For any Greek soccer club, a quarter of a million euros goes a long way. But the allure of an open briefcase from one of Greece’s major gambling companies didn’t tempt Apollon Smyrnis.
The Super League team instead turned down the sponsorship deal from Opap and kept its commitment to a small children’s charity, displaying its logo on their jerseys for free.
The lucky charity is called Friends of the Child, a not-for-profit organisation set up over twenty years ago that looks after children from disadvantaged backgrounds. To date, the charity has helped 2,200 children from 550 families – many of them living with only one parent or with parents that suffer from health or psychological problems.
Opap’s offer was declined by the club’s honorary chairman, Stamatis Vellis, and the team’s management.
“At a time when everything is give and take, we wanted to express our sensitivity towards a group that is doing its work silently, without chasing publicity.
This fits perfectly with the profile of our team,” the team’s vice-chairman, Stratis Hatzipanagiotou, told the newspaper Eleftherotypia.
The gambling giant’s future is in doubt, as the government has sold its controlling 33 per cent stake in the company.
The offer to Apollon included unreasonable clauses, the vice president revealed, something the club wasn’t willing to undertake.
The offer included the club having to pay a penalty if the fans caused trouble at a game or if management were quoted saying adverse things to the media.
“We prefer to keep our fans happy and stay focused on the first division rather than worrying about obeying clauses,” Mr Hatzipanagiotou said.
Now the newly promoted club will focus on boosting its ladder position to keep itself alive in the new season.
Apollon Smyrnis was established in 1891 by Greeks in the Asia Minor city of Smyrna, now called Izmir in Turkey.
Source: Enetenglish
