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Fulham unveil Demon Internet sponsorship

Andrew Yates
Thursday 15 January 1998 19:02 EST
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Kevin Keegan's and Mohamed Al Fayed's ambitions to bring the glory days back to Fulham, the Second Division London football club, received a boost yesterday when they announced a pounds 1.5m shirt sponsorship deal with Demon Internet, one of Europe's biggest internet companies.

Asked what he would do with the money, Mr Keegan said yesterday: "It has already gone on players. We have spent more than pounds 6m but Mr Fayed has still made more money available. It may sound silly to some people to talk of Premiership football at Fulham, which is a small club. But we are very confident and have a five-year plan to get there."

Mr Fayed, the controversial chief of Harrods, paid pounds 30m for Fulham last summer and soon signed former England star striker Keegan, who will run the club on a day to day basis, and ex-England midfielder Ray Wilkins, whose job is to oversee matters on the pitch.

Mr Keegan's plans include rebuilding Fulham's ground, Craven Cottage, taking its capacity from 18,000 to 26,000 and introducing new conferencing facilities. In return for the money, Demon will get their name emblazoned of Fulham's shirts and merchandise, free use of a 10-seat executive box and free tickets for each home game.

David Furness, sales and marketing director of Demon, said: "This is a large deal compared to many Premier League Clubs let alone Football League clubs. This club is definitely going somewhere."

Analysts have been concerned that Demon desperately needs a cash injection to expand its business. However, Mr Furness denied that Demon needed any extra money to survive.

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