Swedish Elite Football signs an agreement with Kindred Group to via the Unibet brand become the main sponsor of Allsvenskan and Superettan. The agreement is a six-year long cooperation with start on January 1, 2020 and is initially worth SEK 900 million. The agreement also has an option for another six years, which, if triggered, would provide a total contract value of SEK 1.8 billion. The agreement is possible because the Swedish Riksdag in 2017 said yes to a new legislation on gambling licenses.

Svenska Spel has been the main sponsor of Swedish football since 1934. Swedish Elite Football has the greatest respect for Svenska Spel and is deeply grateful for all that the company has made for Swedish elite football over the years.

”We have only good things to say about Svenska Spel and we are very grateful for all that Svenska Spel has done for Swedish football. We are looking forward to complete the current contract period in the best way together. When Svenska Spel chose not to renew the agreement on acceptable terms, we had to look around on the market. We are excited that we could find this solution with Unibet and we are looking forward to a joint cooperation”, says Mats Enquist, CEO of Swedish Elite Football.

Svenska Spel continues their involvement in the Swedish FA and in the women league Damallsvenskan and also for a while in Allsvenskan and Superettan, but at the end of 2019 Unibet takes over as the main sponsor of Allsvenskan and Superettan.

”The Swedish Parliament decided to open up the Swedish gambling market for competition and Swedish Elite Football represents a significant part of the betting items in Sweden. The Swedish FA took the initiative to play football matches which were then transferred to the state-owned gaming company Svenska Spel that have had a unique collaboration with football since 1934. The cooperation included both efforts to shape Swedish talent development in close collaboration with federations and clubs as measures against match fixing and gambling addiction. The Riksdag decision will allow new actors to work in Sweden and former forms of co-operation will be re-examined. In Kindred Group, Swedish Elitfotboll sees a new serious partner who, together with us, can take responsibility for a healthy development of betting on the games in our leagues while supporting the entire elite football development in Sweden”, says Lars-Christer Olsson, chairman of Swedish Elite Football.

The agreement with Kindred Group (formerly Unibet Group), about the main sponsorship of Allsvenskan and Superettan, is one of the biggest investments in Swedish sport ever. The agreement lasts for six years, with an option for another six years, with an initial value of SEK 900 million or if the option triggers a total value of SEK 1.8 billion. The cooperation, which will begin on January 1, 2020, has a clear goal of developing the Swedish elite football to be among the leading leagues in Europe.

The sponsorship is made through Kindred’s brand Unibet, where the ambition is to channel the engagement within three areas:

  • To help develop Swedish elite football
  • Give more money to the club CSR work to enable the elite football family to give back more to society
  • To continue fighting match fixing through expanded partnerships

 

”We are very proud and happy to have entered this historic agreement with Swedish Elite Football to become the main sponsor of Allsvenskan and Superettan. The agreement involves a significant and long-term commitment for Swedish sport. During 20 years, we have been struggling to be able to contribute to the development of Swedish football and we are pleased today to conclude this cooperation”, says Dersim Sylwan, General Manager Sweden for Kindred Group.

In addition to the compensation the clubs receive for the sponsorship, it will be allocated over SEK 25 million annually to finance various development projects within the elite football. In total, the compensation amounts to SEK 150 million annually.