It's time for your Everton morning headlines on Saturday, July 9.
Everton may be forced into call on 'club record' sponsorship deal
Everton will be in the sights of the Premier League when it comes to their front of shirt sponsorship with officials wanting to introduce a 'voluntary ban' on gambling partners.
Sky News reported on Monday that the Premier League were seeking backing from their 20 member clubs to ban betting companies taking prominent front of shirt sponsorship ahead of the publication of a Government white paper on gambling reform.
Everton are currently one of seven Premier League sides that have their main shirt sponsorship with a gambling firm, the Toffees signing a multi-year 'club record' deal with online casino Stake.com last month.
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The deal with Stake.com came two-and-a-half-years on from Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale's pre-pandemic comments at a club AGM that stated that, following the ending of a partnership with betting site SportPesa as a main shirt sponsor, the club would not 'in an ideal world' enter into any further deals with gambling companies for their shirt sponsorship.
But a pandemic and curbs issues over Everton sailing close to the Premier League's profit and sustainability regulations have seen the club forced into a step change and the deal with Stake.com offered the best financial package for the club at a time when they were also being threatened with relegation and the possibility of having to sell heavily discounted shirt sponsorship had they gone down to the Championship.
An online petition from Blues fan Ben Melvin urging the club to abandon the deal has achieved more than 30,000 signatories since its launch.
Under the Premier League's plans they want to see all 20 of their member clubs having abandoned front of shirt betting sponsorship within the next three years. The League was seeking support from clubs in an attempt to head off potential legislation from Government and an outright ban. Under the proposal, a voluntary ban would come into effect at the start of the coming season but would allow existing deals to run their course, providing they expired no later than the 2024/25 campaign. Perimeter advertising around stadiums would still be permitted. Premier League rules mean that approval from at least 14 clubs is required for a vote to be approved.
Read the full story HERE.
Everton fans already planning incredible Goodison Park atmosphere for Chelsea clash
Everton supporters are already beginning to discuss plans to create another incredible Goodison Park atmosphere from the opening match of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
The Blues were helped over the line in their fight against relegation with some incredible scenes at their home stadium, on their travels and even at Finch Farm in the closing stages of the campaign. The club worked together with numerous fan groups to help enhance the experience for those going to the match and help drive the team onwards to some crucial points.
That all started with an incredible coach welcome against Chelsea at the beginning of May, which was no doubt vital to Everton later securing a 1-0 win in what was a vital match. Subsequent home games saw the sea of blue smoke bombs, flags and loud chanting lining the streets around Goodison once more - while away fixtures were started with similar scenes outside the training complex, with Frank Lampard fist-bumping supporters from the front of the team bus as they went on their way.
The summer has already raised questions about how the club and supporters should join together once more to keep the positive atmosphere around the ground going on matchdays. And, on Friday, fans on social media began to discuss specific ideas that they would like to see implemented for the opening game of the term.
Everton once again welcome Chelsea to Goodison next month, this time to kick off the 2022/23 campaign. And fans are keen to have plans firmly in place to create a raucous atmosphere for the visit of Thomas Tuchel's side once again.
Supporters group "The 1878s", who are committed to enhancing and maintaining an enjoyable atmosphere in and around the stadium, took to Twitter to ask what supporters would like to see around that match. And they were met with a wide range of strong responses.
Many supporters were in favour of a coach welcome once again, considering the importance of this match, although others pointed out that they didn't want this to be a regular occurrence in the future. Large flags and banners in and around the stadium were also popular choices among the replies.
A number of fans also pointed out the return of the fanzone as potentially being a key aspect of the matchday atmosphere, which was usually situated outside the Park End. Its reintroduction has been delayed by away sides continuing to use the temporary changing facility that is situated in the car park near the stadium.
Read the full story HERE.
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