TOTO, the monopoly sports betting and football pool operator in the Netherlands, has agreed nine sleeve sponsorship deals with top-flight football teams in the country.
A first for TOTO, the announcement has seen the operator sign deals with Eredivisie outfits Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II, FC Utrecht, FC Groningen, ADO Den Haag, FC Twente and RKC Waalwijk.
The deal sees TOTO, which is owned by the Dutch national lottery Nederlandse Loterij, commit to partnerships with 50 per cent of the league as the competition awaits its return to play in October following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Additionally, reports coming out of Holland have also claimed that as part of the deal the Nederlandse Loterij will pay between €200,000 and €300,000 to each club in support payments following the premature cancellation of the 19/20 league season due to the health crisis.
According to the Dutch media, the operator is also thought to be in negotiations to become a sponsor of the Eredivisie as a whole. Nederlandse Loterij would then seek to help finance clubs and football development programmes which have, since the pandemic, suffered a shortfall in income.
Back in April, the Dutch FA KNVB cancelled the 2019/20 league as the government announced large public events would not be allowed in the Netherlands until September.
Currently scheduled to kick off on October 9, the 20/21 Eredivisie season is currently set to start roughly one month later than other major European Leagues such as the English Premier League which has revealed a start date of September 12.
