Premier League
Snapdragon: Everything You Need To Know About Manchester United’s New Kit Sponsor
Manchester United will today debut a new sponsor on the front of their kit to English audiences.
The Red Devils meet Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley, having beaten their rivals in the FA Cup final back in May.
Manchester United shirts will have a new addition at Wembley against Manchester City on Saturday
The California-based company, known for manufacturing central processing units for mobile phones, has entered into an initial three-year agreement valued at approximately £180 million.
This deal has the potential to be extended for an additional two years, contingent on mutual satisfaction with the partnership.
This season will be the first where United will have the Snapdragon brand across the front of their home and away shirts.
While United have been wearing their new kit in pre-season, it will be the first time many supporters will have seen this season’s release since news of a sponsor broke in September.
The club confirmed Qualcomm’s brand of mobile technology Snapdragon as their new sponsor, a deal that is believed to be worth a world-record £65m per season.
The new agreement replaces the previous deal with TeamViewer, a software company that experienced significant growth during the pandemic when remote work became essential.
However, TeamViewer found it challenging to maintain that level of success and sought to exit their sponsorship obligations with Manchester United, which were valued at £47.5 million annually under a five-year contract signed in 2021.
What is Snapdragon?
Snapdragon, which is a subsidiary of US technology firm Qualcomm, creates processors inside devices such as phones, laptops, gaming consoles, PCs, and more.
“Snapdragon processors can be found in more than 3 billion devices globally, powering premium devices from the world’s biggest brands across a large range of product categories,” read a United statement after the official announcement.
“Snapdragon’s processors will help enable ground-breaking experiences for fans across the globe, deepening their engagement with the football club they love.”
Manchester United’s plans for a new stadium
Manchester United Old Trafford Stadium
Ratcliffe is keen to tackle the stadium situation. Both the redevelopment of Old Trafford and the construction of a new stadium are being considered, the latter option appears to be gaining more traction.
With a 100,000-seater stadium to sit on land adjacent to Old Trafford is understood to be the preferred option. Still, at a build cost that will rise past the projected £2bn, it won’t come cheap.
How to finance it is another thing. Ratcliffe has spoken on trying to turn a new development into the ‘Wembley of the North’, and that could see him try to get some of it funded through the public purse.
However at a time of cuts to investment and infrastructure projects due to an over-commitment of the previous government that may be a hard sell.
Interest rates are currently high, leading to borrowing costs significantly greater than those faced by Tottenham Hotspur during their stadium construction, which was completed in 2019 at a cost of just over £1 billion.
Additionally, Tottenham’s project was not as ambitious in scale as what Manchester United had in mind.
Ratcliffe will have plans for sourcing funding, and one of those could be the selling of naming rights for both a new stadium as well as temporary naming rights for Old Trafford, albeit without abandoning the stadium name and consulting with fans before such a decision.
Speaking ahead of the club’s 3-2 pre-season friendly win over Real Betis at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego last week, part of the club’s tour of the United States, Snapdragon CMO Don McGuire gave some hints as to what may happen next.
Snapdragon CMO Don McGuire talking about their partnership with Manchester United
“Old Trafford is Old Trafford, it should always be Old Trafford,” McGuire said. “But if there is a brand attached to that in some way, shape or form, powered by someone, an ‘at’ or whatever.
“This is Snapdragon Stadium at Bashor Field (San Diego). We are working very closely with the team on the reimagination of Old Trafford from a technology and innovation standpoint. And Carrington. Both.
“So if that leads to something bigger, where it would make sense for us to go even bigger – this (shirt sponsor) is pretty big by the way, not inexpensive – but if it makes sense we are always looking out for opportunities.”
Can the Snapdragon deal help?
The £180 million three-year agreement has the potential to evolve into something much larger in a short time, supporting United’s efforts to rebuild and establish itself as one of the clubs in world football.
Partnerships that offer value beyond a traditional shirt sponsorship are advantageous; however, overliance on a brand poses risks, if economic conditions shift and partners become hesitant to invest substantial amounts in marketing and sponsorship initiatives.
Having alignment with sponsors in major growth markets is also vital, with McGuire having already given a nod to what he would like to see happen in the future about how the partnership pans out.
“Manchester United’s biggest fanbase is in China: 253 million fans,” McGuire added. “And so China is a huge market for my company and Snapdragon brand, I have 87% awareness for the brand in China. Walk down the street in Shanghai, you ask someone if they know what Snapdragon is, and they absolutely will tell you, ‘Of course, it’s my phone.’
“We know they have played in China before and they’d love to go back to China. And we’d love that too. Playing in China is a little bit different because there are a lot more layers of regulation you have you get through. But we’d love for them to play in China, India.”
Increased exposure in these markets opens door to new partnership opportunities, translating into higher commercial revenues.
This aligns with the emerging ‘fourth pillar’ of revenue for football clubs: the ability to monetize global fan engagement more effectively through enhanced interaction and more immersive experiences.
