Hammers asked to ditch betting sponsors
By Sean Whetstone
Football’s clubs including West Ham have been asked by the Premier League to support a voluntary ban on betting shirt sponsorships in an eleventh-hour bid to avert legislation.
The Premier League is asking clubs to support phasing out shirt sponsorship by gambling companies in a last-ditch effort to avert a government-imposed ban.
Sky News claims that the Premier League contacted clubs on Monday to propose a resolution that would see betting companies disappear from teams’ shirts within the next three years.
Under the proposal, a voluntary ban would come into effect at the start of the new season, but would allow existing deals to run their course, providing they expire no later than the 2024-25 campaign.
Under Premier League rules, support for the proposal from at least 14 clubs would see it being adopted immediately.