Newcastle United will end Wonga sponsorship
By Bryan Nelson
Alright, everybody, we can cheer! Newcastle United have announced that they will end their Wonga sponsorship at the end of the Championship season.
This is perhaps the most positive news outside of the transfer market for Newcastle United. The Wonga shirt has been a source of serious controversy involving their loan practices. For those who are unaware, Wonga is a pay-day loan company, specializing in small loans and extremely high-interest rates.
Members of Parliament have called the company immoral and have stated that the company takes advantage of people in poor financial situations. The original deal with Wonga was a four-year £24m package. For many fans, it has been a nightmare.
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The sponsorship also put Wonga under fire as MPs believed that the company was using football to target younger audiences into getting high-interest short-term loans. Newcastle isn’t the richest city in the UK by any means and is one of the poorest working class cities that house a major football club. That was also seen as a shady tactic by the company.
So what was that £24m package used for? Well, the club said it was to compete in the transfer market, but others believe the money ended up being used to buy back the St. James Park moniker after Mike Ashley decided to name the park Sports Direct Arena.
It is unknown who ended up making the decision not to renew the contract, but whoever made the decision made the right one. Because next season, we can all feel comfortable buying a shirt from Newcastle United that doesn’t advertise bad money lending practices.
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So let the speculation begin as to who will take over the club’s shirt advertisement. I don’t know about you, but fingers crossed for a throwback Newcastle Brown Ale sponsorship. Talk about bringing a feel-good factor back to the club.