Manchester United hopes to further expand its relationship with US technology company Qualcomm, the club’s chief executive said on Tuesday, after signing an extension to the chipmaker’s sponsorship of the team’s kits earlier this year.

Concluded in August, the deal with Qualcomm, which has a significant presence in Ireland, saw the New York-listed company’s Snapdragon semiconductor brand become the Red Devils’ main jersey sponsor until 2029. A first for an English Premier League team. , the Snapdragon brand also appears on the back of the jersey.

Man United’s latest kit, the second to feature the Snapdragon logo, was launched in July with a video featuring former Man United captain Eric Cantona and former manager Alex Ferguson.

“We are going to work together for a few more years, at least, hopefully more,” Man United general manager Omar Berrada said in Lisbon on Tuesday.

The French executive, who was named head of the club earlier this year, was speaking at the Web Summit in the Portuguese capital, where he took part in a panel with Qualcomm marketing director Don McGuire.

Mr Berrada said the launch video generated a “staggering” 55 million media “hits” when it was first broadcast over the summer.

In football, from players to managers, people working in football are “increasingly aware” of the role that technology companies can play in helping to spread the game, but also in improving performances and results on the pitch. land, he said.

“I’ve seen examples in my career where tech companies were fully integrated into the performance space, and players actually wanted to know more and contact the partner directly so they could have more individual stats on them as a player,” he said.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg of where we are heading in terms of performance, which is why I think technology companies will be absolutely essential in contributing to the development of the game,” he said. -he declared.

Qualcomm is also helping Man United “think ahead” about new technologies and how the club can use them in their stadium in the future, whether it’s a refurbished Old Trafford or a completely new stadium, Mr. Berrada said.

“As we consider whether to invest in our current stadium or perhaps even build a new stadium, we want a partner like Snapdragon to be fully integrated into the design discussions,” he said, “so that when we think about creating new experiential spaces within the existing stadium or a new stadium, they can help inform us.

Qualcomm, which has announced €140 million for its research and development center in Cork, employs around 450 people in the Republic and is said to have contacted Intel to discuss a potential acquisition of the troubled chipmaker and its operations in Leixlip, Co Kildare.

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