Sanjeev Gupta signs five-year personal sponsorship deal with Port Adelaide
First he bought the Whyalla steelworks and set about saving South Australia’s steel city, now Sanjeev Gupta has agreed to a five-year sponsorship deal with the Port Adelaide Football Club.
Port Adelaide
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Port Adelaide has secured a five-year major sponsorship with Sanjeev Gupta — the multi-billionaire credited with saving Whyalla.
The British-based billionaire, who heads up the Gupta Family Group, turned the announcement into a community event with fans, players officials, board members, Premier Steven Marshall, other stakeholders involved in celebrations at Alberton on Saturday.
Gupta wouldn’t be drawn on how much he had agreed to tip into the club, but the deal is believed to worth millions of dollars considering he has now equal billing with Oak as a major sponsor of the club.
The GFG Alliance logo will grace Port’s jumpers this year.
Gupta, whose company bought out the struggling Whyalla steel works, stressed it was a personal investment rather than a corporate sponsorship — therefore it was his personal business how much cash he will invest in the club.
“I’m excited by this partnership with Port Adelaide — our first with a sporting team,” he said. “We look forward to sharing the richness of Aussie rules far and wide.
“The club’s ethos resonates with values that are important to me, of family sustainability and change.
“This relationship will see Port Adelaide develop skills and programs for young people especially in regional areas like Whyalla, where we have made a commitment to develop sustainable industry and strong communities for generations to come.”
The sponsorship comes days after federal Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell savaged Mr Gupta’s GFG Alliance for using Whyalla small businesses “as their personal banks” by making late payments to suppliers.
Mr Gupta wrote to suppliers promising to speed up payments following Ms Carnell’s lashing.
He declined to tell reporters on Saturday how much GFG owed businesses or when they would be paid back but gave a “thousand per cent” guarantee they would be repaid
“Today’s not the day to talk about that. I’m here to celebrate my personal investment in the club,” he said.
Mr Gupta defended the Port sponsorship, saying the business was doing well and suppliers were all being paid.
“The wheel’s turning and everybody is being paid. It’s not an issue, he said.
“Nobody’s behind by weeks or months. What is behind is days and sometimes a few weeks and it is largely because of our systems issues, which we are addressing.”
“And we are investing more money.”
Under GFG Alliance’s current policy, which stipulates businesses should be paid back inside 62 days plus the period until the end of the calendar month, small businesses can wait more than 90 days for payment.
Ms Carnell this week condemned that arrangement as “not even nearly good enough” but said she’d also received a host of complaints from businesses who had waited more than 100 days for payment.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch had been the main driver in getting Gupta to partner with the club after persistent approaches.
“The Gupta Family Group is an established global alliance who through Sanjeev Gupta has invested significantly in Australian in recent times,” Koch said.
“Port Adelaide could not be prouder of this partnership.
“With GFG joining us as a joint major partner we have taken another significant step in our strategic drive to broaden Port Adelaide’s brand globally while at the same time doubling down in our heartland.
“This will be achieved with GFG through a number of joint initiatives across the Eyre Peninsula starting with our AFL community camp next week in Whyalla.”
Originally published as Sanjeev Gupta signs five-year personal sponsorship deal with Port Adelaide
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