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Manchester United are making moves on and off the pitch with the new regime of Sir Jim Ratcliffe coming closer to becoming a reality.
The club has announced that they have signed a multi-year global partnership deal with Wow Hydrate.
“This is a major step for our brand,” said Queenie Porter, Managing Director, Wow Hydrate.
“We wanted a mutually beneficial partnership that would allow us to develop impactful community and grassroots programmes, and this agreement delivers on that.
“We are excited to see the club’s supporters discover and interact with Wow Hydrate in the weeks and months ahead.”
“Wow Hydrate is a progressive and ambitious brand, and we are extremely excited to be partnering with them,” added Victoria Timpson, CEO of Alliances of Partnerships, Manchester United.
“We look forward to not only introducing our global fans to the science behind its range of hydration products, but also support the work it does within our footballing community.”
Wow Hydrate becomes United’s sports hydration partner and while that news is hardly groundbreaking when the club itself finds itself in ownership limbo, there are layers to unearth here.
Welcome to the family, @WowHydrate 🫶🏟️
Standing United to help all Reds feel at their best 🙌
We can’t wait to get started! 💪 #MUFC || #BeTheBest
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 16, 2023
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will only be getting sporting control of the club with his bid for 25% of the club. It means that arrangements like this one with Wow Hydrate will probably still be vetoed by the Glazer family.
Despite all their faults for their wasteful spending in the transfer market, as well as lack of investment in the club, Glazers have expertly managed to leverage the United brand for the most value in sponsorships.
Ed Woodward was particularly famous (or infamous, depending upon who is asked) for his penchant for signing sponsorship partners.
The optimistic viewpoint now is that even though the Glazers will be smiling United for all its worth in the sponsorship market, Sir Jim Ratcliffe might act as a gatekeeper to protect the club’s interests.
In that vein, new sponsorship agreements, like this one with Wow Hydrate, might actually end up benefitting the club for a change, instead of filling the pockets of the Glazers even more.