Sources: Newcastle United in line to strike new African deal as Chelsea talks revealed
The Botswana tourist board is again exploring the possibility of a sponsorship deal with Newcastle United, sources have told Football Insider.
Botswana held talks with Newcastle last summer about a sleeve sponsor partnership before the club eventually inked a deal with PIF-linked e-commerce platform Noon.com.
It is now understood that Botswana representatives could approach the Magpies with a view to forming a commercial alliance over the summer.
The club-record partnership with Noon.com is officially a one-season deal, although it is not known whether there is an option to extend the arrangement.
It is understood that Botswana is ideally targeting either a front-of-shirt or a sleeve deal, but they are not ruling out an alternative arrangement with a Premier League club.
Significantly, a source told Football Insider that Botswana and Saudi Arabia – whose government is the de-facto owner of Newcastle – have strengthened business ties in recent years.
It can also be revealed that the Southern African nation has previously held discussions with Chelsea, who are now on the hunt for both a new sleeve and front-of-shirt sponsor from next season.
But while Newcastle’s commercial profile is on the rise, the Tynesiders would still represent a cheaper option for Botswana than Chelsea.
They will, however, be wary of the domestic backlash that caused the South African tourist board to abandon a planned £42.5million sleeve deal with Tottenham in February.
But Botswana is arguably in a more flexible position as one of Africa’s wealthiest nations, one planning to make further inroads into sports sponsorship.
Sport and geopolitics expert Professor Simon Chadwick previously told this site that “the Premier League is the world’s most cost-effective advertising platform.”
In other news, Newcastle United frontrunners in race to sign Alex Scott in summer deal.