Manchester United Announces Sponsorship with BIDV, Vietnam

English Premier League giants, Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) have today announced a five year partnership with Vietnamese bank, BIDV.

BIDV, which stands for Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, was established in 1957 and is one of the top three banks in the country, with an annual turnover of over $200 million employing almost 18,000 people.

The new agreement will see BIDV offer some of United’s 26.5 million followers in Vietnam the bank’s first affinity credit card. The BIDV Manchester United Credit Card will come with an array of attractive benefits including United prize draws, giveaways and special Club discounts. BIDV will also introduce a Manchester United debit card early next season to reach out further to the fan base and diversify the product portfolio.

Manchester United Commercial Director, Richard Arnold comments;

‘Vietnam is a very important country for Manchester United. The Club is lucky enough to have a large and very passionate set of fans there, with some 30 million supporters watching the team on TV last season. Some 10% of the country's total Facebook users are also a Manchester United Facebook follower and the Club has a database of over 2.4 million Vietnamese fans who have registered their interest in United. We are very pleased to be able to work with BIDV to offer them this great new product, a first for both the banks and Club in Vietnam. With more than 120 branches, 600 transaction offices as well as over 1300 ATM’s in 63 cities, BIDV has the right amount of presence around the country to be able to connect with our fans.

'We know from the other financial services sponsorships we have around the world that fans find this a great way to engage with the Club, with deals putting hundreds of thousands of cards in the hands of United fans within weeks of being available.

‘BIDV shares many of the same values of Manchester United, such as striving to be pioneers in its industry whilst respecting its history and traditions. Everyone at the Club is looking forward to a successful partnership.’

About Manchester United

Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth. Through our 135-year heritage we have won 60 trophies, enabling us to develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 659 million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and match day.