MUMBAI: English Premiere League (EPL) club Manchester United has signed a five-year multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with telecommunications group Telekom Malaysia (TM).

The deal will make TM the integrated telecommunications partner of the Old Trafford club in Malaysia. 
 
Manchester United enjoys a large fan base in Malaysia and this deal will help raise their profile further. TM was also an official partner for Manchester United‘s Asia Tour in 2009. Both the deals have been brokered by sports marketing agency Total Sports Asia (TSA).

Manchester United CEO David Gill said, “Anyone who went on our tour of the Far East last summer knows the strength of feeling that Malaysians have for the club. Over 40,000 attended our training session and another 40,000 came to the second match in Kuala Lumpur, despite only having 48 hours‘ notice of the fixture.”

Last summer, Manchester United signed a four-year shirt sponsorship deal with the insurance giant Aon Corporation. Aon will replace US insurer AIG, which is restructuring itself having received a $150 billion bail-out from the US government. 
 
The new sponsor will appear on Manchester United‘s shirts from the start of the 2010/11 season.

Gill also used the partnership announcement as proof that the club owners, the Glazer family, had a long-term commitment to the club in the face over ongoing fan support for a rival takeover bid by the Red Knights consortium.

“We will be around for the length of this deal and many more in addition to that. This demonstrates the strength of the club. It is a long-term partnership for five years. It doesn‘t get much media coverage but the very fact they have come in and are able to do these deals benefits us. We can reinvest that money back into the team,” Gill added.