Stockholm-listed gaming operator Betsson has signed an agreement to sponsor Norwegian Toppserie football club Avaldsnes IL.
The international agreement marks another step in Betsson’s commitment to diversity and gender equality in sports, with the operator already sponsoring boxing stars Katharina Thanderz and Cecilia Brækhus.
As the main sponsor of the women’s team, Betsson will benefit from branding on the club’s shirts in matches played outside of Norway. For matches in Norway, where Norsk Tipping is the only licensed operator, Betsson has renounced kit exposure to allow Avaldsnes to further promote its ‘#EqualOpportunities’ campaign.
“At Betsson, we believe in diversity as a key innovation factor in all areas, including sports,” said Betsson Group chief commercial officer Ronni Hartvig. “We are happy to witness more interest in women’s football and we want to be part of that drive.
“We also believe that our brand will get valuable worldwide exposure in future Champions League matches. This is a strategic agreement that we are confident will benefit both parties in the years to come.”
Avaldsnes Elite general manager Stian Staveland Nygaard commented: “Running a top club aspiring to win the league and to play in the Champions League is expensive. In order to fulfil our ambitions, we depend on strong sponsors backing us, and we are very happy that we landed this agreement with Betsson. It is our biggest sponsorship deal of all time and provides stability in these challenging times.
“The sponsorship market has changed during this last year, and we have had to think differently. Having Betsson as a partner believing in our project allows us to invest, instead of having to lower our ambitions, which would have been the sad alternative.”
The club’s #EqualOpportunities campaign has been in place since 2017, raising awareness about the differences between men’s and women’s football.
“The goal is to ensure that girls and boys have equal opportunities to reach the top,” continued Nygaard. “Sadly, gender differences in Norwegian football are still huge and this is something we want to change. Therefore, we are happy with Betsson’s support to let us promote the ‘#EqualOpportunities’ campaign on our kit when we play matches in Norway.”
Betsson’s Hartvig added: “While we are waiting for Norway to introduce a licensing system that allows us to further invest on Norwegian soil, ‘#EqualOpportunities’ is a great message that we want to support. For us, ‘#EqualOpportunities’ also has another connotation as it’s in line with our work for Norway to follow most of Europe by offering us an equal opportunity by introducing a licensing system.”
Shares in Betsson AB (STO:BETS-B) closed 1.79 per cent higher at SEK73.90 per share in Stockholm Thursday.