Specsavers re-signs six-figure sponsorship of Scottish referees
Specsavers has announced that it has re-signed its sponsorship deal with football referees in Scotland, making this the tenth year of the deal.
The six-figure deal will see the partnership run for three more years, and will help with the training and development of referees.
Jim Quinn, regional chair of Specsavers in Scotland, said: “The relationship between Specsavers has progressed over the years from a logo on a shirt to a much closer partnership that benefits the game as a whole.
“Referees visit stores for vision and hearing examinations on a regular basis and benefit from the professional care of our staff, while we use our country-wide network of stores to help recruit as many new match officials as possible, in order to support the game from local community to international level.”
The deal has seen Specsavers provide cash for radio communication equipment for use in the SPL and other matches, training facilities and kit for regional groups and hi-tech video editing for the production of coaching materials.
John Fleming, head of referee development, said: “The 10th year of our partnership with Specsavers is a fantastic landmark for the Scottish FA and, in particular, the Referee Development Department. The continued support of Specsavers will enable us to achieve strong, quality growth as part of the Scottish FA’s Scotland United 20/20 vision strategy.
“Specsavers’ support has helped us to develop the new Scottish Qualification Authority ‘Referee Development Award’ which provides an opportunity for secondary school pupils to become involved in refereeing. We have also been able to deliver more training than ever before to our current referees at all levels of the game, and run the very first Celtic Nations Refereeing Seminar for female referees.
“The Specsavers brand has become an established and recognised part of the referee’s kit and I am positive that both the Scottish FA and Specsavers will prosper from continued partnership going forward.”