William Hill announces sponsorship deal with Malaga CF

William Hill have announced a three year shirt sponsorship deal with La Liga club Málaga Club de Futbol. Although having a good season last year and only just missing out on a place in the new Europa League, Málaga CF or “Los Boquerones” as they are known locally (translates as “The Anchovies”) were without a shirt sponsor for the 2009/2010 season which starts on Sunday. The club which is located in the popular Costa del Sol region of Spain already has a lot of support from the British and Irish ex pat community which no doubt contributed to the decision. William Hill CEO Henry Birch said “We are delighted to have come to this agreement with Málaga CF. Malaga is the closest La Liga club to our business base in Gibraltar and we really wanted to be involved with a club that we could support both from a business perspective and in person to share the passion that La Liga generates”. “As well as the huge Spanish fan base on the coast, we know that Málaga also has a huge ex-patriot following in this part of the country, a legion of supporters who already know the William Hill name and we hope that this sponsorship will bring the brand to the fore with the legions of football fans from all clubs across Spain”.

As well as starting the season with a new shirt sponsor the club is also starting with a new manager in Juan Ramón Muniz. Last season’s manager Antonio Tapia has moved on to rival club Real Betis but they will not meet in the league as Betis were relegated to the second tier. On the sponsorship deal club President Fernando Sanz said “For our club, this is a great honour to have been selected by such a well known and respected company as William Hill. Especially, when this is the company’s first sponsorship with a such high level competition such as Primera Division. Malaga CF has been related for a long time with the British community”

William Hill was founded in 1934 and is one of the best known names in the gambling industry and employs more than 15000 people in the UK, Ireland, Israel and Bulgaria.

To mark the occasion William Hill are offering some specials:-

Opening match this Sunday at home against Atletico Madrid:-

 21/10 Malaga; 11/5 draw and 21/20 Madrid.

Top scorer in the league for the season:-

Nabil Baha 7/4

Alberto Luque 2/1

Edinho 16/5

Valdo 5/1

Fernando Forestieri 10/1

Malaga to qualify for Europe 6/1

Malaga to win the Copa Del Rey 50/1