Two years on from their chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale admitting that “in an ideal world,” the club wouldn’t have a betting firm’s logo on their shirts, Everton struck a deal with online gambling company Stake.com this summer. But two decades ago the Blues agreed a new sponsorship that brought eastern promise – in the shape of two new signings. Back in this week in 2002, Everton penned a two-year contract with mobile phone company Kejian, and this resulted in them landing a pair of Chinese internationals but the Blues only ended up with both of them because of a mix-up over manager David Moyes’ original choice.
Everton chairman Sir Philip Carter flew out to Beijing to formalise the agreement and said: “We are delighted to be entering into this sponsorship deal with Kejian. We are all hoping for a long and mutually satisfying relationship.
“The fact that we have become the first European football club to enter into such an arrangement with a leading Chinese company serves to re-emphasise that Everton is a club which continues to embrace ground-breaking initiatives.”
