Two years on from their chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale admitting that “in an ideal world,” the club wouldn’t have a betting firm’s logo on their shirts, Everton struck a deal with online gambling company Stake.com this summer. But two decades ago the Blues agreed a new sponsorship that brought eastern promise – in the shape of two new signings. Back in this week in 2002, Everton penned a two-year contract with mobile phone company Kejian, and this resulted in them landing a pair of Chinese internationals but the Blues only ended up with both of them because of a mix-up over manager David Moyes’ original choice.
Everton chairman Sir Philip Carter flew out to Beijing to formalise the agreement and said: “We are delighted to be entering into this sponsorship deal with Kejian. We are all hoping for a long and mutually satisfying relationship.
“The fact that we have become the first European football club to enter into such an arrangement with a leading Chinese company serves to re-emphasise that Everton is a club which continues to embrace ground-breaking initiatives.”
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The Blues also announced they were launching a Mandarin language website and director Paul Gregg proclaimed: “We have had an amazing reception. It is a major step for Everton to expand its name and fanbase in China.”
Ahead of what was a landmark season as Everton became the first club to compete in 100 top flight seasons – the team would gain permission from the game’s authorities to sport a special logo on their sleeves to mark the occasion – there had been calls from some supporters to go sponsorless and have a blank jersey (as Real Madrid would do that same season for their centenary year) but club spokesman Ian Ross explained that wouldn’t be viable in terms of the Blues financial interests at a time when they were still hoping to move to a new riverside home. He said: “We listen to our fans and that idea (of a plain shirt) was mooted by them. It was discussed at boardroom level and it could have happened if we had not considered this deal so worthwhile.
“It came down to harsh commercial realities. We looked at a variety of options although Cream (a Liverpool nightclub) got all the publicity.
“We know linking with Cream would have helped us sell a lot of shirts. An Everton shirt could have become a fashion accessory.
“But in the end this deal was better on footballing and commercial grounds. This compares favourably with our previous deals.
“There are 14 major clubs in Europe without a sponsor for next season because of the mini-recession football is experiencing. We are trying to build a better team and obviously complete the Kings Dock move, so the money is certainly important.
“But it’s fair to say that it is the new possibilities that are more exciting than the bare finance. If there is to be a mini-invasion of China we want to be in the first wave of that.”
Everton were also hoping to get some on-the-field benefits from the deal and chief executive Michael Dunford said: “The Everton brand is very well known in the Far East and we hope to expand that. The Chinese market is a huge market and relatively untapped by English clubs. The deal gives us the opportunity to look at players in the Chinese market that may be attractive to David Moyes.”
However, Moyes was left furious when – having travelled to the Far East for China’s World Cup games the previous month and identified midfielder Li Tie as their most promising player – he was kept in the dark over the signing of defender Li Weifeng instead. The 25-year-old player himself, capped 65 times, was also surprised and admitted: “It came as a complete shock to me.
“I only found out about the move while I was training with my team-mates in Shanghai and I have to say I am quite nervous but excited. My first thought is to try my best to win a place in the Premier League.”
The confusion was believed to have stemmed from Tie’s club, Liaoning Bird, refusing to release the player to Kejian – an industry rival of their own sponsors but after sorting things out and rectifying the loan deal, Moyes said: “Li Tie is, in my opinion, one of the best that the Chinese team has to offer.
“But we really mustn’t get carried away. He is a good player but he will have a great deal of work to do, and much progress to make, if he is to break into our first team.”
As it turned out, Moyes’ initial choice, Li Tie ended up making 40 senior appearances for Everton and completed a £1.2million permanent move, of which two thirds was paid by sponsorships, but Li Weifeng made just two appearances, in a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Southampton, and a 3-0 win at Wrexham in the League Cup before returning home.
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