William Hill Becomes Title Sponsor Of The Scottish Cup
William Hill, the UKs No.1 bookmaker, has signed a seven-figure deal with the Scottish FA to become the title sponsor of the Scottish Cup.
The three-year partnership means the famous cup competition will be renamed the William Hill Scottish Cup.
William Hill, which operates over 300 betting shops in Scotland and a total of 2364 across the UK and Ireland, is already the official betting partner of the Scottish Premier League. The Scottish Cup sponsorship deal reaffirms their strong association with Scottish football. The agreement will also allow the bookmaker to showcase its online, mobile and retail products to Scottish football fans the length and breadth of the country.
The William Hill Scottish Cup first round draw will take place in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries Shopping Centre on Monday, August 29, at 10am. The draw will be conducted by last year’s victorious captain, Celtic’s Scott Brown, the Scottish FA President, Campbell Ogilvie, and Kristof Fahy, William Hills Group Brand and Marketing Director.
Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive, said: “We are proud to have a leading brand like William Hill as sponsor of the Scottish Cup for the next three seasons. The new 2011/12 William Hill Scottish Cup begins in just a few weeks’ time and with the competition now securing a new sponsor, we can now look forward another exciting season ahead.”
Gareth Davis, Chairman of William Hill PLC, said: It seems fitting for the most established and biggest bookmaker in Scotland to be attached to the oldest Association trophy in world football and we at William Hill consider it an honour to be able to put our name to the Scottish Cup.
Notes to Editors:
About William Hill
The London Stock Exchange listed bookmaker – William Hill offers betting in shops, online, telephone, and mobile. Founded in 1934, William Hill has grown to become the UKs largest bookmaker with more than 15,000 employees and around 2,350 betting shops in UK and Ireland.
Their online site offers over 500,000 betting markets every week – including the largest range of in-play markets in the industry. These markets and several chart topping Android and iPhone apps can also be accessed via William Hills brand new mobile site mobile.williamhill.com
William Hill, who are also the largest bookmaker in Scotland, are no strangers to sponsorship in the country. The firm is official betting partners of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) and also sponsors Scotlands richest horse race the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup.
About the Scottish Cup
The William Hill Scottish Cup is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish FA. The William Hill Scottish Cup trophy is the oldest national trophy in the world. It was first held in 1873-74, with Queens Park the winners. The current holders of the Scottish Cup are Celtic, who defeated Motherwell 3-0 in the 2011 final on 21 May 2011.
For further information:
Tony Kenny
Public Relations
William Hill
020 8918 3627 (o)
07714126514 (m)
tkenny@williamhill.co.uk
William Hill, Greenside House, 50 Station Road
Mark Snell
Communications Executive
Scottish FA
07904 604943
mark.snell@scottishfa.co.uk