Saudi Telecom in sponsorship deal with Man United

By Souhail Karam

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Telecom Co (STC) is set to sign a marketing deal with football club Manchester United that could be worth $18.6 million (9.3 million pounds), a spokesman said, its first-ever deal with a non-Saudi football club.

Football is a favoured pastime in the Middle East and telecom firms, including Emirates Telecommunications Corp, are often lead sponsors of sporting events.

STC has spent more than $6 billion in foreign expansion since June 2007 as it faces greater competition in its home market, where securing sponsorship deals with local football clubs helps telecom companies retain customers in a saturated market.

"We are at Manchester now. We will have a press conference tomorrow and the deal will be announced today during a Manchester United game," STC spokesman Mohamed al-Faraj told Reuters on Sunday.

He declined to elaborate on the nature of the deal.

The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that the five-year deal would grant STC rights to use Manchester United's logo and imagery in its marketing in Saudi Arabia.

STC would be able to offer its subscribers video clips of match highlights, the paper said.

"The arrangement is said to be one of the biggest non-shirt sponsorship deals in British football," the Times said.