Paddy Power continue ‘unsponsoring’ football

Paddy Power launched its ‘Save Our Shirt’ campaign at the start of the 2019/20 season and

several months later still continue to push their campaign. The League Two match that featured

on the weekend between Macclesfield Town and Newport County was the second

‘Unsponsoured Derby’ to take place since the start of the campaign.

This fixture is being titled as an ‘Unsponsored Derby’ as both Newport County and Macclesfield

Town are part of Paddy Power’s Save our Shirt campaign. Other teams that are part of this

innovative campaign include Huddersfield Town and Motherwell FC.

Paddy Power had teamed up with various sponsorships for their second unsponsored derby so

that the majority of the advertising boards at Rodney Parade displayed non-brand logos. The

first unsponsored derby between Newport County and Macclesfield Town saw Newport County

saw the two sides draw and share the trophy, while Newport County took all three points most

recently.

There was plenty of excitement surrounding the return of the unsponsored derby with Paddy

Power stating: “The trophy is polished, ready and raring to be won at Rodney Parade in the

second edition of the Unsponsored Derby on Tuesday.

“We’re excited to see two of our partner clubs match up again and proud to unsponsor as much

of the match as is possible, to return to the game to the supporters.”

The aim of Paddy Power’s Save our Shirt campaign is purely to try and return the game of

football to the fans and to ‘Stop bastardising football shirts’ by raising awareness over football

shirt sponsorships. This campaign includes removing clubs shirt sponsors from their kit as well

as other sponsors found on the match advertising boards, man of the match awards, gameday

programmes and match sponsors.

Paddy Power felt the need to introduce their ‘Save our Shirt’ campaign as they are worried that

football is beginning to normalise gambling amongst supporters. It has been made clear by the

UK Minister of Sports, Nigel Adams that the DCMS will be holding a review of the relationship

between football and betting in an ‘imminent review’ of the 2005 Gambling Act.