$940 Million Worth Soccer Club Initiates Talks With Qatar Airways After Suspending $694 Million Deal From Russian Firm Amidst Ukraine Crisis

Premier League club Everton is in the process of building a new soccer stadium that they want to open ahead of the 2024-25 season. It is an ambitious project of the majority owner Farhad Moshiri, who thinks it is a game-changing move. However, he is on the lookout for a new sponsor for the stadium, as the earlier deal has to be cut short. 

Moshiri knows cash influx is necessary for building a stadium on time. In the attempt, Toffee’s owner visited Qatar during the World Cup, where he met executives of Qatar Airways. It was the first meeting between the parties, and are expected to hold another round of talks.

Everton is looking for a new sponsor for the stadium

Everton is building a new stadium Bramley Moore Dock with around 53000 seating capacity. They have now appointed a specialized US firm Elevate Sports Ventures to find a sponsor for the stadium. Toffee’s CEO recently spoke regarding two new deals in progress. However, neither of them is regarding naming rights though.

The only discussions that have happened over the naming rights have been with Qatar Airways. There are interests from North America too, as per reports for the naming rights of the currently known Everton Stadium. However, the new deal will take a long, and there’s no imminent deal in place. 

The majority of the investment chunk has come from Moshiri so far. Everton is currently languishing in 18th place in a table in the relegation zone. It has been a tough season for the Merseyside club as they had to suspend their previous stadium deal amidst sanctions from the FA.

The Merseyside soccer club suspended a previous deal

Everton entered the deal with USM Holdings, owned by Alisher Usmanov. They completed the deal in January 2020, and was worth $694 million. However, FA sanctioned all those who were close aids of the Russian President after Russia invaded Ukraine.

It resulted in Everton canceling the deal with USM Holdings amidst those sanctions. Moshiri also stepped down from the board of the USM last year. They cut all ties with the Russian firm, and the appointment of the Elevate means there’s no way back for USM if FA lifts sanctions.

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Everton is due to face fellow strugglers Southampton, who sits at the bottom of the table. Toffees will look to take all three points from the game on the back of an enormous loss to Brighton last game week. 

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Everton faces some serious questions now. Whether they can stay in the Premier League? Will they get a sponsor for their stadium in time? Let us know your opinions in the comment section below.