Wotc Is Sponsoring A Football Team

Magic: the Gathering logos will be on Leyton Orient FC's training wear.

The sponsorship is for the 2021/022 season.

Leyton Orient FC is an East London football club dating back to 1881. It competes in the EFL League Two, which is the fourth division in English football.

Leyton Orient - Leyton Orient

Official Leyton Orient FC Website - The O's

www.leytonorient.com

 

[MGibster]

When I read the thread title I thought for sure this would be about the Seattle Seahawks!

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

When I read the thread title I thought for sure this would be about the Seattle Seahawks!

I was sure it would be AFC Richmond!

 

[wicked cool]

Can someone tell me about this team? how well known is this team in London? curious if the majority route for Sutton United in London?

i was surprised it actually hosted some professional international games as the stadium seems small?

 

[Morrus]

Can someone tell me about this team? how well known is this team in London?

I don't really know football, but I think the league it plays in is like the lowest one.

EFL League Two - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

curious if the majority route for Sutton United in London?

Seems unlikely. The Premier League London teams are Arsenal, Chelsea, Brentford, West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace. Sutton United appears to be 3 entire leagues lower.

Football in London - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Wicht]

Makes me a little curious as to who approached who with the idea? Is there someone on the Team that works for Wizards (seems unlikely)? Is someone at Wizards a fan of the team? Is the team big into Magic?

 

[MGibster]

Their logo does have dragons...

 

[grimslade]

This is interesting. Premier League sponsorship would be lost in the noise of huge ad campaigns. Leyton Orient is followed by locals and would be easier to spot an upward trend in local game purchasing and involvement. I am curious how many football fans are itching to hit the local games club and roll a few d20s?

 

[J.Quondam]

Next up, the Chicago Owlbears?

 

[John Dallman]

Can someone tell me about this team? how well known is this team in London? curious if the majority route for Sutton United in London?

I was surprised it actually hosted some professional international games as the stadium seems small?

They are in the lowest of the English fully-professional leagues. Like most such clubs, they have a complex history, and are regularly saved from going broke by wealthy men who supported them as boys. Their ground has hosted under-16 and women's international matches, but those draw small crowds compared to the adult men's matches. They have good name recognition in London, because of their unusual name, but since the sponsorship is of their training outfits, rather than the kit they wear in competitive matches, its impact will be limited to quite dedicated fans of the side. Those will mostly be locals.

For the avoidance of doubt, this kind of football is soccer, not anything resembling American football. Men's soccer is huge in the UK and Europe; women's soccer is on a smaller scale, more similar to its popularity in the USA. American football is known in the UK, and played as an amateur sport on a fairly small scale, but as far as I know there are no professional sides.

I'd guess that someone at WotC UK had some advertising budget spare, and some combination of personal connection, the dragon logo and a low price led to an experiment.