British Athletics Expects Sponsorship Drop
After the euphoria of domestic success in last summer’s London Olympics we could be forgiven for believing our athletes might enjoy increased sponsorship as they prepare for their next endeavours of glory in Rio. However, the latest news suggests that the opposite is the case. According to the chairman of British Athletics a drop in sponsorship income is on the cards as Rio draws closer.
On a positive note for UK sports fans, Sainsburys has been named as sponsor for a series of events during this summer. This will end in the high quality Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium, which will give both ourselves and the mobile gambling operators’ odds makers an opportunity to look at potential contenders for gold in the World Athletics Championships in Moscow, which take place 10-18 August. For example, Usain Bolt – every marketers’ and online bookmakers’ dream – is due to entertain the crowd of 65,000 in the magical 100m (Friday, 26 July). This has always been one of sports’ special events but, since the popular record holder’s arrival on the world stage, serious mobile gamblers have suddenly become considerably more interested in athletics!
Bolt is, not surprisingly, the hot favourite to leave Russia with another world title under his belt, and he can currently be had through gambling4mobiles at 1/4 for the Men’s’ 100m top spot. This might seem a little ungenerous and is the kind of wager that the big hitters tend to make, as we could easily come unstuck at such odds, especially with the memory of disqualification perhaps looming, but many sports betting fans feel comfortable betting on a horse at similar odds, which helps put it in perspective. Yohan Blake is 7/2, with Tyson Gay (20/1), Justin Gatlin (25/1) and Asafa Powell (33/1) offering juicy odds should there be an upset of some sort. Incidentally, Bolt is even shorter to win the 200m, at 1/6... But the shortest
The bad news, sponsorship-wise, is Aviva ending its £50m five-year deal late last year. This prompted British Athletics to seek four or five main sponsors, but Ed Warner, British Athletics’ chairman, acknowledged the total will not reach the level of Aviva’s support.
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