Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Emirates to land FA Cup again
FA CUP sponsors Emirates are set to allay fears that they will end their tie-in with the famous old trophy by signing a new deal, which will run until 2021.
The airline were considering walking away when their three-year contract expires next May.
It is understood there have been concerns within the company that, two years into their current deal, the competition still is not widely referred to as the Emirates FA Cup.
But after a U-turn, an announcement that they have signed up for a further three-year cycle is expected soon.
The two parties are understood to have agreed the same £30million valuation, spread over the course of the deal.
Asked to confirm that the deal had been agreed, a spokeswoman for the FA said: “We never discuss commercial contracts.”
Emirates’ decision will be welcomed by the FA after they terminated a £4m-ayear deal with Ladbrokes in the wake of the 18-month ban handed to Joey Barton for betting on matches. 1992/1993 ............... 67 1993/1994 ................ 80 1994/1995 ................ 77 1995/1996 ................ 73 1996/1997 ................ 76 1997/1998 ................. 73 1998/1999 ................ 80 1999/2000 ............... 97 2000/2001 ............... 79 2001/2002 ............... 87 2002/2003 .............. 74 2003/2004 .............. 64 2004/2005 ............. 58 2005/2006 ............. 72 2006/2007 .............. 83 2007/2008 .............. 80 2008/2009 ............. 68 2009/2010 ............... 86 2010/2011 ................. 78 2011/2012 ................. 89 2012/2013 ................ 86 2013/2014 ................ 64 2014/2015 ................ 62 2015/2016 ................ 49 2016/2017 ................ 54