Who Actually Sponsors Manchester United?

If you ask anyone "Who are the sponsors of Manchester United?" they will tell you it's AIG, and they will be right. Well, they will be 11 percent right.

The reason for this is that, during these days of multi-million dollar transfer fees and sky-high salaries, sponsorship of a football team has become big business—huge business, in fact.

Manchester United actually have a total of 11 sponsors, and I'll tell you who they are.

AIG

American International Group, Inc. is a major American insurance corporation based at the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters are located on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in La Defense, Paris, and its Asia HQ is in Hong Kong. According to the 2008 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 18th-largest public company in the world. It was on the Dow Jones Industrial Average from April 8, 2004 to September 22, 2008.

Nike

A major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon, near Beaverton.

It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel. and and a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of $18.6 billion USD in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.

Kumho Tyres

Formerly known as Samyang Tire, Kumho is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol") headquartered in Gwangju, South Korea. Kumho means "bright lake" in Korean. It is a subsidiary of the Kumho Asiana Group, as is Asiana Airlines, Korea's second largest airline.

Budweiser

(Anheuser-Busch) is an American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United States. Budweiser is made with a proportion of rice in addition to barley malt, for which it has received some criticism, though the company takes the position that the rice gives the beer a lighter taste. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the United States and the rest of the world.

It is a filtered beer available in draught and packaged forms. It has 5.0 percent alcohol by volume and 145 calories per 12 oz., except in Utah, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, where only a 3.2 percent alcohol by weight (4.0 percent by volume) strength is available due to state laws. Minnesota and Colorado require 3.2 percent alcohol by weight beer only at select public events and beer being sold in grocery stores and gas stations.

The name derives from the Bohemian city Budweis (Budweiser meaning "from Budweis" in the German language), which was part of the German HRE until 1806, then Austrian Empire until 1918, then Czechoslovakia until 1993, then Czech Republic (since 1920 using Czech name České Budějovice).

The long tradition of brewing beer in Budweis started in 1265. In 1795, the German citizens founded a brewery named Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu. In 1895, Czech brewers followed, founding the brewery called Budějovický Budvar.

Bet Fred

A United Kingdom-based bookmaker, named after its characterful Northern England frontman and co-founder Fred Done. It was first established as a single shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover is over £1.5 billion, a nearly threefold rise since 2003's £550 million.

The company has more than 700 UK betting shops It claims to be both the world's biggest privately owned betting company, and the UK's biggest privately owned retail outlets.

Saudi Telecom

I've detailed Saudi Telecom before, here.

Hublot

A Swiss enterprise creating luxury watches and founded in 1980 by Carlo Crocco.

Hi Seoul

An annual cultural festival held on every May 1 to May 9 in Seoul, South Korea since 2003. It is based on the "Seoul Citizens' Day" held on every October since 1994 to commemorate the 600 years history of Seoul as the capital of the country. The festival is arranged under the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Viagogo

An online ticket exchange aimed at the European and North American market. It aims to allow people to buy and sell live event tickets in a safe and guaranteed way, and to bring "efficiency and transparency to what has traditionally been a murky market place."

It allows live event tickets to be bought and sold at any price, including above and below face value, and allows anyone to use the marketplace as long as they follow the rules. It charges buyers a 10 percent fee and sellers a 15 percent fee.