Mideast firms in frame for Spurs shirt sponsor deal

Middle East investors are "genuine contenders" for the most sought-after football shirt sponsorship up for grabs in the English Premier League, Arabian Business has learnt.

Potential sponsors from the region are on a shortlist of interested parties to sign a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for the 2010/11 season.

With the team’s current contract with Mansion expiring at the end of this season and with Manchester United and Liverpool securing lucrative new sponsors recently, the Tottenham deal has become the most sought after contract currently in the open market.

A source close to the club, which is currently riding high in the Premier League table, told Arabian Business that there was “genuine interest" from would-be investors from the Middle East.

"Talks with potential sponsors in the Middle East have been very encouraging and the club is pursuing them. There are a number of options on the table and the club hopes to have an agreement by the end of the year," the source said.

The likes of Emirates and Etihad have led the way for Middle East companies becoming heavily involved in high profile sports sponsorship and both are current sponsors of Arsenal and Chelsea respectively.

The club’s existing deal with betting firm Mansion was signed in 2006 running for four seasons and worth £8.5m a year.

In April, senior officials from Spurs visited the Gulf region for talks with several companies regarding potential investment in the club's planned new 58,000-seater stadium in London and shirt sponsorship.

The club was in talks with three or four companies in Dubai, in addition to firms in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar, according to Paul Barber, executive director of Tottenham.

At the time, Barber said it was possible the shirt and stadium sponsor would be the same company, as was the case with the club’s North London rivals Arsenal, which struck a similar deal with the UAE’s Emirates airline in 2004, reportedly worth $174m over ten years.

He said any deal could last as long as 15 years.

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