NIALL Quinn will hit the ground running in his new role as Sunderlandâs head of international development by flying out with manager Steve Bruce to South Korea this week looking to attract massive investment into the club. The news yesterday evening that Quinn was stepping down as Sunderlandâs chairman after five years in charge took many by surprise, but the major trip to the Far East â the area which is set to emerge as the key market for lucrative sponsorships â will begin to put the move into context. The long-distance trip is part of a concerted effort by the Wearsiders to build up links in a part of the world which is likely to become strategically vital to the club over the next few years. And with potential for future naming rights for the Stadium of Light, not to mention various sponsorships on offer, the club will hope that the stage is set for lucrative investment from the Far East in the near future; investment which could help underpin the whole future of the club and help take it to the next level. For some time now, Quinn has made no secret of his ambition to make Sunderland more of a global brand. And the recent appointment of Mike Farnan to the board as international and national marketing director will only help in that direction. Farnan is a former managing director of Manchester United International â a division of the club set up to grow the Red Devilsâ brand in Asia, the Middle East and Oceania regions â and Quinn commented on the appointment: âMike has an enormous amount of new ideas and contacts, plus a massively impressive track record in football worldwide. âHe is excited by the challenge of taking us into new and exciting markets as we look to maximise the vast potential I know this club has.â For the moment, that focus appears to lie in the Far East â an area of the world where owner Ellis Short does most of his business. On top of that, vice-chairman David Miliband also has strong contacts with power-brokers and influential figures in Asia and the club is hoping that all that expertise can come together for the long-term benefit of the club. A fact-finding mission to the region for preparatory work was carried out by the club earlier this season, paving the way for this weekâs high-profile visits both from Bruce and Quinn. And if the charm offensive pays dividends, then Sunderland could be on the verge of a new era in terms of its financial potential. Bruce and Quinn are due to attend several functions over the weekend before the manager watches South Koreaâs World Cup qualifying game against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday night and then flying immediately back home. It is a potentially gruelling schedule for the Black Catsâ manager, who will arrive back on Wearside next Thursday, just 72 hours ahead of the game against Arsenal on Sunday. But if it is part of a process which brings new revenue streams into Sunderland, both he and the club will be happy. Quinn, meanwhile, will be working with Farnan in meeting a range of contacts hoping to progress financial interest in the club. In all of this, summer signing Ji Dong-won may well prove to be the ace in Sunderlandâs pack. The South Korean striker is regarded as a potential superstar of the future in his home country and as Bruce watches him in action next Tuesday, he might reflect that the young striker could prove to be the most attractive selling point of all for Far East investors
sounds better and better. Naming rights? The Samsung Stadium of Light (SSoL) ? **** name, but it would rake in the cash.... What else could it be? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_of_South_Korea
This is our last season with Tombolo (unless we renew the contract but it looks like we are after something bigger) could be a good move, get a big company from the far east to be our sponsor and even renaming the ground would be good if we make a huge amount of money from it aslong as it still has Stadium of Light in the name. the club are moving in the right direction and to bring in better players we need this as currently our wage structure won't attract the better players, or keep them at the club long enough (Bent for example).
"Naming rights" I read somewhere recently that EUFA [spelling]will not accept Man city's stadium name "ETIHAD" as it is advertising. Arsenal's 'EMIRATES is OK as it is a place. But surely there must be other stadia that have brand names? Anyone?
Newcastle to rename stadium 'sportsdirect.com@StJames'Park'• New name will be used until the end of this season • Club admit naming rights plan was handled badly reddit this guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009 13.46 GMT Article history Newcastle have renamed their stadium. Photograph: Colin McPherson Newcastle have confirmed that their stadium will be renamed "sportsdirect.com@StJames'ParkStadium" until the end of the season, according to BBC Newcastle. The temporary rebranding follows a controversial announcement from the club's under-pressure owner Mike Ashley that the ground's naming rights would be offered to businesses in an attempt to raise funds. The managing director Derek Llambias told the BBC: "We will showcase Sports Direct until the end of the season. I'm sure we're going to get a sponsor in for next season." Llambias admitted that the way the plan to sell naming rights was put to fans could have been handled better, but said the decision was important for the club's future. "We could have worded it better, and that's why we came out yesterday to explain what we're trying to achieve," he said. "With the renaming it was always going to be whatever brand it was, at St James' Park. For the remainder of this season, we already have sportsdirect.com on the Gallowgate so we'd like to take that branding through the rest of the stadium." Llambias said that any future naming deal would still include the phrase "@StJames'Park". "In our reign, absolutely, it's just adding to the name. If this brings in a good chunk of money to the club, that goes straight to the team, so it's a revenue we should look at."
One huge one, PSV Eindhoven even the club is named after them. Philips Sport Vereniging Philips Stadion Eindhoven (Capacity: 35,119)
Ricoh --Coventry Alianze--Munich How about Samsung Sunderland, Donovan could bang a tune or two for that one Iam sure. still prefer the sol though.
