ComeAllWithin
Rugby => ComeAllWithin Board => Topic started by: Nunquam Dormio on Tuesday 11-Feb-2020, 22:36*
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https://www.ft.com/content/18700f44-4cf0-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5
Not surprised TBH
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https://www.ft.com/content/18700f44-4cf0-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5
Not surprised TBH
Paywall - what does it say - in brief, if you don't wish to cut and paste...
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They’ve pulled out of sponsoring Saracens a year early.
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Allianz scraps Saracens sponsorship
New blow to English and European rugby champions as fallout from financial scandal spreads
Allianz is scrapping its sponsorship deal with Saracens after the rugby team was relegated for persistent breaches of the sport’s salary cap rules in the latest blow to the English and European club champions.
The German insurance group has been Saracens’ principal sponsor since 2012, with its contract due to end in 2021. But Allianz executives have decided to end the deal a year early, following a cheating scandal that has rocked the game, according to several people familiar with the decision. One of the people said the deal was worth £2m a year to Saracens.
The sponsorship had been a boon for Allianz’s goal of building its brand by being associated with leading sports groups, with Saracens winning the Premiership four times and the European Champions Cup three times during the course of their deal.
In November, the club was fined £5.4m and docked 35 points after a series of co-investments that its owner and former chairman Nigel Wray, the property magnate, made with high-profile players were found to have breached regulations that limit payments to players. In January, Saracens apologised “unreservedly” for continued salary cap breaches and agreed to the unprecedented punishment of relegation from Premiership Rugby, the top tier of English club rugby union.
Those revelations over recent weeks led to tension between the two parties. Allianz responded by saying it is a company that acts “with transparency and integrity” and that it would hold talks with Saracens “to confirm this shared understanding and commitment going forward”.
Last week, Allianz informed Saracens it would abandon the sponsorship, according to people with knowledge of the talks who requested anonymity because the decision has yet to be announced. The club is trying to keep Allianz on board but has already started the search for a new sponsor, according to others informed of the discussions.
Allianz and Saracens declined to comment.
Allianz has poured money into sports sponsorship around the world in recent years. Stadiums have been the biggest target of its multimillion euro marketing budget, viewing naming rights as a good way to keep the brand in the news regularly. There are Allianz-branded venues in Munich, Turin, Nice, Vienna, Minnesota and São Paulo.
The insurer also has naming rights to Allianz Park in North London, where Saracens play their home matches. It is not clear whether the insurer will retain that stadium naming deal even after it pulls its sponsorship contract with the rugby club.
The move will be a further financial blow for Saracens, with uncertainty over which star players will stay at the club next season and income already set to be hit due to relegation. According to Companies House records, Saracens had pre-tax losses of £3.9m in the year ended June 30 2018, widening from a £2.8m loss a year earlier. Revenues remained largely flat at £17.9m.
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Hardly surprising if it proves to be true. Not a good look for them to be associated with financial cheating.
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ALLIANZ DESPOND = LAND PONZI DEALS
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Excellent news.
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The article states that the guilty ones have started looking for a new sponsor.
Who the heck do they think would want anything at all to do with them?
I can’t see any organisation with the means to provide sponsorship at the appropriate level wanting their image associated with such a bunch of cheats and crooks.
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Bernie Madoff has asked for release from prison...not that I am saying anything....
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Maybe a casino group could take them on? ;)
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So, who should sponsor Saracens?
Cillit Bang Park sounds great to me, or perhaps Debtol Park...
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De La Rue would be a good fit for Sarries.
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Danny or the also failing currency printers?
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They've got a license to print money - surely they can't be failing?
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So, who should sponsor Saracens?
Cillit Bang Park sounds great to me, or perhaps Debtol Park...
Faz Investments Limited probably has some spare cash...
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It will take a long time for Saracens to pick up a sponsor. Their name will be tarnished for quite a while. Saying that, Etihad stood by Quins during our scandal but then it was a one off and Quins held their hands up when the wagons closed in so that may have gone in our favour.
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...and the roof of our stands is attractive advertising space.
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...for an airline - not a bank!
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BBC reporting that Allianz have pulled the plug:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51495200
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Now confirmed by the Beeb (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51495200)
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https://www.allianz.co.uk/news-and-insight/news-blogs-and-press-releases/2020/02/allianz-and-saracens.html
Allianz and Saracens
Allianz has taken the difficult decision to end its sponsorship of Saracens Rugby Club and stadium at the end of this season.
Allianz intends to continue to be involved in the great work that the Saracens Sports Foundation does in their local community and wishes Saracens well in the future.
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Interestingly, on Sarries website:
"Saracens look forward to working with our stable of committed Principal Partners including Nike, Hy-Pro and Simba and we would like to thank them for their ongoing support. "
Hy-Pro and Simba are Nigel Wray companies. They could be in a spot of difficulty if Nike pull out.
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And it seems their plan of playing against SA in a game next season has been scuppered now (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-8001823/Saracens-misery-continues-denied-showpiece-fixture-against-South-Africa.html)...
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I am surprised Nike still want anything to do with them. I would not be surprised if the only sponsors were Wray companies by the start of next season. I am sure though Wray can still use it to 'sponsor' players and not call it salary.
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Nike may be waiting for the end of the season before pulling the plug, rather than seen to be jumping on the bandwagon now...
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Nike may be waiting for the end of the season before pulling the plug, rather than seen to be jumping on the bandwagon now...
Good point.
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I wouldn't have anything to do with them if I was running a big company. The association with success is a great marketing tool. The association with corruption is quite the opposite!
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Next year, assuming that Salarycens don’t get any sponsors , they will have to survive on £288,000 plus gate receipts. Will Nigel carry on bank rolling them with more millions if they will be so low profile.
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I love the way they have made it sound to their fans on their website.
SARACENS RUGBY CLUB CAN CONFIRM THAT IT HAS AGREED TO END ITS LEAD PARTNERSHIP WITH ALLIANZ AT THE END OF THE 2019/20 SEASON.
https://www.saracens.com/club-statement-allianz/
Wondering if any other sponsors pull out. Does anyone have a list?
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I love the way they have made it sound to their fans on their website.
SARACENS RUGBY CLUB CAN CONFIRM THAT IT HAS AGREED TO END ITS LEAD PARTNERSHIP WITH ALLIANZ AT THE END OF THE 2019/20 SEASON.
https://www.saracens.com/club-statement-allianz/
Wondering if any other sponsors pull out. Does anyone have a list?
I guess after reading their SN message board the club think their fans are exceptionally stupid.
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I wouldn't have anything to do with them if I was running a big company. The association with success is a great marketing tool. The association with corruption is quite the opposite!
To run a big company, you'd have to undergo strict ethics training - corruption and bias are two of the most prominent features of this training...
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Your point is?