Aston Villa announce that Hisense will become the club’s Official Technology Partner
Aston Villa, in a statement on the club’s website, announced this week that they have agreed a deal with Hisense as a sponsor to become what they call the club’s “Official Technology Partner”. What that means exactly is unclear but we can expect the brand to have a strong presence at Villa Park and in sponsored fan activities.
Hisense is a global electronics brand based in China and is the latest example of major corporations from the Asian nation getting involved in football. Villa is of course owned by China’s Recon Group and it is likely that the club was able to secure such a sponsorship due to that Chinese connection.
Hisense has also been increasing its sponsorship reach in football by sponsoring FIFA and UEFA tournaments including Euro 2016, Confederations Cup 2017, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The fact that Hisense chose Aston Villa as its next sponsorship venture goes to show the pull that the club still has despite a two-year stay in the Championship.
In modern football a sponsor announcement is often given the same treatment that a new player announcement is because in many cases, it opens up more funds for a club’s transfer fund. The exact details of the deal have not been made public but one can assume that it is a substantial amount for a club in England’s second division. Hisense may also be betting on the club securing promotion to the Premier League and increasing their marketability.
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This may not seem like a very important bit of news for many of the club’s supporters but if Villa can turn the sponsorship money in to a key contributor or two on the pitch then the deal with Hisense will have been worth every penny.