What William Hill's new sponsorship deal means for Scottish football and its leagues

Scotland’s top flight will be renamed the William Hill Premiership after a new sponsorship deal was finalised.

The Scottish Professional Football League has secured a five-year contract with the betting company to replace outgoing title sponsor cinch. In what has been described as a “record-breaking” deal, William Hill is to become the title sponsor of all four divisions. The company previously sponsored the Scottish Cup for nine years up until 2020.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “William Hill is a name long associated with Scottish football and we are enormously excited to have reached a long-term, record-breaking agreement with our new title sponsors. This is tremendous news for our clubs and their fans, for the profile of the league, and for Scottish football in general.”

William Hill has become the lead sponsor of the SPFL leagues.

The league and its new sponsor will launch a gambling harm awareness for players, staff and supporters of SPFL clubs as part of the deal. A consultancy firm will deliver workshops across all 42 clubs.

William Hill marketing director Michael Sheehan said: “For decades, we at William Hill have loved Scottish football and its fiercely loyal and passionate fans. Now, building on our long-standing association with Scottish football, we are delighted to be playing our part in five exciting seasons of the SPFL. In addition to our sponsorship, we will work proactively and extensively to raise awareness of the potential risks associated with betting across the Scottish footballing community.”

The deal was negotiated by Scottish Football Marketing – the joint venture between the governing body and the men’s and women’s leagues – after cinch exercised an option to end its SPFL sponsorship deal two years early.

The online car retailer signed a five-year deal in 2021 which was said to be worth about £1.6million a year. However, Rangers refused to provide coverage for cinch, citing an existing commercial deal with the car retail firm owned by then chairman Douglas Park. After lengthy litigation, the SPFL apologised to Rangers in June last year and agreed to meet some of the club’s legal costs while setting up a governance review.