Concerns at Hampden about the future of cinch’s sponsorship deal with the SPFL were eased due to Celtic winning the Scottish Premiership over Rangers, The Times reports today. [21/05 print edition, Sports supplement]
Rangers have refused to carry cinch branding on their strips and in-stadium all season due to what they say is a conflict of interest with one of their club sponsors.
It’s even resulted in Giovanni van Bronckhorst being interviewed on television in front of sponsor boards with the cinch logo taped off. [Football Scotland]
Journalist Ewing Grahame reports for the paper that there were fears amongst member clubs that cinch could rip up the five-year deal due to the conflict.
However, Celtic’s title win and prominent display of cinch branding has apparently eased those concerns.
A Hampden source told The Times [21/05 print edition, Sports supplement]: “I know there had been growing dissatisfaction from cinch about Rangers’ lack of co-operation. Had they become champions again and continued to ignore the sponsors, that could have become a stress point.
“With Celtic clinching the title at Tannadice, though, cinch would have noticed the great publicity they received and they’ll have benefited from at least as much publicity following the trophy presentation at Celtic Park on Saturday.
“That should show the sponsors there is value to be had from the current contract.”
It remains to be seen how the future of the cinch deal plays out, but it certainly can’t have hurt being such a prominent part of the fantastic imagery around trophy day.
The face of their advertising campaign, Rylan Clark, has also become a popular personality with online supporters with the phrase “Cinched It” becoming part of this year’s trophy wins across all four divisions.
I’d say that the car company are getting plenty of visibility out of the current situation but hopefully the league and Rangers can knock their heads together over the summer and formally sort it all out.
In other news, Tom Rogic sends out farewell Celtic statement on Instagram; Joe Hart and others respond.
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