STC to sign deal with Man United

Saudi Telecom Co (STC) is set to sign a marketing deal with British football club Manchester United Plc that could be worth $18.6 million (Dh68.3m), a spokes-man said, its first deal with a non-Saudi football club.

Football is a favoured pastime in the Middle East and telecom firms, including Emirates Telecommunications Corp are often lead sponsors of sporting events.

STC has spent more than $6 billion in foreign expansion since June 2007 as it faces greater competition in its home market, where securing sponsorship deals with local soccer clubs helps telecom firms retain customers in a saturated market.

"We are at Manchester now. We will have a press conference tomorrow and the deal will be announced today during a Manchester United game," STC spokes-man Mohamed Al Faraj said.

He declined to elaborate on the nature of the deal.

Britain's The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that the five-year deal would grant STC rights to use Manchester United's logo and imagery in its marketing in Saudi Arabia.

STC would be able to offer its subscribers video clips of match highlights, the paper said.

"The arrangement is said to be one of the biggest non-shirt sponsorship deals in British football," the Times said. STC competes in Saudi with Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) and Zain Saudi Arabia. The incumbent operator has paid $200m for five-year sponsorship agreements with three Saudi clubs.