Premier League side Nottingham Forest FC have agreed a two-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Kaiyun Sports. But just who are Kaiyun Sports and why have Nottingham Forest teamed up with the Asian betting platform?
Nottingham Forest Agree Two-Year Deal With Asian Betting Platform Kaiyun Sports
Nottingham Forest were among the busiest football clubs in the summer transfer window, signing a whole host of new players. It wasn’t just deals with new players Forest were signing though. The Premier League side have agreed a two-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Asian betting company Kaiyun Sports.
The new sponsorship deal with Kaiyun Sports is Nottingham Forest’s first front-of-shirt sponsor since being promoted to the Premier League last year. However, there have been various questions surrounding the new sponsor. If you haven’t heard of Kaiyun, then you are not alone.
Nottingham Forest described the company as a “prominent Asian digital sports platform”. In the space of two seasons, Nottingham Forest have gone from having the UN Refugee Agency as their front-of-shirt sponsor, to having this obscure Asian betting platform which doesn’t have a working UK website there instead.
Forest sported their new kit in their 1-0 win over Chelsea last weekend, with kaiyun.com on the front of their red home shirt. If you type that website into your search engine, you are redirected to kaiyun.co.uk. Then you are greeted with a message that reads:
“The Kaiyun website is currently being built and will be live very soon. Once live our website will provide UK players with a brand new Sportsbook and Casino offering, including: Award winning Sportsbook, Latest Casino and Video Slots, Fantastic Gambling Features And much more…”
Questions Asked About Forest’s New Sports Betting Sponsor
In a press release announcing the new partnership between Nottingham Forest FC and Kaiyun Sports, there was curiously no mention that Kaiyun were a betting company whatsoever, despite Kaiyun themselves openly stating they are a sportsbook and casino. The press release read:
“We look forward to working closely with Kaiyun Sports on a number of exciting activations and initiatives to engage with new and existing audiences in Asia and across the world. Kaiyun Sports have a reputation for redefining the fan experience for global audiences of the Premier League and other dominant European leagues.”
Questions are being asked of this new partnership and the mystery surrounding it. Of course, Premier League clubs agreed in April to ban betting companies as front-of-shirt sponsors from the 2025/26 season onwards. For the time being however, deals like this one remain allowed in England’s top flight for another few seasons.
Not only does Kaiyun not have a UK-facing website, it also appears to be lacking a spokesperson. There is certainly lots of mystery surrounding this new sponsorship deal, but it done and Forest will continue to promote Kaiyun on the front of their shirts for the next two seasons.
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