The Saudi Pro League's New Era: European Football Royalty and Sponsorship Goldrush
Sports and Event Management Focus
The Saudi Premier League has been making waves in the football world with its recent high-profile transfers. The eyes of the footballing world are firmly fixed on Saudi Arabia and the exciting future that lies ahead for the league.
Law Update: Issue 362 - Sports and Event Management
Bandar Al HamidaniPartner,Corporate Commercial
Mariam SabetSenior Counsel,Intellectual Property
Ronaldo. Neymar, Henderson. Mane, Firmino. Benzema, Bono, Fabinho, Mendy, Kante, Mahrez, Laporte, Koulibaly along with other prominent players.
Destination: Saudi Pro League
We expect more eye watering deals to be announced in the seasons to come.
These marquee deals mark a shift in global football power, as Saudi Arabia emerges as a serious contender in the world of football. The influx of talent and star power is expected to raise the overall quality of the league.
With global football royalty heading to Saudi, it is expected that whole new branding and sponsorship deals will accompany these players, and these players will bring their own “super brands” to the Saudi Pro League.
The rising popularity and increased visibility of the Saudi Pro League have opened a multitude of lucrative sponsorship opportunities.
The player/club dynamic will be interesting to watch, with Saudi clubs needing to align with the level of star power these players bring. There will need to be synergy between image rights of players and club rights and their commercial exploitation.
What are the image rights of players? These can include their name, likeness, image, voice, and so forth.
Who would own player images? Player rights can be exploited either by the club or the player, it will depend on who owns the image rights. Given the high-profile nature of the new signings, it is almost certain they all own their image rights and have their say as to their commercial exploitation.
Image rights will allow players to stipulate the way the club will be able to exploit said rights in various club related activities including the use by club sponsors.
Clubs will also need to understand the extent of the player’s rights to exploit their image in a personal non-club context.
From the clubs’ perspective, the influx of these “super brands” these players bring will no doubt increase the sponsorship opportunities for the Clubs and the league.
What type of sponsorship opportunities do Clubs usually have? Clubs should own all Club IP rights namely, name, slogans, crest…. etc. They can then commercialise these assets to allow for different type of sponsorships., We expect these sponsorship opportunities for clubs to grow in value given the high-profile nature of the new elite players.
For further information,please contact Bandar Al Hamidani andMariam Sabet.
Published in October 2023
