Nationwide ends 11-year England sponsorship
The Football Association has suffered another major blow after Nationwide confirmed it is likely to end its £20m 11-year sponsorship of the England team.
A spokesman for the building society says it is “unlikely” to renew the current agreement when it expires this month.
It is believed Nationwide refused to match the FA’s asking price, said to be as much as £40m over four years, which was set in the hope that a successful World Cup tournament would have provided leverage to demand an improved deal.
However, some observers believe England’s early exit at the hands of Germany has diminished the appeal of the national side and the money the FA can demand.
The sport’s governing body started its search for an alternative to Nationwide earlier this year after the building society’s right to exclusive negotiations ended, hiring sponsorship experts IMG to lead the search.
Possible replacements are said to include Blackberry and Orange.
It has been a tumultuous year for the FA, which was rocked by the departure of chief executive Ian Watmore and chairman Lord Triesman, who left in May following bribery claim allegations.
It has also recently lost its £2m deal with National Express after the deal with the transport firm expired and was forced to sign a 1-year extension with FA Cup sponsor E-ON after failing to find a permanent replacement.
It has sought to create stability by promoting Stuart Turner to the role of commercial director in May, a position that had been vacant since Jonathan Hill left last September.
Other England sponsors include McDonalds, Mars, Carlsberg and Nivea.
