West Ham set to have new shirt sponsors in time for Hull City match
Published 00:00 16/10/08 By By Neil McLeman
West Ham are close to announcing some good financial news - for a change - with the signing of a £3.5million sponsorship deal.
The Upton Park club has suffered a torrid time in recent weeks with the collapse of previous sponsor XL, Icelandic chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson losing a fortune in the credit crunch and Sheffield United also winning the right to claim compensation over the Tevez Affair.
The bill for Tevez alone could total £30m although the Hammers have lodged an appeal.
West Ham have already been fined £5.5m by the FA for the invalid registration of the Argentinian striker during the 2006-07 season, while they paid off Freddie Ljungberg's £6 contract in the summer.
New boss Gianfranco Zola has been told to sell before he can buy in the January transfer window.
West Ham insist that Gudmundsson remains "fully committed" to the long-term success of the club he bought for £85m in 2006.
But the imminent announcement of a new shirt sponsor will be very welcome news after travel company XL went into administration last month, leaving a £5m gap in their finances.
A £7.5m deal, worth £2.5m a year, was signed in February 2007 but only one year of the contract had been paid into the East Londoners' coffers. Since then the Hammers have played with patches sewn over the XL logos on the first-team shirts.
A club source said: "We hope to have the new sponsor on our shirts on Sunday for the match at Hull City."
The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland yesterday confirmed West Ham had lodged an appeal against the FA's £5.5m fine over Tevez.
Cas will now accept written evidence from Sheffield United and West Ham before deciding before the end of next month whether they will hear the case.
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