Regarding sponsorships, these are the main sponsors now listed on the OS:
The 2 new ones, Emirates Palace and Masdar, are there.
I'm guessing the positioning (row) of each sponsor aligns with the value of the sponsorship, which implies that Emirates Palace could be a lot?
Of the top row 5/10, could be described by some as 'related'
Of the 2nd row 0/10, I don't think any are
Of the 3rd row 0/10, I don't think any are
Of the bottom row 1/8, I think only Masdar is.
(anyone know different, please PM and I'll edit)
So 48 main global sponsors, of which 6 are sometimes maliciously described as 'related'. 1/8th...
Not too sure how many others are headquartered/founded in 'dubious' countries, but lets say China is one, so I think that's a couple. So we're up to 8 headline sponsors from 'dubious' places.
Picking the Trafford Rangers to compare:
So that'll be TeamViewer, Kohler, Chevrolet, DHL, ecolab, Marriot, Maui Jim Remington and Renewable Energy Group, which can (by applying the same association of country ownership that gets forcibly applied to City) be described as 'related'.
So 23 main global sponsors, of which 9 are never maliciously described as 'related'. Almost 2/5ths...
On the 'dubious' front, well, there's Aeroflot (many many years), Mlily, HTH (almost non-existent Chinese betting company).
Digging further into the Trafford's website reveals a few more 'dubious' sponsorships.
Under Financial, out of 13 sponsors: C B bank (Myanmar), Emirates NBD (oopsie UAE), Krungsri (Thailand), Ping An bank (China). And 2 could be described as 'related'
And there's a few more China based ones in other categories.
Whats noticeable is the lack of information about anything Saudi related on their OS:
https://www.themag.co.uk/2020/04/ma...th-deals-wheres-the-outrage-newcastle-united/ has references to various sponsorships - I'm not sure whether they have now quietly expired...
Lets look at the M62 stealers:
...it's like they were made to be discussed as 'related' (going by the aforementioned City bashing criteria)
And of course we all know the complete lack of 'dubious' associated with Standard Chartered...
Moving onto
Arteta Arsenal:
Well, I think we can clarify Arsenal do do it right... not many 'related' sponsors. well done.
oh... but wait
Visit Rwanda? 'Dubious'
Emirates? 'Dubious'
Expo 2020? 'Dubious' and how odd, fancy sponsoring a football team...
...and Premier League? WTF!