The French national championship, Ligue 1 Uber Eats, will be renamed to ‘Ligue 1 McDonald’s’ after the American fast food giant struck a blockbuster 60 million euro deal to become title sponsors of the league.
The news follows reports from RMC Sport journalist Daniel Riolo that the French top-flight has decided to enter into a naming rights sponsorship deal with McDonald’s. However, at the time of writing, the deal is yet to be signed.
Uber Eats have sponsored Ligue 1 for five years, since 2019, paying between 15 and 16 million euros per year to remain title sponsors. Riolo reports that McDonald’s will be paying a more appealing 20 million euros per year for the next three years.
Indeed, the irony that a fast food chain of the highest calibre would sponsor a sport league is not lost, as it takes another form of sport washing. While the new name of the league is not exactly glamorous, it is lucrative, and that is welcome news for those in charge.
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe is set to leave Ligue 1 behind at the end of the season to join La Liga’s Real Madrid. Mbappe started his professional career in the French top-flight with AS Monaco before consolidating his status as one of the world’s best players at PSG, and he will soon join other world class talents that have left the league in recent years, making for less advertising revenue at home and certainly overseas.
Image: REUTERS/Vincent West – Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal against Real Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, March 5
Ligue 1 refused to comment on rumours surrounding the name change but has said in a statement to the associated press that it is in ‘active discussions about the naming of Ligue 1 for future seasons’, adding that it ‘will communicate once the decisions have been finalised and validated by our governing bodies.’ Watch this space. In the meantime, not everyone is ‘lovin’ it’.
