Roma announced their two-year sponsorship deal with Saudi event Riyadh Season on Wednesday, a move that sparked political fallout.
Page 24 of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport details how the Giallorossi agreed a deal with Riyadh Season that’ll see the Saudi event become the main shirt sponsor for the next two years, an agreement worth €25m total. The club will also play two friendlies in Saudi Arabia.
The announcement immediately caused a political reaction, because both Rome and Riyadh are competing to be awarded the right to host the Expo 2030 world’s fair. This will be awarded by a vote in Paris on November 28.
Two telephone calls took place after the announcement between the mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri and Roma CEO Lina Souloukou. The mayor was furious and accused the Giallorossi CEO of a lack of decency, despite the fact that she had immediately warned CONI president Giovanni Malago and the Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi.
Local politicians in the greater Lazio region are also unhappy with the partnership, wanting to have been notified beforehand. Part of the infrastructure funding for the region is linked to the awarding of Expo 2030.