mr Jason Rockett, SUFC CEO and Mr Mike Farnan SUFC Executive Director, addressed the numerous members of the press in attendance. The conference was held in connection with the Sheffield United FC (SUFC) sponsorship deal, which was discussed at length through various audiovisual presentations.

The agreement entered into last year with SUFC has a two-fold aim as stated by both Mr Formosa Gauci, and Mr Sam Mifsud. The first is to promote Malta in the area and throughout the UK, and secondly, so that through the association with a renowned football team, help the MTA’s strategies to change the image of Malta in the eyes of younger generation Britons. This innovative approach is one of the ways in which to achieve these.

The amount of exposure generated for Malta both in the UK and internationally has been substantial and varied. Though it would be difficult to quantify exactly how much the value of the Malta exposure, advertising and branding is, the marketing benefits Malta is gaining from the MTA – SUFC agreement, far outweigh the actual monetary value of the sponsorship. An independent report commissioned by SUFC and the MTA carried out by Havas Sports Insight, a world renowned specialist sponsorship research consultancy firm, estimated that the value from media and tangible benefits is in excess of £1.4 million.

However, the sponsorship deal and ongoing relationship has also generated publicity beyond the shores of the UK, as SUFC, through the Scarborough group, also own majority shares in famous teams in Hungary - Ferencvaros, China – Chengdu Blades and Australia’s – East Coast Mariners, all 3 teams have considerable fan bases and offer huge potential for marketing Malta. In fact, the Ferencvaros visit to Malta last February generated a fair deal of coverage for Malta in Hungary and Malta branding is due to be placed at the Fradi stadium. With a population of 11 million, Chengdu in China offers enormous potential to market Malta for English as a Foreign Language purposes (EFL).

The same Malta branding will possibly also be set up in the stands at the stadiums in Chengdu and Australia.

The deep commitment SUFC feels towards the communities it works in is also of benefit to Malta. SUFC plan to help Malta in terms of football education, health in sports schemes and community services as much as possible and are keen to visit again and continue building their relationship with Malta and its people, and extend the sense of “family” SUFC cherish.

On the basis of all these benefits to be obtained from this relationship with SUFC, the MTA board agreed that it would be a sensible decision to extend it for a further two years, with an opt out close after a year.